Practice Statements

Violence

The Health Centre considers aggressive behaviour to be any personal, abusive and/or aggressive comments, cursing and/or swearing, physical contact and/or aggressive gestures.

The Health Centre will request the removal of any patient from the practice list who is aggressive or abusive towards a doctor, member of staff, other patient, or who damages property.

All instances of actual physical abuse on any doctor or member of staff, by a patient or their relatives will be reported to the police as an assault.

Confidentiality

The Health Centre complies with Data Protection and Access to Medical Records legislation. Identifiable information about you will be shared with others in the following circumstances:

• To provide further medical treatment for you e.g. from district nurses and hospital services. 
• To help you get other services e.g. from the social work department. This requires your consent. 
• When we have a duty to others e.g. in child protection cases.  Anonymised patient information will also be used at local and national level to help the Health Board and Government plan services e.g. for diabetic care.

If you do not wish anonymous information about you to be used in such a way, please let us know.

Reception and administration staff require access to your medical records in order to do their jobs. These members of staff are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the medical staff.

Occasionally staff from the PCT may be allowed access to records to verify the procedures that we use and ensure that we record information according to national regulations.  Whilst a random selection of patient records have to be viewed to confirm that our procedures are appropriate, PCT staff do not make a record of any personal information that they view.  If you do not want us to allow PCT staff to view your records please state this in writing and your records will be updated accordingly.