Annual Infection Control Statement
Care Quality Commission (CQC)
Some of the comments from this report include;
Patients rated the practice higher than others for almost all aspects of care. Patients spoke highly of the care they received from the practice. Feedback about patients’ care and treatment was consistently positive. We observed a patient centered culture.
Common themes from patients were they felt they were treated with dignity and respect, were listened to and involved in their treatment.
CQC comment cards were all very positive and complimentary; many citing the service they received as being ‘excellent and fantastic’.
These findings aligned with the national GP survey results, which showed the practice was performing in line and predominantly above the local and national averages.
The practice had developed a comprehensive and innovative system to monitor appointments. There was continuity of care and urgent appointments available on the same day. Patients said they found it easy to make an appointment and urgent appointments were available the same day.
The practice reviewed the needs of its local population and engaged with the CCG to secure/improve service improvements where these had been identified. The practice had been involved in CCG pilots, such as pathfinder , winter access and breaking the cycle.
The practice worked very closely with other health professionals and community and voluntary services and they were focused on using every opportunity for health promotion. For example, Friend to Friend and Sharing Memories.
The practice had strong links with local schools and worked collaboratively with the school nurses to support and advise young people. Young people at schools had direct access to same day appointments for emergency contraception, when the school nurse may accompany the patient
We saw evidence that an enhanced level of service provision for the diagnosis and support for people with dementia was provided above what is required under core General Medical Service (GMS) contracts.
Views of external stakeholders, for example Greater Huddersfield CCG were very positive and aligned to our findings.
Complaints
We aim to deal with any complaint sensitively and to resolve any problems as soon as possible, either with the people concerned or by making any appropriate changes to our services.
In all circumstances we find it most productive when people with any concerns raise them directly with us.
For more information about our complaints procedure, please have a look at our Complaints Leaflet, or for more detailed information, have a read of our Complaints Policy
GP Net Earnings
All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings (e.g. average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients in their practice.
The average pay for GPs working in Elmwood Family Doctors in the last financial year (2023) was £70,683 before tax and National Insurance. This is based on 5 full time GPs, and 8 part time GPs who worked in the practice for more than six months.
Named Accountable GP
All patients have a named GP who is responsible for their overall care at the practice. You can contact the practice if you wish to know who yours is. If you have a preference as to which GP is your “named, accountable GP”, the practice will make reasonable efforts to accommodate this request. Regardless of who your named accountable GP is you can still choose to see any GP in the Practice when you want to book an appointment.
Patient Privacy Notice
This privacy notice lets you know what happens to any personal data that you give to us, or any that we may collect from or about you. This privacy notice applies to personal information processed by or on behalf of the practice. You can read the Patient Privacy Notice here
Your data matters to the NHS. To find out more, visit: https://www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters.
Sharing your Data
General Practice Data for Planning and Research
General Practice Data for Planning and Research (GPDPR) is an NHS Digital programme that plans to collect data from the GP records of all patients in England to help support research and healthcare planning. Data sharing with NHS Digital will start on 1 September 2021.
The data held in your GP medical records is shared with other healthcare professionals for the purposes of your individual care. It is also shared with other organisations to;
- plan and improve vital health and care services
- research and develop cures for serious illnesses
The data collected will not include patients’ names and addresses and NHS Digital says that any other data that could directly identify patients will be psuedonymised.
For more information about this see the GP Practice Privacy Notice for General Practice Data for Planning and Research.
Also watch this short animation to understand more about how your data will be used, or this more detailed video which provides a great overview.
Type 1 opt out – patient data held by your GP practice
You can choose whether your confidential patient information is used for research and planning. To find out more visit NHS Digital
You do not need to do anything if you are happy about how your confidential patient information is used. You can change your choice at any time.
If you do not want your patient data to be shared outside of the GP practice for purposes except your own care, you can register an opt-out with Elmwood, known as a Type 1 Opt-out. If you have already registered a Type 1 Opt-out previously with your GP practice your data will not be shared with NHS Digital.
Click HERE to access the Type 1 Opt out form and return to the practice.
You can use this form to:
- register a Type 1 Opt-out, for yourself or for a dependent (if you are the parent or legal guardian of the patient) (to Opt-out)
- withdraw an existing Type 1 Opt-out, for yourself or a dependent (if you are the parent or legal guardian of the patient) if you have changed your preference (Opt-in)
National Data Opt-out – data held by NHS Digital
A national data opt out applies to identifiable patient data about your health (personally identifiable data in the diagram above), which is called confidential patient information. If you don’t want your confidential patient information to be shared by NHS Digital with other organisations for purposes except your own care – either GP data, or other data it holds, such as hospital data – you can register a National Data Opt-out.
Click HERE to submit your choice online, or by clicking on ‘Your Health’ in the NHS App, and selecting ‘Choose if data from your health records is shared for research and planning’.
You can also make or change a choice by downloading and completing a form and emailing or posting it to the National Data Opt Out Contact Centre (unfortunately your GP practice cannot process a National Data Opt-out). The form and contact details can be found here, under section ‘Other ways to make a choice‘.
Your Care Summary
What is the Summary Care Record?
Your Summary Care Record (SCR) will contain, as a minimum, important information about any medicines you are taking, allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines that you have had. Giving healthcare staff access to this information can prevent mistakes being made when caring for you in an emergency or when your GP practice is closed. If you are registered with a GP practice in England your SCR is created automatically, unless you have opted out.
Additional Information in the SCR, such as details of long-term conditions, significant medical history, or specific communications needs, is now included by default for patients with an SCR, unless they have previously told the NHS that they did not want this information to be shared. There will also be a temporary change to include COVID-19 specific codes in relation to suspected, confirmed, Shielded Patient List and other COVID-19 related information within the Additional Information.
More information on Summary Care Records is available here
Who can see my Summary Care Record?
Only NHS healthcare staff involved in supporting or providing your care can see your Summary Care Record. Healthcare staff who can see your Summary Care Record:
- need to be directly involved in caring for you;
- need to have an NHS Smartcard with a chip and passcode (like a bank card and PIN);
- will only see the information they need to do their job; and
- should have their details recorded.
Can I stop information being put into my Summary Care Record?
You can choose not to have a Summary Care Record, or opt out of additional information being included in your Summary Care Record.
If you do not want a Summary Care Record you must fill in an opt out form and return it to the practice.