If you wish to, you can now use the internet to book appointments with a GP, request repeat prescriptions for any medications you take regularly and look at your medical records online. You can still use the telephone or come in to the surgery for any of these services as well. It’s your choice.

Being able to see your record online might help you to manage your medical conditions. It also means that you can even access it from anywhere in the world should you require medical treatment on holiday.  If you decide not to join or wish to withdraw, this is your choice and practice staff will continue to treat you in the same way as before. This decision will not affect the quality of you care.

You will be given login details, so you will need to think of a password which is unique to you. This will ensure that only you are able to access your record unless you choose to share your details with a family member or carer.

It will be your responsibility to keep your login details and password safe and secure. If you know or suspect that your record has been accessed by someone that you have not agreed should see it, then you should change your password immediately.

If you can’t do this for some reason, we recommend that you contact the practice so that they can remove online access until you are able to reset your password.

If you print out any information from your record, it is also your responsibility to keep this secure. If you are at all worried about keeping printed copies safe, we recommend that you do not make copies at all.

The practice has the right to remove online access to services for anyone that doesn’t use them responsibly.

To use this service, you must first register by completing a Register for Online Services Application Form.

Application forms are also available at the surgery. You will need to produce some form of photo identification e.g. passport, photo card driving license. You can only register to access your own appointments/medical records and you must be at least 16 years old.

Once your application has been processed you will be issued with your own personal registration codes. You will need these codes every time you wish to use the online services.

Please allow 2 working days for us to process your application.

The doctors and staff at this practice are committed to providing high quality healthcare and services to patients.

If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the practice, please let us know by completing a complaints form. We operate a practice complaints procedure as part of the NHS system for dealing with complaints. The complaints system meets national criteria.

Complaining on behalf of someone else

Medical records are protected by the Data Protection Act 1998. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else we need to know that you have their permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed, unless they are incapable (i.e. due of illness) of providing this.

If you are not satisfied with our response

If you are not satisfied with the way we have dealt with your complaint, you can contact the South East London ICB (Integrated Care Board). Please send a copy of your letter or comments to [email protected]. The responsibility for investigating any issue arising from a complaint remains with the organisation that provided the service to you.

The ICB will retain personal information for the purposes of a complaint investigation only. To help make improvements to the services you receive, anonymous information about your complaint may be shared as part of their reporting process. Should you have any concerns about these arrangements please contact ICB on above email.

Remember:

• We want you to let us know if you are unhappy or have a suggestion about how we can do things better.
• All complaints are treated in the strictest confidence.
• Making a complaint will not affect your treatment or care.

The Protection And Use of Patient Information

We ask you for information about yourself so that you can receive proper care and treatment. We keep this information, together with details of your care, because it may be needed if we see you again.

We may use some of the information for other reasons, for example, to help us protect the health of the public generally and to see that the NHS runs efficiently, plans for the future, trains its staff, pays its bills and can account for its actions.

Sometimes the law requires us to pass on information, for example, to notify a birth.

The NHS Central Register for England and Wales contains basic personal details of all patients registered with a general practitioner. This register does not contain clinical information.

You have the right of access to your health records. For more information, please visit our Access to Medical Records page. 

Everyone working for the NHS has a legal duty to keep information about you confidential.

You may be receiving care from other people as well as the NHS. So that we can all work together for your benefit we may need to share some information about you if people have a genuine need for it in your and everyone’s interest.

Whenever we can we shall remove details that identify you. The law strictly controls the sharing of some types of very sensitive personal information. Anyone who receives information from us is also under a legal duty to keep it confidential.

The Main Reasons For Which Your Information May Be Needed:

• Giving you health care and treatment.
• Looking after the health of the general public.

Managing and planning the NHS, for example by:

• Making sure that our services can meet patients’ needs in the future.
• Paying your doctor, nurse, dentist, or other staff, and the hospital which treats you, for the care they provide.
• Auditing accounts.
• Preparing statistics on NHS performance and activity (where steps will be taken to ensure you cannot be identified).
• Investigating complaints or legal claims
• Helping staff to review the care they provide to make sure it is of the highest standard.
• Training and educating staff (though you can choose whether or not to be involved personally).
• Research approved by the Local Ethics Committee. (If anything to do with the research would involve you personally, you will be contracted to see if you are willing to take part. We may need to release your name and address to medical researchers to enable them to contact you for this purpose. You will not be identified in any published results without your agreement.

Information About You

Information about you and the care you receive is shared, in a secure system, by healthcare staff to support your treatment and care.

Information such as your postcode and NHS number, but not your name, will be used to link your records in a secure system, so you identity is protected. Information which does not reveal your identity can then be used by others, such as researchers and those planning health services, to make sure that the best possible care for everyone is provided.

How your information is used and shared is controlled by law and strict rules are in place to protect your privacy. We need to make sure that you know what is happening and the choices you have.

You have the right to prevent confidential information about you from being shared or used for any purpose other than providing your care, except in special circumstances. If you do not want information that identifies you to be shared outside your GP practice, ask a member of reception to make a note of this in your medical record. This will prevent your confidential information being used other than where necessary by law, (for example, if there is a public health emergency.)

If you are happy for your information to be shared you do not need to do anything.

There is no form to fill in and you can change your mind at any time. Leaflets regarding information sharing are available from the surgery or at www.nhs.uk/caredata.

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 applies to all NHS and primary care organisations. There is a lot of information about the practice on this web site.

The Blackheath Standard Surgery are keen to hear from patients who would be interested in joining the practice patient participation group. The aim of the group is to act as a communication channel between you, the patient, and the practice and to try and improve the services we offer. We are looking to recruit more members, ideally from as broad a spectrum as possible so as to get a truly representative group which will include members from all ages, cultural groups, working backgrounds, ethnic backgrounds and all levels of health and fitness.

Please note the PPG is not a forum for individual complaints in the interest of patient confidentiality due to the meetings’ public nature.

We will contact members via email with short surveys from time to time, to find out your opinions on subjects such as opening times, care quality and practice procedures. We also plan to meet on a twice yearly basis.

If you wish to become a member of our PPG and can commit to attending occasional meetings, please complete the application form below

Patient Participation Group FAQs

Q: Why are you asking people for their contact details?

We want to talk to people about the surgery and how well we are doing to identify areas for improvement.

Q: Will my doctor see this information?

No. It is purely to contact patients to ask them questions about the surgery and how well we are doing. Your doctor will only see the overall results.

Q: Will the questions you ask me be medical or personal?

They will be general questions about the practice, how we are providing services and what we can do to improve them.

Q: Who else will be able to access my contact details?

No one beyond the practice.

Q: How often will you contact me?

Not very often – possibly three or four times a year.

Q: What is a patient participation group?

It is a group of volunteer patients who are involved in helping to shape the services to patients.

Q: Do I have to take part in the group?

No, but if you change your mind, please let us know.

Q: What if I no longer wish to be on the contact list or I leave the surgery?

We will ask you to let us know if you do not wish to receive further messages. If you leave the practice, you will no longer be eligible to remain in the group.

At The Blackheath Standard Surgery we work to a set of principles. These are set out in our patient charter which is shown below:

• Patients should be greeted in a friendly and welcoming manner in all circumstances.
• Patients have the right to confidentiality.
• Patients should be seen within 30 minutes of their appointment time. Where there is likely to be a delay patients should be informed.
• All patients will be treated equally. We do not discriminate on the grounds of gender, gender identity, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or age.
• Patients will be offered advice on how to stay healthy and avoid illness.
• New patients registering with the surgery will be offered a health check.
• Patients will be referred to a consultant when the doctor feels this is necessary.
• Patients have the right to ask questions about their health, illness and treatment and to have these questions answered.

We aim:

• To offer patients an appointment with a healthcare professional within 48 hours.
• To see all patients with genuine urgent need as soon as possible.

Occasionally things do not run smoothly as we would like. This is often due to matters beyond our control, such as sudden emergencies.

Blackheath Standard Surgery uses personal and confidential information for a number of purposes. Our privacy notice provides a summary of how we use your information.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and will only use information collected lawfully in accordance with existing laws and with guidance from organisations that govern the provision of healthcare in England such as the Department of Health and the General Medical Council.

Our privacy notice will explain about how we will use and protect any information about you that you give us. Please click here for more information

The NHS in England is using an electronic record called the Summary Care Record to support patient care. The Summary Care Record (SCR) is a secure, electronic patient record that contains key information derived from patients’ detailed GP records.

It is accessed in emergency and unplanned care scenarios, where such information would otherwise be unavailable.

About your Summary Care Record

Your Summary Care Record contains important information about any medicines you are taking, any allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines that you have previously experienced.

Allowing authorised healthcare staff to have access to this information will improve decision making by doctors and other healthcare professionals and has prevented mistakes being made when patients are being cared for in an emergency or when their GP practice is closed.

Other information such as significant medical history, care plans, patient wishes or preferences (and other relevant information) can be added with the consent of the patient.

Your Summary Care Record also includes your name, address, date of birth and your unique NHS Number to help identify you correctly.

Healthcare staff will have access to this information, so that they can provide safer care, whenever or wherever you need it, anywhere in England.

It is not compulsory to have a Summary Care Record.

Why Do I Need A Summary Care Record?

Storing information in one place makes it easier for healthcare staff to treat you in an emergency, or when your GP practice is closed.

This information could make a difference to how a doctor decides to care for you, for example which medicines they choose to prescribe for you.

Who Can See It?

Only healthcare staff involved in your care can see your Summary Care Record.

How Do I Know If I Have One?

Over half of the population of England now have a Summary Care Record.

Do I Have To Have One?

No, it is not compulsory.

If you choose to opt out of the scheme, then you will need to complete a Summary Care Record Opt-Out form to let the surgery know.

More Information

For further information visit the NHS Care records website.

The practice is enthusiastically involved in training GP registrars.

Within the practice the approved trainers are Dr N Patel and Dr V Bui. However, the whole team is included in training in some way.  We feel that with the experience and the enthusiasm of both trainers and non-trainers alike, the skill mix, and huge resource within the practice that is the patients, the opportunities for learning are now enormous.

Nurse Training

At The Blackheath Standard Surgery the approved trainers are Fiona Meany and Gail McMullan. The Health care Assistants and the whole team is also included in training in some way. The training will give opportunities to plan and provide nursing care, treatment and health education to patients of all ages.

This gives prospects to gain crucial  skills such as critical thinking, decision making and be able to manage patients which will benefit trainers in their professional journey.

Medical Student Teaching

The practice is enthusiastically involved in teaching final year undergraduate medical students from King’s College Medical School.

Students come to The Blackheath Standard Surgery to gain experience in general practice, but also just to learn the basics, like how to talk to patients, how to take a medical history and examination techniques.

These are the local standards set within this practice for the benefit of our patients. It is our job to give you treatment and advice. Following discussion with you, you will receive the most appropriate care, given by suitably qualified people.

No care or treatment will be given without your informed consent. In the interest of your health it is important for you to understand all the information given to you. Please ask us questions if you are unsure of anything.

Our Responsibility To You

We are committed to giving you the best possible service.

• Names: People involved in your care will give you their names and ensure that you know how to contact them.
• Waiting Time: We run an appointment system in this practice. You will be given a time at which the doctor or nurse hopes to be able to see you.
• Access: You will have access to a doctor rapidly in case of emergency. We will arrange a home visit as appropriate for those who are too ill or infirm to be brought to the surgery.
• Telephone: We will try to answer the phone promptly and to ensure that there are sufficient staff available to do this. You should be able to speak to a doctor by telephone.
• Test Results: If you have undergone tests or x-rays ordered by the practice, we recommend you ring up for the results within 1 to 2 weeks for blood/urine test results, and 2 to 3 weeks for ultrasound/x-ray results. The receptionist will advise you if the results are in and what action is required.
• Respect: Patients will be treated as individuals and partners in their healthcare, irrespective of their ethnic origin or religious and cultural beliefs.
• Information: We will give you full information about the services we offer. Every effort will be made to ensure that you receive the information which directly affects your health and the care being offered.
• Health Promotion: The practice will offer patients advice and information on: Steps they can take to promote good health and avoid illness. Self-help which can be undertaken without reference to a doctor in the case of minor ailments.
• Health Records: You have the right to see your health records, subject to limitations in the law. These will be kept confidential at all times.

Your Responsibility To Us

Help us to help you.

• Please let us know if you change your name, address or telephone number. If you need to let us know a change to your personal information, please use our Change of Personal Details Triage.
• Please do everything you can to keep appointments. Tell us as soon as possible if you cannot y using our Cancel An Appointment Triage. Otherwise, other patients may have to wait longer.
• We need help too. Please ask for home visits by the doctor only when the person is too ill to visit the surgery.
• Test results take time to reach us, so please do not ring before you have been asked to do so.
• Enquiries about tests ordered by the hospital should be directed to the hospital, not the practice.
• We ask that you treat the doctors and practice staff with courtesy and respect.

Please read our practice booklet. Along with this website it will help you to get the best out of the services we offer. It is important that you understand the information given to you. Please ask us questions if you are unsure of anything.

Remember, you are responsible for your own health and the health of your children. We will give you our professional help and advice. Please act upon it.

Violent Patients

Our practice will not tolerate any violent, abusive or threatening behavior. If this should happen the patient will be removed from our list and Greenwich Clinical Commissioning Group will be notified and will make arrangements for that patient to be seen at another practice.

We strongly support the NHS policy on zero tolerance. Anyone attending the surgery who abuses the GP’s, staff or other patients be it verbally, physically or in any threatening manner whatsoever, will risk removal from the practice list.

In extreme cases we may summon the police to remove offenders from the practice premises.