In accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and Access to Health Records Act, patients may request to see their medical records. Such requests should be submitted via a signed request by the patient, for the attention of the Practice Secretaries. These requests may be subject to an administration charge. No information will be released without patient consent unless we are legally obliged to do so.

For information on how to access your digital health record, visit: NHS – View your GP health record

Practice Complaints Procedure
Patient feedback is important to us as it helps us to improve the service we provide to patients. We take patient complaints seriously and will address any concerns by carrying out a thorough investigation into the matter.

How do I make a complaint?
If you wish to complain please contact Catherine Eyre, Reception Manager on 0115 883 2626, who will deal with your concerns appropriately. If you wish to submit a written complaint, our complaints procedure, including a complaints form can be viewed by clicking here. Please note; completed patient complaint forms should be returned to the Practice directly for investigation.

Alternatively, you may send a written letter to:
F.A.O. The Operations Manager
Castle Healthcare Practice,
Embankment Primary Care Centre,
50-60 Wilford Lane,
West Bridgford,
Nottingham,
NG2 7SD

If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, the Practice needs to know that you have their permission to do so.

What Happens Next?
The complaint will be acknowledged within 5 working days.  The Practice will respond, after investigation, within the timeframe specified to you at the acknowledgement stage of the process.  Some complaints may take longer to address but you will be informed of a response time.  If this cannot be met, the Practice will keep you informed.

Please be assured making a complaint will not adversely affect your ongoing healthcare at the Practice.  We will deal with you fairly, compassionately and will endeavour to resolve the situation to a satisfactory conclusion.

Wherever possible, we aim to learn from complaints and take action to avoid similar occurrences.

How do I complain to someone Independent?
GP Practices would prefer to have the opportunity to answer complaints ourselves in the first instance. However, you may pass your complaint directly to:

Patient Experience Team
Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board
Civic Centre,
Arnot Hill Park,
Nottingham Road,
Arnold,
Nottingham,
NG5 6LU

Tel: 0115 8839570
Email: [email protected]

If you would like further information please follow the link to the ICB website: Patient Experience and Complaints – NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB

However, please note, patients cannot raise the same complaint with the Practice and ICB.

Is there a time limit?
A complaint must be made within 6 months of the date of the incident that caused the problem or the date of discovering the problem.

Please remember, the sooner you provide the Practice with the information, the easier it will be to investigate the facts.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome?
You can contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) on 0345 015 4033.

For more information see their website www.ombudsman.org.uk

Other useful contacts
POhWER, NHS Complaints Advocacy, on 0300 456 2370.  For more information see their website www.pohwer.net

Patient Advice and Liaison Services (PALS) is a free, confidential and independent service that can provide advice and guidance.

If you have a genuine concern about a staff member or regulated activity carried on by this practice then you can contact the Care Quality Commission on 03000 616161, or alternatively visit the following website: www.cqc.org.uk

NHS – How to complain to the NHS

The Practice 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.

Please see below our Data Protection Privacy Notice for Patients

Please click here to view Data Protection Privacy Notice.

Please click here to view Children’s Privacy Notice.

Please click here to view Covid-19 Privacy Notice.

Due to an increase in the number of wasted appointments through patients non-attendance, it has become necessary to implement the following policy:

If you repeatedly fail to attend appointments over a 12 month period you may be removed from this practice list and required to register at a different General Practice.

If you cannot attend your appointments for any reason please let us know as soon as possible, giving at least 24 hours notice. We can then offer the appointment to someone else.

Information about the General Practioners and the Practice required for disclosure under this act can be made available to the public. All requests for such information should be made to the Business Manager.

2021/2022 Publication of GP Net Earnings

Castle Healthcare Practice is delighted to have signed up to the Green Impact for Health Toolkit and we are actively taking steps to reduce our carbon footprint.

The climate emergency is also a health emergency, and health care in the UK contributes 5.4% of the UK’s carbon emissions. We need to enhance the health of future generations, and this means operating within the sustainable boundaries of the planet.

Fortunately, most of the solutions for the planet also make our health better, for example; eating a mainly plant-based diet, engaging in active travel and exercise in nature, avoiding smoking and reducing pollution etc. This will enhance our health and reduce our need for medications, with further benefits to the NHS, your health and the carbon footprint of healthcare.

For further information, visit: www.greenerpractice.co.uk

Rushcliffe Big Green Book

The Rushcliffe Big Green Book is a directory of nature-based activities and opportunities around Rushcliffe and is in line with the national Green Social Prescribing initiative.

Green Social Prescribing is a way of connecting people to nature-based activities, green groups, projects and schemes in their local community for support with health and wellbeing.

For more information, visit: The Rushcliffe Big Green Book

All health and care providers across Nottinghamshire hold individual paper and electronic records about you. This may mean that your information may not be available when and where you need it to be, and you may end up repeating yourself when treated by different services.

The Notts Care Record is a secure and confidential system that will enable the viewing of information about your health and care so that information is available to the right health and care staff at the right time to support the delivery of your care. Having a more joined up and coordinated record will improve the way information about you is shared in order to deliver better care and make decisions more effectively.

The Notts Care Record is a collaboration between GP, hospital, community, mental health and social care services across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.

For more information, visit: Digital Notts – Shared Care Records

Practice policies are underpinned by current legislation and guidance.

For information on the NHS Constitution for England, visit: GOV.UK – Handbook to the NHS Constitution for England

Your Summary Care Record (SCR) is a short summary of your GP medical records. It tells other health and care staff who care for you about the medicines you take and your allergies.

For more information, visit: NHS Digital – SCR – Information For Patients

Why do I need a Summary Care Record?

The information held in your Summary Care Record gives health and care professionals, away from your usual GP practice, access to information to provide you with safer care, reduce the risk of prescribing errors and improve your patient experience.

Your Summary Care Record contains basic information about allergies and medications and any reactions that you have had to medication in the past.

Who can see it?

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

All patients registered with a GP have a Summary Care Record, unless they have chosen not to have one.

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 form and bring it to the Practice. The form can be found at: Summary Care Record Opt Out Form

More Information

For further information, visit: NHS – Your Health Records.

Supplementary Privacy Notice for Summary Care Records – Covid-19: NHS Digital – SCR – Supplementary Transparency Notice

If you need prescribed medicine for your health condition, talk to your GP or Practice Nurse about your travel plans at least 6 weeks before your departure date. They can tell you if you need to make any special arrangements.

An NHS patient planning to travel abroad may receive an FP10 from their surgery to cover their time abroad. This is at the discretion of the surgery but must be for no longer than three months. This should give the patient enough medication to last until they can make arrangements for alternative supply in the country they are visiting. New NHS prescriptions will not be issued until the patient has returned to the UK.

NHS prescriptions must never be obtained by relatives or friends on behalf of patients who are currently abroad, irrespective of such factors as owning a house in the UK or paying UK taxes.

Patients are responsible for ensuring that any drugs they take into a country conform to local laws.

For more information, visit:

• CHP – Travel Advice & Services
• GOV.UK – Foreign Travel Advice

The NHS operate a zero tolerance policy with regard to violence and abuse and the Practice has the right to remove violent patients from the list with immediate effect in order to safeguard Practice staff, patients and other persons. Violence in this context includes actual or threatened physical violence or verbal abuse which leads to fear for a person’s safety. In this situation the patient will be notified in writing of their removal from the list and a record will be made in the patient’s medical records stating the details of the removal and the circumstances leading to it.

Medicines waste, including unused medicines and sharps are not accepted from patients or members of the public as the Practice is not a licensed waste contractor.

Patients are advised to return it to the pharmacy from which it was dispensed from, or discuss collection with their local council.

Information about your health and care helps us to improve your individual care, speed up diagnosis, plan your local services and research new treatments. The NHS is committed to keeping patient information safe and always being clear about how it is used.

How your data is used

Information about your individual care such as treatment and diagnoses is collected about you whenever you use health and care services. It is also used to help us and other organisations for research and planning such as research into new treatments, deciding where to put GP clinics and planning for the number of doctors and nurses in your local hospital.  It is only used in this way when there is a clear legal basis to use the information to help improve health and care for you, your family and future generations.

Wherever possible we try to use data that does not identify you, but sometimes it is necessary to use your confidential patient information.

You have a choice

You do not need to do anything if you are happy about how your information is used. If you do not want your confidential patient information to be used for research and planning, you can choose to opt out securely online or through a telephone service. You can change your mind about your choice at any time.

Will choosing this opt-out affect your care and treatment?

No, choosing to opt out will not affect how information is used to support your care and treatment. You will still be invited for screening services, such as screenings for bowel cancer.

What do you need to do?

If you are happy for your confidential patient information to be used for research and planning, you do not need to do anything.

To find out more about the benefits of data sharing, how data is protected, or to make/change your opt-out choice visit www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters