The practice is committed to the promotion of effective and clear communication by whichever means is appropriate to the circumstances. This will include email, letters and written material, telephone, internet discussion forums or other medium which may be used from time to time.

Staff will at all times attempt to be;

• Efficient and helpful in dealing with queries
• Prompt and timely in dealing with replies
• Be accurate in the giving of reasons or explanations
• Be realistic in describing outcomes, limitations or options
• Firm, but balanced and polite in dealing with difficult situations

If you have any communication or information needs, please inform the surgery by contacting reception or completing an online consultation. We will then be able to update your medical record accordingly. More information can also be found at england.nhs.uk.

Please see below for more information and guidance contacting the surgery or attending GP appointments;

• Sharing information about your support needs
• Getting ready for a talk about your health
• Three questions for better health

Chaperone Policy

Our Practice is committed to providing a safe, comfortable environment where patients and staff can be confident that best practice is being followed at all times and the safety of every-one is of paramount importance.

All patients are entitled to have a chaperone present for any consultation, examination or procedure where they feel one is required. This chaperone may be a family member or friend.

On occasions you may prefer a formal chaperone to be present.

Your healthcare professional may also require a chaperone to be present for certain consultations in accordance with our chaperone policy.

If you wish to have a member of the Practice staff present during your consultation please mention this to our Reception Staff when booking your appointment, or to the doctor at your consultation, and it will be arranged.

Complaints Procedure 

We always try to provide a high level of care and an excellent quality of service, but there may be times when you feel this has not happened.  The following explains what to do if you have a complaint about the services we provide.

In the first instance, we would always endeavour to address and resolve your complaint in person at the time. If this cannot be achieved, the next step would be to arrange a telephone call with the Senior Receptionist, who will forward your complaint in writing to our Practice Manager with details of the complaint. If at this stage your complaint could not be resolved, please take a copy of your complaints leaflet from Reception and return to the practice addressed to the Practice Manager.  A letter of acknowledgement will be sent to you within 3 working days of receipt of your complaint.  Your complaint will be fully investigated by our Practice Manager and / or (GP Partners) and a written response will be sent to you within 14 working days (not including Saturdays or Sundays).

We will try to address your concerns fully, provide you with an explanation and discuss any action that may be needed.  We hope that you will feel satisfied that we have dealt with the matter thoroughly, however, if this is not possible and you wish to continue with your complaint, we will direct you to the appropriate authorities who will be able to help you.

Please note that we have to respect our duty of confidentiality by the General Data Protection Regulations therefore patient’s consent will be necessary if a complaint is made by a third party.

GP PARTNERS:

DR HAMERA AFZAL & DR AMAR AFZAL

REVIEWED BY THE PRACTICE MANAGER ANNUALLY

The practice is committed to offering all patients (including those under 16) a confidential service in a safe environment.

This means that:

• Anything you say to any member of the practice will be treated with respect.
• Records are kept so that other people in the practice can care for you.
• No personal information will be discussed outside this practice without your consent, or sent to a third part (such as mortgage or Insurance Company) without written consent (but see below).

Confidentiality will only be broken in VERY exceptional circumstances, for example:

• When there is, in our professional judgement, a strong suspicion that you might harm others or that you might harm yourself.
• When someone under 18 discloses that she or he is being physically, sexually or emotionally abused, and that not taking any action would put that person at further risk.
• When it is disclosed that other young people (under 18) are being abused or are at risk.
• When a Court Order is issued to any member of the practice.

Dear Patients, as a Practice we have decided to Opt-Out all our patients data from being shared with NHS Digital.

Please see https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-collections-and-data-sets/data-collections/general-practice-data-for-planning-and-research for further information.

If you wish to Opt-In, please follow https://www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/manage-your-choice/.

Named GP

In accordance with the current government and our NHS contract all patients who are on the practice list prior to 1st April 2015 will be given a named accountable GP by 30th June 2015.

Newly registered patients after 1st April 2014 will be allocated a named GP on registration or within 21 days of registration and having their new patient checks.

AFTER 30th JUNE 2015

You will have been allocated a named accountable GP who will be responsible for your overall care this will either be Dr Sawh, Dr Ojha or Dr Afzal (you can book appointments with either GP).

If you have a preference as to which GP you are allocated, the practice will make reasonable efforts to accommodate your request. If you wish to know which GP has been allocated to you, please ask reception at your next visit.

Please do not telephone the practice for this information, our phone lines are very busy and primarily are for patients with urgent needs.

Practice privacy notice

Eastern Avenue Medical Centre has a legal duty to explain how we use any personal information we collect about you, as a registered patient, at the practice. Staff at this practice maintain records about your health and the treatment you receive in electronic and paper format.

What information do we collect about you?

We will collect information such as personal details, including name, address, next of kin, records of appointments, visits, telephone calls, your health records, treatment and medications, test results, X-rays, etc. and any other relevant information to enable us to deliver effective medical care.

How we will use your information

Your data is collected for the purpose of providing direct patient care; however, we can disclose this information if it is required by law, if you give consent or if it is justified in the public interest. The practice may be requested to support research; however, we will always gain your consent before sharing your information with medical research databases such as the Clinical Practice Research Datalink and QResearch or others when the law allows.

In order to comply with its legal obligations, this practice may send data to NHS Digital when directed by the Secretary of State for Health under the Health and Social Care Act 2012. Additionally, this practice contributes to national clinical audits and will send the data that is required by NHS Digital when the law allows. This may include demographic data, such as date of birth, and information about your health which is recorded in coded form; for example, the clinical code for diabetes or high blood pressure.

Maintaining confidentiality and accessing your records

We are committed to maintaining confidentiality and protecting the information we hold about you. We adhere to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the NHS Codes of Confidentiality and Security, as well as guidance issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). You have a right to access the information we hold about you, and if you would like to access this information, you will need to complete a Subject Access Request (SAR). Please ask at reception for a SAR form and you will be given further information. Furthermore, should you identify any inaccuracies, you have a right to have the inaccurate data corrected. Patients are entitled to ONE printed copy of their records; any future legal or third parties requesting for the copies of the records is to be provided by the patient. Patients are to ensure they receive back their copy of the records from the third parties once the dealings are completed as it could be required again in the future. Only any new data added onto patient records from the data of the hard copy given to a patient can be processed by the practice accordingly.

Risk stratification

Risk stratification is a mechanism used to identify and subsequently manage those patients deemed as being at high risk of requiring urgent or emergency care. Usually this includes patients with long-term conditions, e.g. cancer. Your information is collected by a number of sources, including The Eastern Avenue Medical Centre; this information is processed electronically and given a risk score which is relayed to your GP who can then decide on any necessary actions to ensure that you receive the most appropriate care.

Invoice validation

Your information may be shared if you have received treatment to determine which Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is responsible for paying for your treatment. This information may include your name, address and treatment date. All of this information is held securely and confidentially; it will not be used for any other purpose or shared with any third parties.

Opt-outs

You have a right to object to your information being shared. Should you wish to opt out of data collection, please contact a member of staff who will be able to explain how you can opt out and prevent the sharing of your information; this is done by registering to opt out online (national data opt-out programme) or if you are unable to do so or do not wish to do so online, by speaking to a member of staff.

Retention periods

In accordance with the NHS Codes of Practice for Records Management, your healthcare records will be retained for 10 years after death, or if a patient emigrates, for 10 years after the date of emigration.

What to do if you have any questions

Should you have any questions about our privacy policy or the information we hold about you, you can:

1. Contact the practice’s data controller via phone on 0208 550 4532 GP practices are data controllers for the data they hold about their patients^.
2. Write to the data controller at The Eastern Avenue Medical Centre
3. Ask to speak to the Practice Manager

The Data Protection Officer (DPO) for the surgery is Ernest Attah, part of North East London GP DPO Service – contact via IT Service desk.

Complaints

In the unlikely event that you are unhappy with any element of our data-processing methods, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the ICO. For further details, visit ico.org.uk and select ‘Raising a concern’.

Changes to our privacy policy

We regularly review our privacy policy and any updates will be published on our website, in our newsletter and on posters to reflect the changes. This policy is to be reviewed in January 2025.