Practice Policies

In accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Access to Health Records Act, patients (or their representatives) may request access to their medical records. No information will be released without the patient (or their representatives) consent unless we are legally obliged to do so. Requests are free of charge and under the GDPR and DPA 2018 we have one month to comply with your request. Under the Access to Health Records (access to deceased individuals records) we have 40 calendar days to comply with such requests.

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.

At Argyll House we are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace where diversity is celebrated, and every individual is treated with respect and fairness. Our goal is to create an environment where everyone feels valued and empowered to contribute to their full potential.

We provide equal opportunities for all, regardless of age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, or gender reassignment. We strictly adhere to the principles of the UK Equality Act 2010 and take active steps to ensure fair treatment in all aspects of our employment practices.

By promoting diversity and inclusivity, we aim to enhance our creativity, innovation, and success. We believe that a diverse team strengthens our ability to achieve excellence and meet the needs of the community we serve.

If you have any questions about our commitment to equality and diversity or require adjustments during the recruitment process, please feel free to contact the Practice Manager.

Information regarding GPs and the practice, as required under relevant legislation, can be made available to the public. All requests for such information must be submitted in writing to the Practice Manager.

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) in the UK, public authorities are required to respond to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests within 20 working days from the day after the request is received.

Extensions to the Timeframe:

• If additional time is needed to consider the public interest test, the authority may extend the response period by up to 20 additional working days.
• For environmental information requests governed by the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) 2004, extensions may apply in cases of complexity.

Non-Compliance Procedures: If a public authority fails to meet the response deadline:

1. The requester can submit a request for an internal review to the authority.
2. If the issue remains unresolved, the requester can file a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

This annual statement will be generated each year in November in accordance with the requirements of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance. It summarises:

• Any infection transmission incidents and any action taken (these will have been reported in accordance with our Significant Event procedure)
• Details of any infection control audits undertaken and actions undertaken
• Details of any risk assessments undertaken for prevention and control of infection
• Details of staff training
• Any review and update of policies, procedures and guidelines

Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Lead

The Argyll House Surgery has 1 Lead for Infection Prevention and Control: Nichola Dee(Lead Nurse)

The IPC Lead is supported by Rosie Thebe has attended an IPC Lead training course in 2023 and keeps updated on infection prevention practice.

Infection transmission incidents (Significant Events)

Significant events (which may involve examples of good practice as well as challenging events) are investigated in detail to see what can be learnt and to indicate changes that might lead to future improvements. All significant events are reviewed in monthly meetings and learning is cascaded to all relevant staff.

In the past year there have been no significant events raised that related to infection control.

Infection Prevention Audit and Actions

The Annual Infection Prevention and Control audit was completed by Chris Wheeler in October 2023

As a result of the audit, the following things have been changed at Argyll House Surgery:

Policies and Processes have been put in place and reviewed.

Staff have completed infection control training relevant to their role.

Changes have been undertaken to improve surgery infrastructure.

An audit on Minor Surgery was undertaken by Chris Wheeler in October 2023

No infections were reported for patients who had had minor surgery at the Argyll House Surgery

An audit on hand washing was undertaken in October 2023.  This was discussed at the Practice Clinical Meeting.

The Argyll House Surgery plan to undertake the following audits in 2024

• Annual Infection Prevention and Control audit
• Minor Surgery outcomes audit
• Domestic Cleaning audit
• Hand hygiene audit

Risk Assessments

Risk assessments are carried out so that best practice can be established and then followed. In the last year the following risk assessments were carried out / reviewed:

Legionella (Water) Risk Assessment: The practice has conducted/reviewed its water safety risk assessment to ensure that the water supply does not pose a risk to patients, visitors or staff.

Immunisation: As a practice we ensure that all of our staff are up to date with their Hepatitis B immunisations and offered any occupational health vaccinations applicable to their role (i.e. MMR, Seasonal Flu, COVID). We take part in the National Immunisation campaigns for patients and offer vaccinations in house and via home visits to our patient population.

Curtains: The NHS Cleaning Specifications state the curtains should be cleaned or if using disposable curtains, replaced every 6 months. To this effect we use disposable curtains and ensure they are changed every 6 months. The window blinds are very low risk and therefore do not require a particular cleaning regime other than regular vacuuming to prevent build-up of dust. The modesty curtains although handled by clinicians are never handled by patients and clinicians have been reminded to always remove gloves and clean hands after an examination and before touching the curtains. All curtains are regularly reviewed and changed if visibly soiled.

Hand washing sinks: The practice has clinical hand washing sinks in every room for staff to use. Some of our sinks do not meet the latest standards for sinks but we have removed plugs, covered overflows and reminded staff to turn off taps that are not ‘hands free’ with paper towels to keep patients safe. We have also replaced our liquid soap with wall mounted soap dispensers to ensure cleanliness.

Training

All our staff receive annual training in infection prevention and control.

Policies

All Infection Prevention and Control related policies are in date for this year.

The following policies are currently being updated:

• Infection Prevention Control Policy

Policies relating to Infection Prevention and Control are available to all staff and are reviewed and updated annually.   Infection Control policies are circulated amongst staff for reading and discussed at meetings on an annual basis.

Responsibility

It is the responsibility of each individual to be familiar with this Statement and their roles and responsibilities under this.

Review date

11.12.2023

Responsibility for Review

The Infection Prevention and Control Lead and the Operations Manager are responsible for reviewing and producing the Annual Statement.

Rosie Thebe

Operations Manager

For and on behalf of the Argyll House Surgery

The DPA (Data Protection Act) 2018 sets out the framework for data protection law in the UK. It updates and replaces the Data Protection Act 1998, and came into effect on 25 May 2018.

It sits alongside the GDPR, and tailors how the GDPR applies in the UK – for example by providing exemptions. It also sets out separate data protection rules for law enforcement authorities, extends data protection to some other areas such as national security and defence, and sets out the Information Commissioner’s functions and powers.

The GDPR is the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679. It sets out the key principles, rights and obligations for most processing of personal data – but it does not apply to processing for law enforcement purposes, or to areas outside EU law such as national security or defence.

The GDPR came into effect on 25 May 2018. As a European Regulation, it has direct effect in UK law and automatically applies in the UK until we leave the EU (or until the end of any agreed transition period, if we leave with a deal). After this date, it will form part of UK law under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, with some technical changes to make it work effectively in a UK context

The NHS operates 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 we will notify the patient in writing of their removal from the list and record in the patient’s medical records the fact of the removal and the circumstances leading to it.