Practice Policies & Patient Information
Can I see the GP or nurse on my own?
Our doctors and nurses will listen to you and take your concerns seriously, sometimes, young people can find it more difficult than adults to talk about the underlying problem and the reason for seeing a GP.
As a young person, you can be seen on your own, with no lower age limit. Our reception staff can make an appointment for you to see a GP without a parent if you would prefer to.
If you come with a parent/carer/friend, you can still be seen on your own for part of the consultation while they wait outside.
People aged 16 or over are entitled to consent to their own treatment. This can only be overruled in exceptional circumstances.
Like adults, young people (aged 16 or 17) are presumed to have sufficient capacity to decide on their own medical treatment, unless there’s significant evidence to suggest otherwise.
Children under the age of 16 can consent to their own treatment if they’re believed to have enough intelligence, competence and understanding to fully appreciate what’s involved in their treatment. This is known as being Gillick competent.
Complaints/Comments/Compliments
We are here to help you and we hope that you will find the service we provide to be efficient, accessible and relevant to your needs. However, if you are unhappy with any aspect of your treatment from any member of the practice team, please contact our Practice Manager, Mrs Wilma Kelley, either by letter or by phone. Your complaint will be responded to promptly in accordance with our Complaints Procedure, which is in line with national guidelines.
It is very encouraging for the whole team when we receive any positive feedback/comments or compliments and we welcome any helpful suggestions that you may have to help us improve our service to you.
Data Protection & Access To Information
About North Berwick Group Practice
NHS Lothian is a public organisation created in Scotland under section 2 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 (the 1978 Act). It is one of the organisations which form part of NHS Scotland (NHSS).
Please see our Data Protection Policies here:
DataLoch
North Berwick Group Practice has agreed to participate in DataLoch.
DataLoch
NHS Lothian takes patient confidentiality extremely seriously and has a well-deserved reputation for robust governance processes. We would never act to compromise patient data.
Every day, medical research and innovation is carried out by researchers across the UK using data that has been recorded during a patient’s treatment and is processed to ensure their identities are not revealed. This practice, which analyses symptoms, treatments and outcomes has allowed great strides and advances to be made in developing lifesaving treatments in many specialties, including cardiac care and also COVID-19. Without this research, breakthrough treatments and vaccines would be impossible.
DataLoch’s purpose is to enable these data-driven health and social care innovations to improve the health and lives of the region’s population. These activities are entirely in the public interest. Patient data is not being sold to private organisations, nor is it leaving the control of the NHS.
Access to extracts of data are provided to NHS service managers and medical researchers, approved by the NHS Lothian’s Caldicott Guardian and under strict controls. The data has identifying information removed and sits in a secure IT environment.
Where is the data held by DataLoch? And how is it kept secure?
DataLoch currently holds data from NHS Lothian only. All personal health data remains securely within NHS Lothian, and identifiable data is not accessible to researchers.
DataLoch builds on the existing model set up as the Lothian Regional Safe Haven. In line with data protection legislation, DataLoch has a Data Protection Impact Assessment. This is being continually reviewed and updated as any changes are made to how DataLoch operates, and as additional data partners join.
There is a robust governance model in place. Any projects applying to work with DataLoch have a full review, including members of the public, to ensure strict criteria are met.
DataLoch have a Public Reference Group, open to new members, who help to guide and inform the team’s approach and processes.
What is the DataLoch project?
DataLoch is a collaboration between NHS Lothian and The University of Edinburgh. In future, Local Authorities and NHS health boards in South East Scotland will be invited to participate and that will help generate insights and innovation in health and social care.
DataLoch will
- bring together health and social care data for the region
- work with experts in health and social care to understand and improve this data
- provide safe access to de-identified data for academics, clinicians and innovators to help them solve the challenges that really matter.
Who can you contact if you have concerns, want further information, or wish to be involved further?
Data Concerns NHS Lothian DPO – [email protected]
Further information – DataLoch website: https://www.ed.ac.uk/usher/dataloch
If you are interested to join the DataLoch Public Reference Group please contact [email protected]
August 2021
Patient Rights & Responsibilities
You have the right to:
• Register and receive treatment regardless of your age, sex or sexuality, ethnic origin, religious beliefs, disability or nature of your health problems as long as you reside within the practice boundaries and qualify for NHS treatment. Details of the practice boundary can be obtained from the reception staff.
• Consult with a GP within 24 hours for urgent medical problems.
• Access to a suitably qualified a medical professional within 48 hours.
• Access to a doctor outwith normal surgery hours.
• Have your treatment explained to you.
• Confidentiality.
• Receive information on health services.
• Gain access to an interpreter.
• Complain, without discrimination, if there is a problem.
• Have a relative, friend or chaperone with you (except in extreme cases when specifically asked not to).
You are responsible for:
• Making and keeping appointments. Please notify the surgery in good time if you are unable to attend.
• Behaving in an acceptable manner and treating all staff with courtesy and respect.
• Keeping young children in your care under constant supervision and ensuring that they behave appropriately.
• Switching off mobile phones whilst on the surgery premises.
• Informing the practice of any change of name, address or telephone number.
Teenage Friendly
We aim to offer services which are ‘teenage-friendly’.
In summary, this means that:
- We welcome teenagers and aim to put them at ease when they come to the practice.
- We can assure teenagers that confidentiality will be maintained if aged 12-16, and they ask to keep details of their consultations confidential or if they consult us about potentially sensitive issues.
- Teenagers are welcome to see a Doctor on their own if they wish and are aged 12-16. We would however advise them to come with an adult where possible.
- If you are under 12, you may still be able to make decisions about your health care information but the doctor must believe that you understand enough to do this.
Sexual health advice is available, as is advice on other issues such as depression, drugs, alcohol and self-harm and we can advise teenagers about emergency contraception if required.
Confidentiality a guide for young people under 16 in Scotland
Violent Or Abusive Patients – Zero Tolerance
The practice fully supports the NHS Zero Tolerance Policy. The aim of this policy is to tackle the increasing problem of violence against staff working in the NHS and ensures that doctors and all other staff have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused.
We understand that ill patients do not always act in a reasonable manner and will take this into consideration when trying to deal with a misunderstanding or complaint. We ask you to treat your doctors and all other staff courteously and act reasonably.
All incidents will be followed up and you will be sent a formal warning after a second incident or removed from the practice list after a third incident if your behavior has been unreasonable.
However, aggressive behavior, be it violent or verbal abusive, will not be tolerated and may result in you being removed from The Practice list and, in extreme cases, the Police will be contacted if an incident is taking place and the patient is posing a threat to staff or other patients.
Removal from the practice list
A good patient-doctor relationship, based on mutual respect and trust, is the cornerstone of good patient care. The removal of patients from our list is an exceptional and rare event and is a last resort in an impaired patient-practice relationship. When trust has irretrievably broken down, it is in the patient’s interest, just as much as that of The Practice, that they should find a new practice. An exception to this is on immediate removal on the grounds of violence e.g. when the Police are involved.
Removing other members of the household
In rare cases, however, because of the possible need to visit patients at home it may be necessary to terminate responsibility for other members of the family or the entire household. The prospect of visiting patients where a relative who is no longer a patient of the practice by virtue of their unacceptable behaviour resides, or being regularly confronted by the removed patient, may make it too difficult for the practice to continue to look after the whole family. This is particularly likely where the patient has been removed because of violence or threatening behavior and keeping the other family members could put doctors or other staff at risk.