Publication of GP Net Earnings

All GP Practices are required to declare mean earnings (i.e. average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services

to patients at each practice.

The average pay for GPs working in the practice of Southlands Medical Group in the last financial year was

£118,904 before tax and National Insurance.

This is for 4 full time GPs and 1 part time GPs who worked in the practice for more than six months.

Practice Charter copies are available to download from our ‘Our Documents’ section.

Patient’s Rights to General Medical Services

• To be offered a health check on joining a doctor’s list for the first time.
•  To have appropriate drugs and medicine prescribed.
• To be referred to a Consultant acceptable to them when they and their GP thinks it is necessary, and to be referred for a second opinion if they and their GP think it is advisable.
• To have access to their health records, subject to any limitations of the law, and to know that those working for the NHS are under a legal duty to keep those records confidential.
• To choose whether to take part in research or medical student training.
• To receive a copy of their doctors practice leaflet, setting out the services that he or she provides.
• To receive a full and prompt reply to any complaints they make about the care they receive at the Southlands Medical Group.

Southlands Medical Group Philosophy

Our aims are to offer the highest standard of health care and advice to our patients, with the resources available to us.

We have a team approach to patient care and endeavour to monitor the service provided to patients, to ensure that it meets current standards of excellence.

We are dedicated to ensuring that Practice staff and Doctors are trained to the highest level and to provide a stimulating and rewarding environment in which to work.

 

Our Practice Charter

• You will be treated with courtesy and respect by all Practice personnel.
• An urgent appointment with a Doctor or Nurse Practitioner will be available on the same day.
• We will aim to offer a non-urgent appointment with a doctor within 2 weeks.
• Our standard is to see 80% of patients within 20 minutes of their appointment time. If you have waited longer than this please ask the Receptionist for an explanation.
• Although our telephone lines are very busy you will be kept updated where you are in the queue and at especially busy times given the option for a call back.  You will not lose your place in the queue and instead of you waiting we will ring you back when you reach number one in the queue.
• We will aim to offer an appointment with a Practice Nurse within 2 weeks.
• Requests for repeat prescriptions will be dealt with within 48 hours. This can be in person or by using the on-line service.
•  All comments and suggestions about the service are welcome. Please use the box provided in the waiting area.
• If you have a complaint please speak to any member of staff. Your complaint will be dealt with in a professional and efficient manner.
• We wish to make the Southlands Medical Group as accessible as possible. If you have hearing, visual or physical difficulties please let the receptionist know so that we can enable you to fully use our services.

Patient’s Responsibilities

• If you are unable to attend for an appointment please let us know so that we can offer it to someone else.
• If you are late for your appointment you may be asked to rebook at another time. Try to let us know in advance if you are going to be unavoidably delayed, so that we can make alternative arrangements to help you.
•  A home visit should only be requested for those who are unable to come to the surgery because of serious illness or infirmity. Please ring the surgery before 10.30am.
• An urgent appointment is for an urgent medical problem. Please speak to the Receptionist if you require a sick note or repeat prescription.
• We would ask you to be patient if the Doctor is running late. This is often due to unforeseeable emergencies but please ask for an explanation from the Receptionist.
• Make a separate appointment for each patient that needs to be seen. This allows the Doctor enough time to treat each patient with the time that they deserve.
• Please act in a responsible and courteous manner whilst on the Practice premises for the safety and comfort of others.
• Please treat all surgery staff, fellow patients, carers and visitors politely and with respect. Violence or verbal harassment will not be tolerated or accepted, you may be asked to register at another surgery if this behaviour occurs.

 

Southlands Medical Group

PRIVACY NOTICE – DIRECT CARE

Document Control

1. Document Details

Author and Role:	Jim Carrol
Organisation:	SCCG DPO
Current Document Approved By:	Tracy Hutchinson

 

1. Document Revision and Approval History

Date Reviewed	By Whom	Any Changes Yes/No	Any Comments
9/1/19	TD	Yes	Personalised to practice for upload on website
20.1.20	TD	No
24.4.24	TH	Yes	EAST PCN privacy notice added

 

Southlands Medical Group

This practice keeps data on you relating to who you are, where you live, what you do, your family, possibly your friends, your employers, your habits, your problems and diagnoses, the reasons you seek help, your appointments, where you are seen and when you are seen, who by, referrals to specialists and other healthcare providers, tests carried out here and in other places, investigations and scans, treatments and outcomes of treatments, your treatment history, the observations and opinions of other healthcare workers, within and without the NHS as well as comments and aide memoires reasonably made by healthcare professionals in this practice who are appropriately involved in your health care.   When registering for NHS care, all patients who receive NHS care are registered on a national database, the database is held by NHS Digital, a national organisation which has legal responsibilities to collect NHS data.   GPs have always delegated tasks and responsibilities to others that work with them in their surgeries, on average each NHS GP has between 1,500 to 2,500 patients for whom he or she is accountable. It is not possible for the GP to provide hands on personal care for each and every one of those patients in those circumstances, for this reason GPs share your care with others, predominantly within the surgery but occasionally with outside organisations. If your health needs require care from others elsewhere outside this practice we will exchange with them whatever information about you that is necessary for them to provide that care. When you make contact with healthcare providers outside the practice but within the NHS it is usual for them to send us information relating to that encounter. We will retain part or all of those reports. Normally we will receive equivalent reports of contacts you have with non NHS services but this is not always the case.   Your consent to this sharing of data, within the practice and with those others outside the practice is allowed by the Law.   People who have access to your information will only normally have access to that which they need to fulfil their roles, for instance admin staff will normally only see your name, address, contact details, appointment history and registration details in order to book appointments, the practice nurses will normally have access to your immunisation, treatment, significant active and important past histories, your allergies and relevant recent contacts whilst the GP you see or speak to will normally have access to everything in your record.   Shared PCN Clinical Services As a partner practice in East Primary Care Network (PCN) we will share your information with other shared services within the PCN who are part of your care provision and ongoing support. Where you engage with these services, your healthcare information will be held within a common system that can be accessed by all practices within the PCN. All individuals who will have access to your records via PCN shared services are bound be the same requirements to maintain the confidentiality of your information as the staff within your practice. The information held about you is used to provide health and social care, for the management of the services that the PCN provide, the management of the NHS, and also for public health reasons. It may also be used to contact you regarding the provision of these services. Where you are receiving care from PCN shared services, information relating to the care provided will be added to your practice clinical record. Information about you held within the PCN Clinical system will be accessed by authorised individuals who are involved in providing direct care to you or who support the provision of direct care or the management of these services. This will include: ·        Doctors and nurses who provide you with treatment ·        Other clinical staff such as Pharmacists and Radiologists ·        Clinical Managers The East PCN consists of the following practices: Deerness Medical Group Riverview Medical Practice Villette Surgery The New City Medical Centre Ashburn Medical Centre Park Lane Practice Southlands Medical Group To access any of your healthcare information held within the PCN Shared services, please contact the Practice Manager at your own surgery. You have the right to object to our sharing your data in these circumstances but we have an overriding responsibility to do what is in your best interests. Please see below.   We are required by Articles in the General Data Protection Regulations to provide you with the information in the following 9 subsections.
What we hold about you:	We hold the following types of information about you: ·        Basic details about you, such as your name, date of birth, NHS Number ·        Contact details such as your address, telephone numbers, email address ·        Contact details of your ‘Next of Kin’, a close relative, friend or advocate ·        Contacts we have had with you; scheduled and unscheduled appointments ·        Details about your care; treatment and advice given and referrals made ·        Results of investigations, eg blood tests ·        Relevant information from people who care for you and know you well
1) Data Controller contact details	Tracy Hutchinson Practice Manager Southlands Medical Group Ryhope Health Centre Black Road, Ryhope Sunderland SR2 0RY
2) Data Protection Officer contact details	James Carroll 0191 404 1000 Ext 3436 Stsft.dposunderlandpractices@nhs.net
3) Purpose of the  processing	Direct Care is care delivered to the individual alone, most of which is provided in the surgery. After a patient agrees to a referral for direct care elsewhere, such as a referral to a specialist in a hospital, necessary and relevant information about the patient, their circumstances and their problem will need to be shared with the other healthcare workers, such as specialist, therapists, technicians etc. The information that is shared is to enable the other healthcare workers to provide the most appropriate advice, investigations, treatments, therapies and or care.
4) Lawful basis for processing	The processing of personal data in the delivery of direct care and for providers’ administrative purposes in this surgery and in support of direct care elsewhere is supported under the following Article 6 and 9 conditions of the GDPR: Article 6(1) (e) ‘…necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority…’ Article 9(2) (h) ‘…necessary for the purposes of preventative or occupational medicine for the assessment of the working capacity of the employee, medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems and services…’    We will also recognise your rights established under UK case law collectively known as the “Common Law Duty of Confidentiality”*
5) Recipient or categories of recipients of the processed data	The data will be shared with Health and care professionals and support staff in this surgery and at hospitals, diagnostic and treatment centres who contribute to your personal care.  For example: Sunderland Royal Hospital Queen Elizabeth Hospital Royal Victoria Infirmary Freeman Hospital James Cook Hospital All other Clinics used for the purpose of a referral to Secondary Care
6) Rights to object	You have the right to object to some or all the information being processed under Article 21. Please contact the Data Controller or the practice. You should be aware that this is a right to raise an objection; that is not the same as having an absolute right to have your wishes granted in every circumstance.
7) Right to access and correct	You have the right to access the data that is being shared and have any inaccuracies corrected. There is no right to have accurate medical records deleted except when ordered by a court of Law.
8) Retention period	The data will be retained in line with the law and national guidance. https://digital.nhs.uk/article/1202/Records-Management-Code-of-Practice-for-Health-and-Social-Care-2016 or speak to the Practice.
9)  Right to Complain	You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, you can use this link https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/   or calling their helpline Tel: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745 (national rate) There are National Offices for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, (see ICO website)

 

* “Common Law Duty of Confidentiality”, common law is not written out in one document like an Act of Parliament. It is a form of law based on previous court cases decided by judges; hence, it is also referred to as ‘judge-made’ or case law. The law is applied by reference to those previous cases, so common law is also said to be based on precedent.

The general position is that if information is given in circumstances where it is expected that a duty of confidence applies, that information cannot normally be disclosed without the information provider’s consent.

In practice, this means that all patient information, whether held on paper, computer, visually or audio recorded, or held in the memory of the professional, must not normally be disclosed without the consent of the patient. It is irrelevant how old the patient is or what the state of their mental health is; the duty still applies.

Three circumstances making disclosure of confidential information lawful are:

• where the individual to whom the information relates has consented;
• where disclosure is in the public interest; and
• where there is a legal duty to do so, for example a court order.

 

 

At Southlands we always aim to treat you in a comfortable, safe environment to ensure both patients and staff are confident that best practice is being followed.

All patients are entitled to have a chaperone present for any consultation, examination or procedure where they consider one is required.    The chaperone will be a fully trained member of the practice team, patients are also able to have a family member or friend present.

Patients are advised to ask for a chaperone if required, at the time of booking an appointment, if possible, so that arrangements can be made and the appointment is not delayed in any way. The Healthcare Professional may also require a chaperone to be present for certain consultations.

All staff are aware of and have received appropriate training in relation to being a Chaperone. All trained chaperones understand their role and responsibilities and are competent to perform that role.

 

Complaints process/procedures

We make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends our Practice.

However, we are aware that things can go wrong, resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. If this is so, we would like the matter to be settled as quickly, and as amicably, as possible.

To have your complaint investigated, you need to complain within 12 months of the event happening, or as soon as you first become aware of the issue you want to complain about.

The time limit can be extended in special circumstances.

How to make a compliment or complaint

Whether you are happy or unhappy with the care and treatment that you have received, please get in touch and let us know your views.

Receiving compliments and complaints is important to ensuring good quality local healthcare in our Practice – helping us to find out more about what we’re getting right and what we can improve.

We hope this will help you to make your feelings and experiences known to the appropriate people. Should you have a complaint we hope this page will give you more information about what to do, who to contact and what happens next.

How do I raise a concern / informal complaint?

You can speak to any member of staff initially with your complaint. This gives you the opportunity to resolve any concern you may have without it going through a formal process.

Most complaints are best resolved within the practice and these should be made via the Management team.

If you’re considering making a complaint but need help

If you require support to make a complaint Voice Ability can offer both offer both information and support.  They have advocates to support people to make a complaint about the treatment or care that they or a friend or family member have received from an NHS service. This support is available at every stage of the complaints process.

VoiceAbility | Sunderland

Formal Complaint

What we will do

We will contact you about your complaint within three working days and offer to discuss with you the best way to investigate it, including the time scales for a reply. We will aim to offer you an explanation within that time frame. Or a meeting with the people involved.

• Find out what happened and what went wrong
• Invite you to discuss the problem with those involved, if you would like this
• Apologise where this is appropriate
• Identify what we can do to make sure that the problem does not happen again.

If you feel you do not want to contact the surgery directly, then you can contact the NHS integrated care board complaints team on:

Website address: NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB contact us

Email: necsu.pccomplaints@nhs.net

Telephone: 0191 512 8484

In General

If you have a complaint to make, you can either contact the Practice Manager or ask the Receptionist for a copy of our Complaints Procedure. We will endeavour to:

1. acknowledge any letter or Complaints Form within 3 working days of receiving it.
2. deal with the matter as promptly as possible – usually within 20 working days – dependent on the nature of the complaint.

Who can complain

• Complainants may be current or former patients, or their nominated or elected representatives (who have been given consent to act on the patients behalf).
• Patients over the age of 16 whose mental capacity is unimpaired should normally complain themselves or authorise someone to bring a complaint on their behalf.
• Children under the age of 16 can also make their own complaint, if they’re able to do so.

If a patient lacks capacity to make decisions, their representative must be able to demonstrate sufficient interest in the patient’s welfare and be an appropriate person to act on their behalf. This could be a partner, relative or someone appointed under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 with lasting power of attorney.

Appropriate person

In certain circumstances, we need to check that a representative is the appropriate person to make a complaint.

• For example, if the complaint involves a child, we must satisfy ourselves that there are reasonable grounds for the representative to complain, rather than the child concerned.
• If the patient is a child or a patient who lacks capacity, we must also be satisfied that the representative is acting in the patient’s best interests.

If we are not satisfied that the representative is an appropriate person we will not consider the complaint, and will give the representative the reasons for our decision in writing.

Procedure

We have a two stage complaints procedure. We will always try to deal with your complaint quickly however if it is clear that the matter will need a detailed investigation, we will notify you and then keep you updated on our progress.

Stage one – Early, local resolution

• We will try to resolve your complaint within five working days if possible.
• If you are dissatisfied with our response, you can ask us to escalate your complaint to Stage Two.

Stage Two – Investigation

• We will look at your complaint at this stage if you are dissatisfied with our response at Stage One.
• We also escalate some complaints straight to this stage, if it is clear that they are complex or need detailed investigation.
• We will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days and we will give you our decision as soon as possible. This will be no more that 20 working days unless there is clearly a good reason for needing more time to respond.

Complain to the Ombudsman

If, after receiving our final decision, you remain dissatisfied you may take your complaint to the Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman is independent of the NHS and free to use. It can help resolve your complaint, and tell the NHS how to put things right if it has got them wrong.

The Ombudsman only has legal powers to investigate certain complaints. You must have received a final response from the Practice before the Ombudsman can look at your complaint and it will generally not look into your complaint if it happened more than 12 months ago, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Phone: 0345 015 4033

• E: email the Ombudsman 

Confidentiality

All complaints will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Where the investigation of the complaint requires consideration of the patient’s medical records, we will inform the patient or person acting on his/her behalf if the investigation will involve disclosure of information contained in those records to a person other than the Practice or an employee of the Practice.

We keep a record of all complaints and copies of all correspondence relating to complaints, but such records will be kept separate from patients’ medical records.

Complete our Complaints Form

If you would like to send us a Complaint / Suggestion please click here to fill out our form

Accessing someone else’s information (Proxy Access)

As a parent, family member or carer, you may be able to access services for someone else. We call this having proxy access. We can set this up for you if you are both registered with us.

To requests proxy access:

• collect a proxy access form from reception from 10am to 6pm

Linked profiles in your NHS account

Once proxy access is set up, you can access the other person’s profile in your NHS account, using the NHS App or website.

The NHS website has information about using linked profiles to access services for someone else.

Website Terms and Conditions of use and Disclaimers

It is a condition of use of this Website that you carefully read and agree to these terms, conditions and disclaimers, if you do not agree with any of them then you must not make use of the Website in any way.

Copyright

Content on this website is the copyright of Southlands Medical Group unless otherwise stated. Where copyright applies, visitors can download material for private research, study or in-house use only. This is subject to material being reproduced accurately and not used in a misleading context. Visitors must not copy, distribute, or publish any material from this website. Any other use of copyright material requires the formal permission from Southlands Medical Group.

Permission to reproduce Southlands Medical Group copyright material does not extend to any material on this site which is identified as being the copyright of a third party. Authorisation to reproduce such material must be obtained from the copyright holders concerned.

Information specifically for patients and families has been reviewed for accuracy, but we hold no responsibility for alterations made thereafter without our consent.

Accuracy

We have taken every care to ensure that the information contained in this website is accurate, complete and kept up-to-date. However, medical knowledge is constantly changing and we cannot guarantee that all of the information is accurate and consistent with current NHS practice.

Availability

We cannot guarantee uninterrupted access to this website, or the sites to which it links. We accept no responsibility for any damages arising from the loss of use of this information.

Links

Links from this site to other websites are provided for information and convenience only. We cannot accept responsibility for the sites linked to, or the information found there. A link does not imply an endorsement of a site; likewise, not linking to a particular site does not imply lack of endorsement.

Privacy Statement

The NHS is committed to the privacy of individuals using this website. The site may collect any personal information about those using this site via web forms to track and log information about users. We may analyse the server log files which contain details of the Internet address (IP address) of computers using the site, pages looked at, the times of day and the type of web browser used. None of this information is linked to individuals. All feedback to the site made via the feedback form is treated in the strictest confidence.

This website is owned and controlled by Southlands Medical Group. The confidentiality and privacy of your information is important to us and any personal information you give us will only be used in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the NHS Confidentiality Code of Practice.

We will not store personal information about people who visit this site unless they provide contact information or use one of our on-line services.

If you provide personal information in order to use one of our services on this website, it will only be used for the purposes stated on the page. It will not be shared with any third party without your consent unless required by law.

How Southlands Medical Group Implements the NHS Constitution

Principles – The Practice:

• Provides a comprehensive service, available to all irrespective of gender, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion, belief, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity or marital or civil partnership status, and has a duty to respect their human rights.
• Promotes equality through the service, providing and to paying particular attention to groups or sections of society where improvements in health and life expectancy are not keeping pace with the rest of the population.
• Provides access to services based on clinical need, not on an individual’s ability to pay.
• Aspires to the highest standards of excellence and professionalism, providing safe and effective high-quality care focused on patient experience.
• Ensures that it is effectively lead and managed and its staff receive relevant education, training and development.
• Its services reflect the needs and preferences of patients, their families and carers who will be involved in and consulted on all decisions about their care and treatment.
• Ensures that it works across organisational boundaries and in partnership with other organisations in the interest of patients, local communities and the wider population.
• Is accountable to the public, communities and patients that it serves.
• Supports staff when they raise concerns about the service by ensuring their concerns are fully investigated and that there is someone independent, outside of their team, to speak to.

Patients Rights – Patients Have the Right:

To receive NHS services free of charge, apart from certain limited exceptions sanctioned by Parliament.

• To access NHS services and not be refused access on unreasonable grounds.
• To expect the Practice to assess the health requirements of the local community and to commission and put in place the services to meet those needs as considered necessary.
• In certain circumstances to go to other European Economic Area countries or Switzerland for treatment which would be available through the NHS.
• Not to be unlawfully discriminated against in the provision of NHS services including on grounds of gender, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion, belief, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity or marital or civil partnership status.
• To access services within maximum waiting times, or to be offered a range of alternative providers if this is not possible.
• To be treated with a professional standard of care, by appropriately qualified and experienced staff, in a properly approved or registered organisation that meets required levels of safety and quality.
• To be treated with dignity and respect, in accordance with their human rights.
• To accept or refuse treatment that is offered, and not to be given any physical examination or treatment unless valid consent has been given.
• To be given information about their proposed treatment in advance, including any significant risks and any alternative treatments which may be available, and the risks involved in doing nothing.
• To privacy and confidentiality and to expect the Practice to keep their confidential information safe and secure.
• To access their own health records.
• To choose their GP practice, and to be accepted by that Practice unless there are reasonable grounds to refuse, in which case they will be informed of those reasons.
• To express a preference for using a particular doctor within their GP Practice.
• To make choices about their NHS care and to information to support these choices.
• To be involved in discussions and decisions about their healthcare, and to be given information to enable them to do this.
• To be involved, directly or through representatives, in the planning of healthcare services, the development and consideration of proposals for changes in the way those services are provided, and in decisions to be made affecting the operation of those services.
• To have any complaint they make about NHS services dealt with efficiently, to have it properly investigated, know the outcome and how to escalate the complaint to the independent Health Service Ombudsman.
• To make a claim for judicial review if they think they have been directly affected by an unlawful act or decision of an NHS body.
• To compensation where they have been harmed by negligent treatment.

Patient Responsibilities:

To make a significant contribution to their own, and their family’s, good health and well-being, and take some personal responsibility for it.

• Register with a GP Practice.
• To treat NHS staff and other patients with respect and recognise that causing a nuisance or disturbance on NHS premises could result in prosecution.
• To provide accurate information about their health, condition and status.
• To keep appointments, or cancel within reasonable time.
• To follow the course of treatment which they have agreed, and talk to their clinician if they find this difficult.
• To participate in important public health programmes such as vaccination.
• To ensure that those closest to them are aware of their wishes about organ donation.
• To give feedback – both positive and negative – about the treatment and care they have received, including any adverse reactions they may have had.

A copy of the full NHS institution can be found in the ‘Our Documents’ page of this website. Please look under the section ‘Our Practice’.

 

From 1st April 2015 GP practices are required to allocate all patients with a named, accountable GP who has overall responsibility for their care. This will be your registered GP either Dr Pattison or Dr Kendall-Holmes. If you wish to know who is your named GP please ring the surgery and we will be happy to inform you. Alternatively if you have a preference as to which GP that is we will make every effort to accommodate. This does not stop you from seeing any GP.