Practice Policies & Patient Information
Complaint Procedure
If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the staff working in this GP surgery, please let us know. This includes Primary Care Network staff working as part of our GP surgery. We operate a complaints procedure as part of an NHS system for dealing with complaints. Our complaints system meets national criteria.
How to complain
We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly when they arise and with the person concerned. For example, by requesting a face-to-face meeting to discuss your concerns.
If your problem cannot be sorted out this way and you wish to make a complaint, we would like you to let us know as soon as possible. By making your complaint quickly, it is easier for us to establish what happened. If it is not possible to do that, please let us have details of your complaint:
- Within 6 months of the incident that caused the problem; or
- Within 6 months of discovering that you have a problem, provided this is within 12 months of the incident.
Complaints should be addressed to the GP surgery team verbally or in writing [PRACTICE TO ADD SPECIFIC CONTACT DETAILS]. Alternatively, you may ask for an appointment with the GP surgery to discuss your concerns. They will explain the complaints procedure to you and make sure your concerns are dealt with promptly. Please be as specific as possible about your complaint.
What we will do
We will acknowledge your complaint within three working days. We will aim to have investigated your complaint within ten working days of the date you raised it with us. We will then offer you an explanation or a meeting with the people involved, if you would like this. When we investigate your complaint, we will aim to:
- Find out what happened and what went wrong.
- Make it possible for you to discuss what happened with those concerned, if you would like this.
- Make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate.
- Identify what we can do to make sure the problem does not happen again.
Complaining on behalf of someone else
We take medical confidentiality seriously. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we must know that you have their permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed unless they are incapable (because of illness) of providing this.
Complaining to NHS England
We hope that you will use our Practice Complaints Procedure if you are unhappy. We believe this will give us the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our GP surgery.
However, if you feel you cannot raise the complaint with us directly, please contact NHS England. You can find more information on how to make a complaint at https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/complaint/complaining-to-nhse/.
Unhappy with the outcome of your complaint?
If you are not happy with the way your complaint has been dealt with by the GP surgery and NHS England and would like to take the matter further, you can contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO). The PHSO makes final decisions on unresolved complaints about the NHS in England. It is an independent service which is free for everyone to use.
To take your complaint to the Ombudsman, visit the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman website or call 0345 015 4033
Need help making a complaint?
If you want help making a complaint, Healthwatch Hounslow can help you find independent NHS complaints advocacy services in your area.
Alternatively, POhWER is a charity that helps people to be involved in decisions being made about their care. Call POhWER’s support centre on 0300 456 2370 for advice.
Confidentiality & Medical Records
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.
Freedom of Information
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 practice manager.
Access to Records
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 made through the practice manager and may be subject to an administration charge. No information will be released without the patient consent unless we are legally obliged to do so.
Data Protection Act 2018 + GDPR
Data Protection Act 2018 + GDPR
Please click on data protection link above for information on new data protection regulations as applied to the Surgery.
Data Regulations
Addison House Surgery – Patient Privacy and Data Procedures
How Addison House Surgery uses your information to provide you with healthcare
This practice keeps medical records confidential and complies with the General Data Protection Regulation.
We hold your medical record so that we can provide you with safe care and treatment.
We will also use your information so that this practice can check and review the quality of the care we provide. This helps us to improve our services to you.
- We will share relevant information from your medical record with other health or social care staff or organisations when they provide you with care. For example, your GP will share information when they refer you to a specialist in a hospital. Or your GP will send details about your prescription to your chosen pharmacy.
- Healthcare staff working in A&E and out of hours care will also have access to your information. For example, it is important that staff who are treating you in an emergency know if you have any allergic reactions. This will involve the use of your Summary Care Record. For more information see: https://digital.nhs.uk/summary-care-records or alternatively speak to the practice.
- You have the right to object to information being shared for your own care. Please speak to the practice if you wish to object. You also have the right to have any mistakes or errors corrected.
Other important information about how your information is used to provide you with healthcare
Registering for NHS care
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Identifying patients who might be at risk of certain diseases
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Safeguarding
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We are required by law to provide you with the following information about how we handle your information.
Data Controller contact details
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Dr John Onuorah, Addison House Surgery, Hamstel Road, Harlow, Essex CM20 1DS. Telephone 01279 621900
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Data Protection Officer contact details
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Renier van Zyl, Stellar Healthcare, Building 1, Spencer Close, St Margaret’s Hospital, The Plain, Epping, Essex, CM16 6TN, telephone: 01992 660272 |
Purpose of the processing
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Lawful basis for processing
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These purposes are supported under the following sections of the GDPR:
Healthcare staff will also respect and comply with their obligations under the common law duty of confidence. |
Recipient or categories of recipients of the processed data
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The data will be shared with:
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Rights to object
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Right to access and correct |
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Retention period
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GP medical records will be kept in line with the law and national guidance. Information on how long records are kept can be found at: digital.nhs.uk/article/1202/Records-Management-Code-of-Practice-for-Health-and-Social-Care-2016 or speak to the practice. |
Right to complain
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You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. If you wish to complain follow this link ico.org.uk/global/contact-us
or call the helpline 0303 123 1113 |
Data we get from other organisations | We receive information about your health from other organisations who are involved in providing you with health and social care. For example, if you go to hospital for treatment or an operation the hospital will send us a letter to let us know what happens. This means your GP medical record is kept up-to date when you receive care from other parts of the health service. |
How your information is used for medical research and to measure the quality of care
Medical research
Addison House Surgery shares information from medical records:
This is important because:
We share information with the following medical research organisations with your explicit consent or when the law allows: e.g. RCGP Research You have the right to object to your identifiable information being used or shared for medical research purposes. Please speak to the practice if you wish to object |
Checking the quality of care – national clinical audits
Nuffield House Surgery contributes to national clinical audits so that healthcare can be checked and reviewed.
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We are required by law to provide you with the following information about how we share your information for medical research purposes.
Data Controller contact details
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Dr John Onuorah, Addison House Surgery, Hamstel Road, Harlow, Essex CM20 1DS. Telephone 01279 621900 |
Data Protection Officer contact details
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Renier van Zyl, Stellar Healthcare, Building 1, Spencer Close, St Margaret’s Hospital, The Plain, Epping, Essex CM16 6TN
Telephone: 01992 660272
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Purpose of the processing
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Medical research and to check the quality of care which is given to patients (this is called national clinical audit). |
Lawful basis for processing
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The following sections of the GDPR mean that we can use medical records for research and to check the quality of care (national clinical audits)
Article 6(1)(e) – ‘processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller’. For medical research: there are two possible Article 9 conditions. Article 9(2) (a) – ‘the data subject has given explicit consent…’ OR Article 9(2) (j) – ‘processing is necessary for… scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes in accordance with Article 89(1) based on Union or Member States law which shall be proportionate to the aim pursued, respect the essence of the right to data protection and provide for suitable and specific measures to safeguard the fundamental rights and interests of the data subject’. To check the quality of care (clinical audit): Article 9(2) (h) – ‘processing is necessary for the purpose of preventative…medicine…the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems and services…’ |
Recipient or categories of recipients of the processed data
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For medical research the data will be shared with e.g. RCGP Research
For national clinical audits which check the quality of care the data will be shared with NHS Digital. |
Rights to object and the national data opt-out
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You have a right to object under the GDPR and the right to ‘opt-out’ under the national data opt-out model. The national data opt-out model provides an easy way for you to opt-out of:
Please contact the practice if you wish to opt-out. To opt-out of your identifiable information being shared for medical research or to find out more about your opt-out choices please go to NHS Digital’s website: digital.nhs.uk/ |
Right to access and correct |
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Retention period
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GP medical records will be kept in line with the law and national guidance. Information on how long records are kept can be found at: digital.nhs.uk/article/1202/Records-Management-Code-of-Practice-for-Health-and-Social-Care-2016 Or speak to the practice. |
Right to complain
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You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. If you wish to complain follow this link:
or call the helpline 0303 123 1113 |
How your information is shared so that this practice can meet legal requirements
The law requires Addison House Surgery to share information from your medical records in certain circumstances. Information is shared so that the NHS or Public Health England can, for example:
We will share information with NHS Digital, the Care Quality Commission and local health protection team (or Public Health England) when the law requires us to do so. Please see below for more information. We must also share your information if a court of law orders us to do so. |
NHS Digital
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Care Quality Commission (CQC)
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Public Health
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We are required by law to provide you with the following information about how we handle your information and our legal obligations to share data.
Data Controller contact details
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Dr John Onuorah, Addison House Surgery, Hamstel Road, Harlow, Essex CM20 1DS. Telephone 01279 621900 |
Data Protection Officer contact details
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Renier van Zyl, Stellar Healthcare, Building 1, Spencer Close, St Margaret’s Hospital, The Plain, Epping, Essex CM16 6TN
Telephone: 01992 660272 |
Purpose of the processing
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Compliance with legal obligations or court order. |
Lawful basis for processing
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The following sections of the GDPR mean that we can share information when the law tells us to.
Article 6(1)(c) – ‘processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject…’ Article 9(2)(h) – ‘processing is necessary for the purpose of preventative…medicine…the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems and services…’ |
Recipient or categories of recipients of the processed data
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Rights to object and the national data opt-out
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There are very limited rights to object when the law requires information to be shared but government policy allows some rights of objection as set out below.
NHS Digital
The national data op-out model provides you with an easy way of opting-out of identifiable data being used for health service planning and research purposes, including when it is shared by NHS Digital for these reasons. To opt-out or to find out more about your opt-out choices please go to NHS Digital’s website: https://digital.nhs.uk/
NHS Digital sharing with the Home Office
Public health
Care Quality Commission
Court order
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Right to access and correct |
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Retention period
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GP medical records will be kept in line with the law and national guidance. Information on how long records are kept can be found at: digital.nhs.uk/article/1202/Records-Management-Code-of-Practice-for-Health-and-Social-Care-2016 or speak to the practice. |
Right to complain
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You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. If you wish to complain follow this link ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/ or call the helpline 0303 123 1113 |
National screening programmes
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We are required by law to provide you with the following information about how we handle your information in relation to our legal obligations to share data.
Data Controller contact details
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Dr John Onuorah, Addison House Surgery, Hamstel Road, Harlow, Essex CM20 1DS. Telephone 01279 621900 |
Data Protection Officer contact details
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Renier van Zyl, Stellar Healthcare, Building 1, Spencer Close, St Margaret’s Hospital, The Plain, Epping, Essex CM16 6TN
Telephone: 01992 660272 |
Purpose of the processing
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Lawful basis for processing
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The following sections of the GDPR allow us to contact patients for screening.
Article 6(1) (e) – ‘processing is necessary…in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller…’’ Article 9(2) (h) – ‘processing is necessary for the purpose of preventative…medicine…the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems and services…’ |
Recipient or categories of recipients of the processed data
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The data will be shared with those who provide bowel screening, breast screening, cervical screening and retinal eye screening services |
Rights to object
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For national screening programmes: you can opt so that you no longer receive an invitation to a screening programme.
See: www.gov.uk/government/publications/opting-out-of-the-nhs-population-screening-programmes Or speak to the practice. |
Right to access and correct |
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Retention period
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GP medical records will be kept in line with the law and national guidance.
Information on how long records can be kept can be found at: Or speak to the practice. |
Right to complain
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You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. If you wish to complain follow this link ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/
Or call the helpline 0303 123 1113 |
Data we get from other organisations | We receive information about your health from other organisations who are involved in providing you with health and social care. For example, if you go to hospital for treatment or an operation the hospital will send us a letter to let us know what happens. This means your GP medical record is kept up-to date when you receive care from other parts of the health service. |
GP Net Earnings
2021/22 Publication of Earnings – Addison House Surgery
All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings (e.g., average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.
The average pay for GPs working in Addison House Surgery in the last financial year was £83,287 before tax and National Insurance. This is for 3 full time GPs, 2 part time GPs and 3 locum GPs who worked in the practice for more than six months.
However, it should be noted that the prescribed method for calculating earnings is potentially misleading because it takes no account of how much time doctors spend working in the practice and should not be used to form any judgement about GP earnings, nor to make any comparison with any other practice.
2020/21 Publication of Earnings – Addison House Surgery
All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings (e.g. average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.
The average pay for GPs working in Addison House Surgery in the last financial year was £116,632 before tax and National Insurance. This is for 4 full time GPs, 2 part-time GPs and 1 locum who worked in the practice for more than six months.
However, it should be noted that the prescribed method for calculating earnings is potentially misleading because it takes no account of how much time doctors spend working in the practice, and should not be
Home Visiting Policy
Our home visiting policy is based on RCGP guidelines. You cannot insist that a GP visits you at home.
A GP will only visit you at home if they think that your medical condition requires it. A GP can also decide how urgently a visit is needed.
Due to increasing demand GPs can no longer automatically visit any patient who requests a home visit. All visits must now be triaged and dealt with according to clinical need.
GPs are better able to assess patients in the surgery where they have access to specialist equipment, good lighting and examination facilities and therefore it is always the preferable site for any consultation.
GPs having to visit inappropriate house call patients are delayed from visiting those patients who are in genuine need of a visit and therefore this poses an unacceptable clinical risk.
GPs are not responsible for ensuring that a patient has financial means to attend the surgery nor that the patient chooses to register with a practice that is difficult for them to get to in bad weather or without a car.
GPs are not obliged to visit a patient if they have assessed the patient’s clinical need on the telephone and found them to be suitable for an alternative method of healthcare.
As long as the GP has provided a plan for a patient (which may be an appointment the same day, a future day, telephone advice or attendance at other healthcare site such as A&E, a message communicated via reception) then the partners of The Addison House Surgery will support any such decision made.
All telephone calls are recorded. Admin and clinical staff are expected to make good records of all patient contact within the clinical record.
The Surgery has weekly MDT (multidisciplinary team) meetings with community clinical staff where relevant clinical management matters including home visit requests/feedback are discussed.
Summary Care Record
There is a new Central NHS Computer System called the Summary Care Record (SCR). It is an electronic record which contains information about the medicines you take, allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines you have had.
Why do I need a Summary Care Record?
Storing information in one place makes it easier for healthcare staff to treat you in an emergency, or when your GP practice is closed.
This information could make a difference to how a doctor decides to care for you, for example which medicines they choose to prescribe for you.
Who can see it?
Only healthcare staff involved in your care can see your Summary Care Record.
How do I know if I have one?
Over half of the population of England now have a Summary Care Record. You can find out whether Summary Care Records have come to your area by looking at our interactive map or by asking your GP
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 along to the surgery. You can use the form at the foot of this page.
More Information
For further information visit the NHS Care records website.
Violence Policy
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 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.