Practice Policies

Call Recording

Complaints

We endeavour to offer the best service possible to all our patients but where problems arise we seek to resolve these as quickly as possible to the satisfaction of all.

If you are unhappy with any aspect of your treatment here at Deal Tree Health Centre, please raise this with a member of staff as soon as possible. Where they are unable to resolve your complaint, they will escalate it to the attention of our Practice Manager who will seek to resolve it informally as quickly as possible.

Where we are unable to resolve your complaint in this way, you may wish to make a formal complaint.

Further details regarding our Complaints Procedure may be found here: Complaints Leaflet July 1st 2023

Confidentiality

All patient records on file or on the computer are confidential.

In order to maintain confidentiality, laboratory and X-ray results will only be given to patients themselves or the parents of young children. Please ring after 11 a.m. or preferably in the afternoon for results.

Only practice staff, GPs and nurses have access to patient records under a confidentiality agreement for the sole purpose of keeping these records up-to-date and accurate.

CQC

The practice was rated as Good in all areas by the CQC. To see the report please click on the link below.

CQC Report June 2016

Statement of Purpose

The name and address of the registered provider is Dr Butler and Partners, Deal Tree Health Centre, Blackmore Road, Doddinghurst, Essex CM15 0HU.

Telephone: 01277 821699

CQC Provider ID 1-199727927

Registered Manager: Dr Kenneth Wrixon

Practice Manager: Mr John Bridgwood

Deal Tree Health Centre is a partnership and there are 4 partners:

Dr Kenneth Wrixon

Dr Manminder Sandhu

Dr Ranitha Dayalakumar

Dr Nilukshan Jeganathan

The Practice is housed in new, modern, purpose-built GP surgery located in a semi-rural position with onsite parking. Deal Tree Health Centre is a dispensing Practice employing qualified dispensers as well as being a training practice employing one GP Registrar.

Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (The Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009 Part 4), the registering body (Deal Tree Health Centre) is required to provide to the Care Quality Commission a statement of purpose.

Our Purpose

To provide our patients with high quality health care and to seek to improve the health of our patient population. We will do this by aiming to achieve success in all our aims and objectives written below.

Our Aims and Objectives

To ensure high quality, safe and effective services and environment
To provide monitored, audited and continually improving healthcare services
To provide healthcare which is available to a whole population and create a partnership between patient and health profession which ensures mutual respect, holistic care and continuous learning and training.
The provision of accessible healthcare which is proactive to healthcare changes, efficiency and innovation and development.
To improve Clinical Governance and Evidence Based Practice
To improve Clinical and Non-clinical risk management
To reduce risk in specific clinical risk areas and facilities
To improve environment and capacity
To improve vigilance for unforeseen emergencies
To optimise performance against key targets and core standards
To meet key targets
To meet Annual Health Check
To continue being a patient centred organisation
To improve services offered to patients
To improve communication between the surgery and the patients
To recruit, retain and develop a highly motivated and appropriately skilled workforce
To enhance performance of the workforce
To develop management capability
To guide the employees in accordance with the Equalities Scheme
To continue the development of the Practice
To ensure effective management and governance systems
To ensure a robust Information Technology strategy to support the business of Deal Tree Health Centre

The registered activities and service types have been agreed by the Deal Tree Health Centre’s Practice Manager and Partners in accordance with CQC guidance. Services are described under Registered Activity and Service Type.

The services provided by Deal Tree Health Centre include:

Routine medical checks and general medical services provided by fully trained and qualified clinical staff.

Dispensary: NHS-relevant prescriptions and medications can be issued as well as private prescriptions.

Counselling: Counsellors are available for short-term counselling for a variety of personal and emotional problems. These Counsellors are provided by the Therapy For You Service and consult on a weekly basis.

Immunisations

Employment and Insurance Medicals: Our GPs are able to carry out medical examinations and reports for employment, insurance or driving purposes.

Assessment of employees returning to work after illness

Smoking Cessation: Any patient who is a smoker and ready to stop smoking will be seen by one of our nurse advisers for an assessment and ongoing support at Deal Tree Health Centre.

Baby Clinic: Child Health Development checks are carried out by one of our GPs and childhood immunisations are given by our nurses. This clinic runs alongside the weekly clinic held by a visiting Health Visitor.

Foreign Travel Clinic: Full foreign travel advice and any necessary immunisations given.

Treatment Room: All our nurses carry out surgeries which cover routine matters such as blood pressure, wound management, complex dressing requirements, removal of stitches, etc.

General Clinic: All our nurses run General Clinics where they advise patients on a variety of conditions including weight loss and dietary advice, lifestyle advice, Well Person checks, IUCD checks.

Asthma/Spirometry Clinic: Deal Tree Health Centre identifies and monitors asthmatic patients and has the facility for spirometry / lung function testing.

Diabetic Clinic: Deal Tree Health Centre operates a weekly Diabetes Clinic to provide ongoing care for our diabetic patients. This is run by a trained nurse.

Family Planning Clinic: We offer a full rangeFamily planning advice which is given by our trained nurses including advice on IUD’s and implants.

Flu Clinic: At Deal Tree Health Centre we offer our ‘at risk’ patient groups the seasonal flu vaccine to protect against the virus.

Minor surgery: Our GPs offer various minor surgery procedures including incisions, excisions, aspirations.

24-Hour Blood Pressure Monitoring: Deal Tree Health Centre is able to offer 24-hour Blood Pressure Monitoring. Our Practice Nurses are also able to carry out ECGs.

Cervical Screening: Our Practice Nurses are qualified to carry out cervical smears.

Our practice ethos is to strive towards a partnership between patients and health professionals based on the following key facets:

Mutual Respect

We endeavour to treat all our patients with dignity, respect and honesty and would expect patients to treat all staff in the same manner.

Complaints

Although the practice endeavour’s to give you the best possible service, there may be times when patients may feel this has not happened. Details of our in-house complaints procedure is available on request from the practice manager.

Comments or suggestions

We welcome feedback from our patients on any issues or concerns about the service we provide. Patients should speak to Ray Turnbull, practice manager, if they would like to make any comments or observations or if they do not understand how any aspect of the surgery operates. In this way, we can explain any misunderstandings and try to make improvements.

‘Holistic’ Care

We treat ‘patients’ and illnesses. This means that we are equally interested in the physical, psychological and social aspects of your individual care.

Continuity of Care and the ‘Therapeutic Relationship’

Building and maintaining a strong relationship between doctors, health professionals, and patients is essential to the way we work. This is especially so in the management of ongoing problems or long-term illness. In these circumstances we would encourage our patients to continue seeing the same health professional and wherever possible we will facilitate this through our appointments system. However, if you have a new problem and the doctor or nurse that you normally see is not available or you would like to see someone else, then we would encourage you to see any of the doctors or nurses at the practice.

Learning and Training

We have been a training practice for many years and are committed to the training of doctors and nurses, all of whom are closely supervised. We believe in “life-long learning” and all the health professionals and administrative staff here undergo an annual appraisal where learning and development needs are identified. We also recognise the benefit of supported learning for our patients and families in enhancing their ability to manage and deal with both ‘self-limiting’ and long-term illnesses.

Fair Processing Notice

GP Net Earnings

GP Earnings 2020-21

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 at Deal Tree Medical Centre in the last financial year was £117,816 before tax and National Insurance. This is for 2 full time GPs, 3 part time GPs and 0 locums 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.

HSCIC – Health & Social Care Information Centre

Named GP

Accountable / Named GP for All Patient’s

The practice is required by the Government under the terms of the latest GP contract to allocate all patients a named accountable GP.

Individual patients will be informed of their named accountable GP at the first appropriate interaction with the practice.

For convenience if you have a medical card your accountable GP will be the named doctor you are registered with. Patients registering over the last 2-3 years will not have received a medical card as these are no longer routinely sent when registering with a new GP.

However, the practice does keep a record of your registered (accountable) GP. If you wish to be told the name of your accountable GP, please ask the receptionists when you are next in the surgery.

Please note: there is no need to telephone the practice for this information.

Having a named GP does not prevent you seeing any other doctor in the practice. Your named GP will not be available at all times and if your needs are urgent, you may need to discuss them with an alternative doctor.

Patient Advice

Your Data Matters to the NHS

Information about your health and care helps us to improve your individual care, speed up diagnosis, plan your local services and research new treatments. The NHS is committed to keeping patient information safe and always being clear about how it is used.

How your data is used

Information about your individual care such as treatment and diagnoses is collected about you whenever you use health and care services. It is also used to help us and other organisations for research and planning such as research into new treatments, deciding where to put GP clinics and planning for the number of doctors and nurses in your local hospital. It is only used in this way when there is a clear legal basis to use the information to help improve health and care for you, your family and future generations.

Wherever possible we try to use data that does not identify you, but sometimes it is necessary to use your confidential patient information.

You have a choice

You do not need to do anything if you are happy about how your information is used. If you do not want your confidential patient information to be used for research and planning, you can choose to opt out securely online or through a telephone service. You can change your mind about your choice at any time.

Will choosing this opt-out affect your care and treatment?

No, choosing to opt out will not affect how information is used to support your care and treatment. You will still be invited for screening services, such as screenings for bowel cancer.

What do you need to do?

If you are happy for your confidential patient information to be used for research and planning, you do not need to do anything.

To find out more about the benefits of data sharing, how data is protected, or to make/change your opt-out choice visit www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters

Download a copy of the patient leaflet

Privacy Notice

Our Privacy Notice is available here.

We also have a specific Privacy Notice relating to patients aged between 13 and 16 years available here.

From 1st July 2021, the NHS will change how it shares your GP medical record. The General Practice Data for Planning and Research data extract by NHS Digital from GP Practices across England will help the NHS to improve health and care services for everyone, by collecting patient data and holding it in a central national database. You may opt-out of this data sharing at any time. Further details can be found on the NHS website and NHS Digital website.

Safeguarding Children and Young People statement

Practice Safeguarding Children and Young People Statement

Deal Tree Health Centre has a statutory duty of care towards children (Section 11 Children Act 2004) and young people at risk. We are committed to a best practice which safeguards children and young people irrespective of their background, and which recognises that a child may be abused regardless of their age, gender, religious beliefs, racial origin or ethnic identity, culture, class, disability or sexual orientation.

Having safeguards in place within any organisation not only protects and promotes the welfare of children and young people at risk, but also enhances the confidence of staff, volunteers, parents/carers and the general public. Protecting children and young people from abuse, neglect and exploitation, preventing impairment of health and development, and ensuring children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care enables them to have optimum life chances and enter adulthood successfully.

Deal Tree Health Centre is committed to safeguarding children, young people at risk and has a responsibility to ensure that their practice staff know what to do if they encounter child or adult abuse of have concerns that they may be at risk of harm.

The practice is committed to working within agreed policies and procedures and in partnership with other agencies to ensure that the risks of harm to a child or young person are minimised. This work may include direct and indirect contact with children (access to patient’s details, communication via email, text message/phone).

We aim to ensure that Deal Tree Health Centre is a child safe practice.

September 2018

Summary Care Record

Summary Care Records (SCR) – information for patients

Your Summary Care Record is a short summary of your GP medical records. It tells other health and care staff who care for you about the medicines you take and your allergies. This means they can give you better care if you need health care away from your usual doctor’s surgery:

in an emergency
when you’re on holiday
when your surgery is closed
at out-patient clinics
when you visit a pharmacy

Ask your doctor to include additional information on your SCR

You can add more information to your SCR by asking your doctor. They can add extra details from your medical notes, including:

health problems like dementia or diabetes
details of your carer
your treatment preferences
communication needs, for example if you have hearing difficulties or need an interpreter

This will help medical staff care for you properly, and respect your choices, when you need care away from your GP surgery. This is because having more information on your SCR means they will have a better understanding of your needs and preferences.

When you are treated away from your usual doctor’s surgery, the health care staff there can’t see your GP medical records. Looking at your SCR can speed up your care and make sure you are given the right medicines and treatment.

Protecting your SCR information

Staff will ask your permission to look at your SCR (except in an emergency where you are unconscious, for example) and only staff with the right levels of security clearance can access the system, so your information is secure. You can ask an organisation to show you a record of who has looked at your SCR – this is called a Subject Access Request.

Opting out

SCRs improve care, but if you don’t want to have one you can opt out. Tell your GP or fill in an SCR opt-out form and give it to your GP practice.

More information on your health records

Read more about your medical records at your health records – NHS Choices.

Zero Tolerance

The Practice takes it very seriously if a member of staff is treated in an abusive or violent way.

The Practice supports the government’s ‘Zero Tolerance’ campaign for Health Service Staff. This states that GPs and their staff have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused. To successfully provide these services a mutual respect between all the staff and patients has to be in place.

Our Practice staff aim to be polite, helpful, and sensitive to all patients’ individual needs and circumstances. They would respectfully remind patients that very often staff can be confronted with a multitude of varying and sometimes difficult tasks and situations, all at the same time. Staff 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. However, aggressive behaviour, be it violent or abusive, will not be tolerated and may result in you being removed from the Practice list and, in extreme cases, the Police being contacted.

Further details of our Zero Tolerance Policy can be found here.