Practice Policies & Patient Information
Accountable Named GP for All Patients
All patients registered at the The Meadows Surgery have a named doctor who has overall responsibility for your care and support. Your registered GP is also your named accountable and your allocated GP. Your allocated GP will be responsible for the provision of your healthcare. If you choose to see another doctor at the surgery, you are entirely free to go on doing so exactly as before.
If you are unsure of who is your named Doctor please ask at reception.
New patients are allocated a Doctor on Registration.
Chaperones
The consultation that takes place between a patient and their healthcare professional is private and confidential. Quite often an examination is required to help make a diagnosis. This may be straightforward or sometimes can be more personal or of a sensitive nature.
Under these circumstances your Doctor will normally seek your agreement to a Nurse or other staff member being present or, if a relative or friend has accompanied you to the Surgery, they may be able to act as a Chaperone if you wish.
If a chaperone is not offered but you would like someone to be present, do not be afraid to tell your doctor.
Procedures which are generally regarded as being of a sensitive nature are:
- Cervical cytology
- Gynaecological
- Testicular
- Breast Examination
- Rectal Examination
In addition, a patient or healthcare professional can ask for a chaperone at any point in a consultation.
GP Average Earnings
Disclaimer: NHS England requires that the net earnings of doctors engaged in the practice is publicised, and the required disclosure is shown below. 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, or to make any comparison with any other practice.
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 The Meadows Surgery in the last financial year was £114,967 before Tax and National Insurance.
Heidi AI Medical Scribe
At The Meadows Surgery, we are committed to providing the best possible care while maintaining your privacy and confidentiality. We are proactive in identifying ways to enhance your experience and improve the quality of your healthcare, and we have introduced the use of Heidi Health AI Medical Scribe technology during some of our consultations. This page provides important information about this service to help you make an informed decision regarding its use.
What is Heidi Health AI Medical Scribe?
Heidi Health is an advanced AI-powered system that assists healthcare providers by transcribing and documenting patient interactions during consultations. The AI scribe listens to the conversation between you and your healthcare provider, automatically generating a detailed, accurate medical record of your visit. This process allows your healthcare provider to focus more on your needs and spend less time on paperwork. The AI scribe transcribes notes in real time, improving the efficiency of your visit and ensuring that all relevant information is accurately captured.
How does Heidi Health work?
During your consultation, Heidi Health AI will listen to the conversation between you and your healthcare provider. The system transcribes the dialogue in real time and generates an electronic health record (EHR). This documentation will be stored securely as part of your medical record, where it can be accessed by your healthcare provider for follow-up care and treatment planning.
Benefits of using the Heidi Health AI Medical Scribe
- Improved Accuracy: By documenting your consultation in real-time, Heidi Health ensures that important details are captured accurately, reducing the risk of errors in your medical record.
- More Time with Your Provider: With less time spent on manual documentation, your healthcare provider can focus more on addressing your concerns and providing personalised care.
- Efficiency: Your visit will be documented quickly and efficiently, allowing for faster processing of your medical records and test results.
Will my personal information be secure?
Yes. Heidi Health follows strict compliance standards to protect your personal health information. The system uses advanced encryption and complies with the latest data protection regulations, ensuring your information remains confidential and secure. For detailed information on how Heidi Health maintains privacy and compliance, you can review their comprehensive compliance information here.
Do I have to consent to the use of the AI Medical Scribe?
No. While the use of the AI medical scribe can greatly enhance the quality and efficiency of your consultation, you have the right to decline its use. If you choose not to have the AI scribe assist with your visit, your healthcare provider will document your consultation manually as they normally would.
How can I give my consent?
Your healthcare provider will ask you if you’re comfortable with the use of the Heidi Health AI Medical Scribe at the start of consultation. You can ask your healthcare provider any questions you have. Your participation is entirely voluntary, and you can change your decision at any time.
Can I change my mind?
Yes. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time, even after the consultation begins. If you decide not to proceed with the use of the AI scribe, your healthcare provider will ensure that your consultation is documented manually.
For further information and FAQ please visit: https://www.heidihealth.com/uk/resources/frequently-ask-questions
NHS Summary Care Records
As part of a mandatory, national programme each GP Practice will have to make a summary care record for each patient (unless the patient has already opted out). Please read the information regarding this. If you wish to opt out download and complete the opt out form and return to the Practice (see below).Information Website
Summary Care Records on the NHS Digital website.
Information Leaflets and Opt-Out Form
Practice Policy
Our Responsibilities
- We aim to promote good health and encourage prevention of disease.
- Our aim is to treat all our patients with respect and therefore we expect our patients to treat all our Staff in the same manner.
- We will endeavour to maintain patients’ medical records up to date and will respect patients’ right of access to same.
- We offer Annual reviews on Medication, Asthma, Chronic Heart Disease (CHD), Diabetics, Mental Health and Learning disabilities.
- We offer clinics for ante or post-natal, child Immunisation, cervical smears, CHD, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Diabetes, Asthmatic, Flu, travel advice including travel vaccinations.
- If any of our clinics need to be cancelled, we will try wherever possible to give at least 24 hours’ notice.
- We will endeavour as a team to see you as close as possible to your allotted appointment time, however, please bear in mind that there will be occasions when this is not possible.
How you can help us
- It is the patients’ responsibility to keep their appointments and to inform us as early as possible if unable to attend.
- Patients need to inform us of any past medical history, hospital admissions and any other details they feel relevant to be documented in their records.
- When making appointments please be aware that the doctors can only see one patient per consultation, if more than one patient i.e. family members need to be seen a further appointment must be booked.
- Treatment facilities are better at the surgery please do not request a home visit unless it is absolutely necessary.
- Do not for any reason share your medication with anybody else. In doing so this could prove to be dangerous.
- Accident and Emergency (A & E) visits and out of hours services should only take place when urgent medical attention is required. Out of hours services should not be used to gain a second opinion.
- If you should have any difficulties within the practice, the Practice Manager would appreciate if this were brought to her immediate attention.
Practice Privacy Notice for Patients
Our Privacy Notice explains what information we collect about you, how we store this information, how long we retain it and with whom and for which legal purpose we may share it, the documents can be downloaded here:
Problems or Complaints
We are committed to providing our patients with services that are of a consistently high quality. However, even in the best run Practices occasionally things to not go as smoothly as we would like.
Any complaints or grievances should be passed directly to the Practice Manager. All concerns and complaints will be taken seriously and dealt with according to our complaints procedure. Please send your comments via email: themeadows.k83616@nhs.net
Transferring Your Electronic Health Record
Your GP practice holds copies of your patient health record electronically and in paper format. Both contain the healthcare information about you that your GP needs including your medical history, medications, allergies, immunisations and vaccinations.
If you have previously registered with a different GP in England, upon registering at this practice your electronic health record will, where possible, be transferred automatically from your previous practice through the use of an NHS system called GP2GP.
Zero Tolerance to Violence Policy
All practices, in line with government guidelines, have a ‘Zero Tolerance to Violence’ policy. This means that any violent or abusive behaviour or perceived threatening behaviour, whether verbal or otherwise to staff or members of the public on practice premises will not be tolerated. We can refuse to provide a service, report the incident to the Police and request that the patient and their family be removed from their Practice list.