As your GP practice, we have been asked to provide you with, no later than 31 October 2023, access to your full medical record going forward via the NHS app (and NHS website) if you have a suitable NHS login

Your GP medical record contains consultation notes based on conversations between you, your GP and their team: medicines prescribed to you; all test results including hospital investigations; allergies; vaccines; and your medical conditions along with documents that may have been sent from local hospitals, clinics or other agencies, eg the police. There is likely to be sensitive and personal information within your medical record.

We are supportive of providing you with access to your record, but we wish to do this safely and make you aware that this is happening so that you can opt out, if you so wish. You may wish to speak with us first to understand what it is that you will see, and the risks which may be involved in having such confidential data either on your smartphone with the NHS app installed or online if other people might have access to that information through your devices. If you are in a difficult or pressured relationship for example, you may prefer your records to remain accessible only to those treating you, with them not appearing on your smartphone or online. Government has been clear that if a patient does not wish to have access, then we do not have to provide it. This is one reason why we have asked if you wish to opt out, or have it switched off for the time being.

For those who would like access, we are happy to explain the different levels you might like. Everyone can have access to their medication history and allergies, for example, and will be able to order their repeat prescriptions. It’s also possible to request access to what we call your ‘coded record’ where you can see a list of medical problems and results. You can also request access to the ‘full’ record where you will be able to see everything, including the notes which have been written by doctors, nurses and others involved in your care, at the GP surgery, and elsewhere.

It’s important to remember that these documents may, at times, contain information that could be upsetting, especially if they contain news of a serious condition. It can also be a cause for worry seeing results online when it isn’t clear what the results might mean, and no one is available to ask, as can be the case during the evening or at weekends, for example.

Sometimes people with a mental health condition might prefer not to see documents that remind them of difficult times in their life. Letters from mental health teams sometimes go into detail about past events, and great care would be needed in deciding whether you would want to see these letters. It is possible for individual items to be hidden at your request and your GP would be happy to talk about any concerns you may have.

Great care is also needed in case private details might cause harm at home, should people in a difficult or pressured relationship be forced to show their medical record to an abusive partner. Anyone in such a position should make this clear to us at the practice, so we can take steps to keep you safe. This might mean removing access through the NHS app for the time being, or through a careful process where we hide sensitive things. We would talk this through with you.

Sharing Your Medical Record

Increasingly, patient medical data is shared e.g. between GP surgeries and District Nursing, in order to give clinicians access to the most up to date information when attending patients.

The systems we operate require that any sharing of medical information is consented to by patients beforehand. Patients must consent to sharing of the data held by a health provider out to other health providers and must also consent to which of the other providers can access their data.

For example, it may be necessary to share data held in GP practices with district nurses but the local podiatry department would not need to see it to undertake their work. In this case, patients would allow the surgery to share their data, they would allow the district nurses to access it but they would not allow access by the podiatry department. In this way access to patient data is under patients’ control and can be shared on a ‘need to know’ basis.

If you wish to share your patient information with a third party, then please complete this form Patient Consent Form and return to the practice by email or by post

The practice has been assessed and approved for the training of fully qualified doctors who wish to gain experience in general practice (such doctors are known as GP Registrars). These doctors, who have several years experience, will be present in the practice from time to time and you may be offered an appointment with them.

Sometimes consultations may be videoed as part of this training, but you will be asked for your agreement to this before each consultation and asked to confirm that you are still in agreement after the consultation.

As we are a training practice, your medical records may be used for educational purposes.

Additionally, from time to time, we may employ GP locums who are also fully qualified GPs who help us out during times of holiday, sickness and maternity leave.

Also, we regularly have medical students in the practice and you may be asked if they can sit in on your consultation. You can, of course decline

Please remember that any research project which is undertaken at the Practice has to be approved by a Research Ethics Committee.  They ensure that any research undertaken is of a high standard, is necessary and is ethical.  They also ensure that people undertaking research are properly trained and have a duty of confidentiality.  When a research project has been approved you may be contacted to be invited to take part.  For certain studies we provide your name and address to the research team so that they can contact you.  The research team work as part of the Practice team and have a strict duty of confidentiality.  Whether or not you take part in research is entirely up to you, and the decision you take will not affect your care from the Practice in any way.  Please rest assured that whether or not you allow your data to be used, the care provided to you by the practice and the rest of the NHS will be of the same high standard.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Practice Manager, Sam Hamilton.

The practice is a member of the Primary Care Research Network (PCRN) and participates in research studies.  When your record is used for research we only release identifiable information about you with your written permission.  We also release anonymised information for research purposes.  We do not ask for your permission to do this.  We follow national guidance, regulations and the law when sharing information in your medical records.  They cover the use of medical records and lay down certain rights for you and obligations for us.

You have the right to opt-out of having your medical record being used for research.  Your objections will be respected except where disclosure is essential to protect you or someone else from risk of death or serious harm.

There are strict measures in place at the Practice and at any other NHS body or external organisation that undertakes NHS research to keep your records confidential.

Join Dementia Research is a nationwide online and telephone service that allows people to register their interest in volunteering for dementia research studies.  People with dementia, their carers, or anyone interested in research can be matched to studies.

Sign up today at:  www.joindementiaresearch.nihr.ac.uk.

All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings (average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.

The average pay for GPs working in Leicester Terrace Health Care Centre in the last financial year ended 30th June 2023 was £60,789 before tax and national insurance. This is for 1 full time GP, 7 part time GPs, 4 salaried GPs and 1 Locum GP who worked in the practice for more than six months.

A hard copy can be obtained if requested in writing.

Accessing someone else’s information

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
• or complete this form Patient Consent Form and return to the Practice Reception
• See Also the Patient Record section

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.