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 Social Care Direct. 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.
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.
Data Protection Notice
About Polwarth Medical Practice
NHS Lothian is a public organisation created in Scotland under Section 2 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978. It is one of the organisations which form part of NHS Scotland (NHSS). Read our
Data Protection Notice for more information.
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. No information will be released without the patient consent unless we are legally obliged to do so.
Complaints
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 wish for the matter to be settled as quickly, and as amicably, as possible.
To pursue a complaint please contact the practice manager who will deal with your concerns appropriately. Further written information is available regarding the complaints procedure from reception.
As we are an NHS run practice you can also send your complaint directly to NHS Lothian. The patient feedback e-mail address is LOTH.Feedback@nhs.scot or you can send your complaint to - Patient Experience Team, Waverley Gate, 2nd Floor, 2-4 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh EH1 3EG. Tel 0131 536 3370.
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.