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).
• 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.

More information about access to medical records can be found on the Citizens Information website.

GDPR

Processing your personal information comes with significant responsibilities on our part, and we want you to know that we take those responsibilities very seriously.

From Friday 25th May 2018, The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will replace current data protection laws in the European Union.

Please note we are no longer able to release medical information to family members or friends without signed consent from the patient. On the consent form, you are asked to nominate someone to collect your medical information on your behalf. Please inform the nominee that they may be asked for photo ID on arrival.

Equality and Respect

We are committed to treating all patients in a courteous, consistent and professional manner. We aim to have a mutually fair and respectful relationship with our patients and to provide equality of service to all patients in an environment which is free from discrimination or harassment.

Comments and Suggestions

We value feedback from our patients and welcome your comments and suggestions. Please put these in writing.

Unacceptable Behaviour

At our practice we operate a No Tolerance policy regarding abusive or aggressive behaviour towards any member of our staff. We aim to provide a comprehensive and professional service in an efficient and pleasant manner to all our patients. We strive to provide a helpful and friendly environment. We would like to ask that patients co-operate with all our policies and treat our staff in a courteous manner. Safety is of paramount importance at our practice and, accordingly, any patient or visitor who is abusive or aggressive in a verbal or physical manner, will be asked to leave the premises immediately and will be removed from the patient list. We consider aggressive behaviour to include any personal, abusive or threatening comments, bad language, physical contact, aggressive gestures and theft or damage to property. We will not hesitate to contact the Garda.

Complaints Procedure

To register a complaint with the practice, please put it in writing and send it to our Doctor.

Please note: All complaints will be dealt with in a strictly confidential manner.