General Information – Elswick Family Practice

Coronavirus (Covid19)

Your safety is our top priority at Elswick Family Practice and with the current Coronavirus outbreak we are looking at the way we work so that you can still get the help you need. Please read the following carefully.

As of now all face to face appointments with GP's and Advanced Nurse Practitioners will be changed to telephone calls. Please be assured you will still see a doctor or nurse if they think it is necessary.
Reception staff have been instructed by the GP's to ask simple questions about your symptoms, this is to ensure you speak to the most appropriate person.
Our reception staff are working around the clock to contact those patients who have upcoming appointments to advise them of these changes.
If you have have an upcoming appointment and have not already been contacted by a member of staff please do not call the surgery, we will be in touch as soon as possible.
We urge our patients NOT to attend the surgery unless a clinician has asked to you come along. If you want to order your prescription we would ask that you do this either by telephone (select option 1) via online services or email us at elswickfamily.practice@nhs.net
For routine administration requests such as sick notes, general advice or test results we advise you to use our e-consult system which can be found on the front page of this website.

As most of you are aware guidance around this virus is changing constantly and we will keep you all updated as the situation changes.

Lastly, from Elswick Family Practice we would like to thank all of you for your patience during this difficult time.

We apologise for any inconvenience but this is beyond our control and our main priority at this time is to keep staff and our patients safe.

Please continue to follow the government and 111 online advice.

https://111.nhs.uk/service/COVID-19/ /

NHS 111 Online - About Coronavirus

Please see a patient leaflet for those isolating at home with COVID or suspected COVID.

https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/publication/suspected-coronavirus-covid-19-important-information-to-keep-you-safe-while-isolating-at-home/

EXEMPTION NOTES:

Just to let you all know as we have received many requests at the surgery, we are not providing letters stating that people are exempt from wearing facial coverings/masks. If you do have a medical condition preventing you from wearing a face covering please refer to national guidance.

Please click on the link below which will allow you to print out an ‘exemption card’ which can be used on public transport.

https://www.nexus.org.uk/journey-assistance-cards

Isolating at home

COVID 19 Vaccinatons

Practice Policies

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. 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.

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.

Privacy Note

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 and may be subject to an administration charge. 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.

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.

In Times of Bereavement

In the unfortunate event that a person has passed away, there are three things that must be done in the first few days;

Get a medical certificate from your GP or hospital doctor (this is necessary to register the death)
Register the death within 5 days (8 days in Scotland). You will then receive the necessary documents for the funeral.
Make the necessary funeral arrangements.

Register the death

If the death has been reported to the coroner (or Procurator Fiscal in Scotland) they must give permission before registering the death.

You can register the death if you are a relative, a witness to the death, a hospital administrator or the person making the arrangements with the funeral directors.

You can use the ‘Register a Death’ page on the gov.uk website that will guide you through the process. This will also explain the registration process for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Arrange the funeral

The funeral can usually only take place after the death is registered. Most people use a funeral director, though you can arrange a funeral yourself.

Funeral directors

Choose a funeral director who’s a member of one of the following:

- National Association of Funeral Directors

- National Federation of Funeral Directors

- Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors

These organisations have codes of practice - they must give you a price list when asked.

Some local councils run their own funeral services, for example for non-religious burials. The British Humanist Association can also help with non-religious funerals.

Arranging the funeral yourself

Contact the Cemeteries and Crematorium Department of your local council to arrange a funeral yourself.

Funeral costs

Funeral costs can include:

funeral director fees
things the funeral director pays for on your behalf (called ‘disbursements’ or ‘third-party costs’), for example, crematorium or cemetery fees, or a newspaper announcement about the death
local authority burial or cremation fees

Funeral directors may list all these costs in their quotes.

For more useful information please visit any of the sites below.

Elswick Family Practice - In Times Of Bereavement

Text Message Reminders

Newcastle Carers

Pregnancy Care Planner

Symptom Checker