Practice Policies & Patient Information
The practice was originally founded in the 1940’s in the Westminster area of Ellesmere Port, progressing to the premises in 102 Whitby Road in the 1960’s and 3a Civic Way in 1970. We moved to our present purpose built premises on 3 September 1992.
The premises are centrally located consisting of ground floor facilities which include disabled access and toilets.
Since the early 1970’s the practice has been committed to the training of medical students, GP Registrars, student nurses and admin apprentices.
Mission statement:
At York Road Group Practice, our mission is to provide comprehensive, patient-centered healthcare that promotes well-being, prevents illness, and supports the health of our community. We genuinely care about our patients and are dedicated to delivering high-quality, accessible, and equitable medical services, ensuring that every patient receives compassionate care tailored to their individual needs. Through continuous learning, innovation, and collaboration with healthcare partners, we strive to improve health outcomes and enhance the quality of life for all our patients
Value statement
We are guided by a core set of values that underpin our commitment to providing outstanding healthcare:
Compassion
We treat every patient with empathy, kindness, and respect, ensuring they feel valued and understood.
Integrity
We uphold the highest standards of professionalism, honesty, and ethical behaviour in all our interactions.
Quality of Care
We strive for continuous improvement, embracing innovation and best practices to deliver the highest quality of care.
Accessibility
We are dedicated to making healthcare available and equitable for all, regardless of background or circumstance.
Collaboration
We work together with patients, families, and healthcare partners to create a supportive and integrated care environment.
Patient-Centered Care
We focus on the unique needs of each individual, tailoring our services to provide personalized and holistic healthcare.
Respect
We honor the diversity of our community, valuing each person’s unique contributions and perspectives.
These values guide our actions and decisions, ensuring that we provide compassionate, effective, and equitable care to everyone we serve.
Confidentiality
You can be sure that anything you discuss with any member of the practice – GP, nurse, admin team or any other healthcare professional working in the practice will stay confidential.
Even if you are under 16, nothing will be said to anyone – including parents, family members, care workers or tutors – without your permission.
The only reason why we might have to consider passing on confidential information without your permission, would be to protect you or someone else from serious harm. We would always try to discuss this with you first.
Consent to share data with a relative/carer
If you would like your information disclosed to a relative or carer then you will need to complete a consent form. These are available via reception or you can download it here. Once completed hand to a member of the admin team and we can enter your consent and the named person into your records so we can then disclose your clinical details to them.
Patient Charter
All members of the team are dedicated to providing the patients with a continuous quality of service to achieve the best medical care which meets with patient requirements.
The Charter also means that Patients have responsibilities to the surgery in being courteous to all members of staff. Patients should understand that if they need to cancel or cannot attend on time and do not inform us then this also inconvenience other patients.
Zero tolerance
The practice takes it very seriously if a member of staff is treated in an abusive or violent way.
The practice supports the government’s ‘Zero Tolerance’ campaign for Health Service Staff. This states that GPs and their staff have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused. To successfully provide these services a mutual respect between all the staff and patients has to be in place.
Our practice staff aim to be polite, helpful, and sensitive to all patients’ individual needs and circumstances. They would respectfully remind patients that very often staff could be confronted with a multitude of varying and sometimes difficult tasks and situations, all at the same time. The staff understand that ill patients do not always act in a reasonable manner and will take this into consideration when trying to deal with a misunderstanding or complaint.
However, aggressive behaviour, be it violent or abusive, will not be tolerated and may result in you being removed from the practice list and, in extreme cases, the police being contacted.
In order for the practice to maintain good relations with their patients the practice would like to ask all its patients to read and take note of the occasional types of behaviour that would be found unacceptable:
- Using bad language or swearing at practice staff
- Any physical violence towards any member of the Primary Health Care Team or other patients, such as pushing or shoving
- Verbal abuse towards the staff in any form including verbally insulting the staff
- Racial abuse and sexual harassment will not be tolerated within this practice
- Persistent or unrealistic demands that cause stress to staff will not be accepted. Requests will be met wherever possible and explanations given when they cannot
- Causing damage/stealing from the practice’s premises, staff or patients
- Obtaining drugs and/or medical services fraudulently
- We ask you to treat your GPs and their staff courteously at all times.
Joint responsibilities
GP Responsibilities | Patient Responsibilities |
You will be treated as a partner in the care you receive. | Being a partner means we have a responsibility to each other. |
You will be treated as an individual and will be given courtesy and respect at all times. You have the right at all times to be treated confidentially. | We ask that you treat the Doctors and all the staff with the same courtesy and respect. |
You will be entitled to have a copy of our Practice Leaflet (either printed or here on the web). | Please read the information, this will help you get the best out of the services we offer. |
We will try to answer the phone promptly and courteously. | Please try to call outside the surgery times for non-urgent requests. Please state name of the patient and keep calls brief. |
You will be able to see your Doctor within 20 minutes of your appointment time. | Please do everything you can to keep appointments. Tell us as soon as possible if you cannot attend. |
You will be offered an explanation if your Doctor over runs this time. | Please try to be punctual. If you arrive late this may cause delays and inconvenience to the other patients. If we are running late, please bare with us because on another occasion it may be you. |
We will explain the likely effects of the drugs and review your long term medical needs at agreed times. | You should not expect to be given a prescription every time you visit the Doctor. Please remember to check cupboards before ordering a repeat prescription. |
We will advise you about how and when to obtain the results of X-rays or tests you have undergone. | Please do not call before the suggested time. |
If we believe that you need a second opinion we will try to help you get this. | You have the right to ask for a second opinion. |
We will visit you at home if you are too ill or frail to be brought to the surgery | Facilities for examination and treatment are better at the surgery. The less time a Doctor spends travelling the more time is available for patients. Please do not ask for a home visit unless it is strictly necessary. Please ensure that your request for a visit reaches the surgery before 11.30am, including weekends and holidays, unless of course, a genuine emergency arises later.Please do not request a home visit on the grounds of lack of transport. |
We will visit you outside surgery hours for emergencies | Please do not call out of hours except in real cases of emergency. Whenever possible it is best to wait for the next surgery. Please do not attend the Out of Hours for routine matters. |
Whenever possible we will give 24 hours notice of any cancelled clinics or surgery. | Please remember to tell us if you no longer need your appointment. |
We will inform you about how you can make suggestions and complaints about the service we offer. | — |
— | If you would like a chaperone during your examination, procedure or consultation please inform the Doctor or Practice Nurse and they will make appropriate arrangements. |
Practice Leaflet
Privacy information
Publication of GP Earnings
All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings (average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.
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.
The average pay for GPs working at York Road Group Practice in the financial year ended 31 March 2022 was £95,255 before tax and national insurance.
This is for 4 full time GPs, 1 part-time GP and 3 salaried GPs.
Summary care records
Online patient access to records
Patients can access their medical records online. You will be able to view your repeat prescriptions, allergies, laboratory test results, documents, immunisations, problems and consultations. You can choose whether you would like full access to your medical records, or certain aspects you would like to have access to.
If you would like to sign up to view your medical records on-line you will need to register to do this at the surgery in order to be allocated your login and password.
- You will be required to bring in a physical form of photographic ID into the practice
- Complete the registration form
If you care for someone who needs help ordering their repeat prescriptions online or would like to access your child medical records online, you can register as a proxy user. You will need to have access to your own account, but the proxy user can be added onto your profile. Both parties, (the proxy and the representative) will need to come into practice to show photographic ID and sign the form.
Summary Care Record
This is the National database, the record will be available to authorised healthcare staff providing your care anywhere in England, but they will ask your permission before they look at it.
Children under 16 will automatically have a summary care record unless a parent or guardian chooses to opt them out.
Cheshire Health Record
The Cheshire Health Record is a system designed locally to enable authorised doctors, nurses and other trained healthcare professionals to access a summary of your GP patient record. This could happen in hospital or unplanned care settings such as A&E or Out of Hours Centres. The system will provide essential medical information which can be used to make informed clinical decisions about the treatment provided to you.
Opting out of the schemes
You can choose not to have a Summary Care Record or Cheshire Health record by completing an “opt out” form. Please ask at reception. We will then enter a code into your records so your data cannot be shared. Your records will stay as they are now with information being shared by letter, email, fax or phone
If you change your mind you can opt back in at any time.
For further information:
Please contact the Customer Solution Centre (formally PALS) 01244 650368 or the practice.
How we use your medical records – Important information for patients
- This practice handles medical records in-line with laws on data protection and confidentiality.
- We share medical records with those who are involved in providing you with care and treatment
- In some circumstances we will also share medical records for medical research, for example to find out more about why people get ill.
- We share information when the law requires us to do so, for example, to prevent infectious diseases from spreading or to check the care being provided to you is safe.
- You have the right to be given a copy of your medical record.
- You have the right to object to your medical records being shared with those who provide you with care.
- You have the right to object to your information being used for medical research and to plan health services.
- You have the right to have any mistakes corrected and to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. Please see the practice privacy notice on the website or speak to a member of staff for more information about your rights.
- For more information ask at reception for a leaflet
The NHS is dedicated to protecting your information
Everyone working for the NHS has a responsibility and a legal duty to protect your personal information, so that it is not disclosed to unauthorised bodies or people.
Your information is recorded on paper and in computer files. It is treated with strict confidential care.
We sometimes need to move electronic information about you from one computer system to another, by extracting the data and modifying it ready to be passed on. Tests are made regularly on the data to check that it is getting transferred correctly.
Why we ask for personal information
In order to provide the best possible healthcare, we need to maintain proper records of your health and make sure that it is available to the relevant people whenever and wherever possible.
The doctor needs to make notes about any diagnosis, test result; treatments including drug prescriptions and other information that you provide that are relevant to the treatment of your condition.
Nurses and other health professionals will have access to these records, and will add their own notes, as part of your overall healthcare.
Secretaries, receptionists and other clerical staff need access to some of your records in order to complete administrative tasks such as booking appointments and for communicating with you and health care professionals.
The practice complies with General Data Protection Regulations 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. District Nurse & hospital services
- When we have a duty to others e.g. in child protection cases / Vulnerable adults
- To help you get other services e.g. Social work department. This requires your consent
- When you request us to complete insurance or solicitors forms – this requires your consent
- Anonymous patient information will also be used at local and national level to help the Primary Care Trust 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.
We may use some of the information for other reasons
Anyone who receives information from us about you is under a legal duty to keep it confidential.
You may be receiving care from another organisation as well as the NHS. To enable us to work together for your benefit, we may share information.
We may use some of the information for other reasons, such as to help us protect the health of the public generally, e.g. Notification of infectious diseases. Reports will extract the information from your records. This in turn enables the NHS to run efficiently by making plans for the future, using the figures passed to them, and looking at ways the numbers can be reduced. Training the staff, enabling them to carry out a review so that the care they provide is always of the highest standard.
Information may also be needed to carry out medical and other health research for the benefit of everyone. Research projects are always approved by a local research ethics committee. If anything to do with research involved you personally, you will be contacted to see if you are willing to take part.
Improvements and advances in medical care and treatment can only occur by monitoring current practices. Sometimes managers and planners as well as researchers may need to examine records to assist in this process. All data that could identify you personally is removed.
In addition, the NHS maintains a number of registers for diseases such as cancer, to allow the NHS to plan the services it provides. These registers are used to monitor the effectiveness of treatments, therefore over time improve the outcomes for specific conditions. Tests and the transferring of your data is carried out under secure and carefully controlled conditions. The law controls the sharing of very sensitive personal types of data. We continually review ways in which confidentiality improvements can be made. It is important for us to know and understand the views of our patients and users of our service including carers. If you provide consent your friends, relatives and carers can be kept up to date with the progress of your treatment.
Who to contact for further information
If at any time you would like to know more about how we use your information and how it is maintained, handled and looked after, you can speak to the person in charge of your care or to the Caldicott Guardian here in the Practice.
Here at York Road your Caldicott Guardian is Dr C J MacDonald & Mrs Bedford or visit the NHS web site on www.NHS.uk
Freedom of Information Act
All health bodies are covered by the Freedom of Information Act which gives all interested parties a general right of access to all types of recorded information.
If you have any questions please ask for an information leaflet at reception.
Veteran Friendly GP Practice
The Armed Forces Act 2021 names GP Practices as one of the relevant bodies that must show ‘Due Regard’ in line with the Covenant to the Armed Forces community. This can be achieved in part by being a ‘Veteran Friendly’ GP Practice; this is supported by the evidence of ensuring understanding and access to the right services.
GP Practices provide health services for the Veterans, Reservists and Service families who are registered with them. The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) is working with NHS England and NHS Improvement to accredit GP practices as ‘Veteran Friendly’.
As a veteran friendly accredited GP practice, we will;
- Ask patients registering with us if they or anyone in their immediate family has ever served in His Majesty’s Armed Forces.
- Code it onto our computer system.
- We have a clinical lead on veterans in the surgery, supported by an administrative role.
- Our clinical and administrative lead undertake dedicated training.
Accreditation is valid for 3 years and once achieved, this will mean that GP practices will be able to improve the identification and coding of these individuals, with a linked aim of further increasing the understanding of their health requirements and improving their care and treatment.