The Care Quality Commission (CQC) are the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England.

The CQC make sure health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care and encourage them to improve.

They monitor, inspect and regulate services to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety and publish what is found, including performance ratings to help people choose care.

Our GP Practice has recently undergone a CQC inspection and the results are now freely available on the CQC Website.  You can access the report below

During your care, a clinician may need to examine you. Occasionally this may involve an examination of intimate areas. We at the walk in centre understand that this can be stressful and embarrassing.

If this sort of examination is necessary:

• We will explain to you why the examination is necessary and give you the opportunity to ask questions
• We will explain what the examination will involve
• We will obtain your permission before any examination is carried out
• You will be offered a chaperone to be present during the examination
• At all times we will respect your privacy, both during the examination and whilst dressing and undressing

Please ask at reception if you would like a chaperone present during your examination.

What is a Chaperone?

A chaperone is a person who has a role to witness both a patient and a medical practitioner and to be a safeguard for both parties during an examination or procedure. The exact role of a chaperone will vary according to the clinical situation.

All patient information held in the Centre is confidential and information is only disclosed to other health care professionals.

Information may only be released to outside agencies on receipt of a signed letter of consent from the patient.

If you are under 16 you can talk to your doctor in complete confidence; doctors have to keep anything you tell them private, just as they do for an adult.

Publication Scheme

To access details about our  Publication Scheme please click on the link. This will direct you to the necessary information regarding our publication process. By clicking the link, you can learn about how we organise and share our publications with the public.

The NHS employs over a million staff in thousands of locations. It is a large and complex organisation providing a broad range of services. It is not surprising that sometimes you or a loved one may feel bewildered or concerned when using the NHS. And this can be at times when you are feeling at your most vulnerable and anxious.

So, what should you do if you want on the spot help when using the health service? The NHS expects all members of staff to listen and respond to you to the best of their ability. But sometimes, you may wish to talk to someone employed especially to help you. The Patient Advice and Liaison Service, known as PALS, has been introduced to ensure that the NHS listens to patients, their relatives, carers and friends, and answers their questions and resolves their concerns as quickly as possible.

PALS also helps the NHS to improve services by listening to what matters to patients and their loved ones and making changes, when appropriate.

What does PALS do?

In particular, PALS will:

• Provide you with information about the NHS and help you with any other health-related enquiry
• Help resolve concerns or problems when you are using the NHS
• Provide information about the NHS complaints procedure and how to get independent help if you decide you may want to make a complaint
• Provide you with information and help introduce you to agencies and support groups outside the NHS
• Inform you about how you can get more involved in your own healthcare and the NHS locally
• Improve the NHS by listening to your concerns, suggestions and experiences and ensuring that people who design and manage services are aware of the issues you raise
• Provide an early warning system for NHS Trusts and monitoring bodies by identifying problems or gaps in services and reporting them.

Find out more

If you would like more information about PALS, the functions it is intended to provide and the standards it should strive to achieve , follow this link.

To contact your nearest PALS office:

• Phone: 0800 389 7671
• Email: [email protected]
• Write to: PALS, NHS Wiltshire, Southgate House, Pans Lane, Devizes, Wiltshire, SN10 5EQ

What is the National Data Opt Out?

The national data opt-out was introduced on 25 May 2018, enabling patients to opt out from the use of their data for research or planning purposes, in line with the recommendations of the National Data Guardian.

Whenever you use a health or care service, important information about you is collected in a patient record for that service. Collecting this information helps to ensure you get the best possible care and treatment.

The information collected about you when you use these services can also be used and provided to other organisations for purposes beyond your individual care, for instance to help with improving the quality and standards of care provided, research into the development of new treatments, preventing illness and diseases, monitoring safety, and planning services.

This may only take place when there is a clear legal basis to use this information. All these uses help to provide better health and care for you, your family and future generations. Confidential patient information about your health and care is only used like this where allowed by law. Anonymised data is used for research and planning so that you cannot be identified in which case your confidential patient information isn’t needed.

You have a choice about whether you want your confidential patient information to be used in this way. If you are happy with this use of information you do not need to do anything. If you do choose to opt-out your confidential patient information will still be used to support your individual care.

Our Compliance Statement

Health and care organisations have until 2020 to put systems and processes in place so they can be compliant with the national data opt-out and apply your choice to any confidential patient information they use or share for purposes beyond your individual care.

Our service only uses your personal health data to provide individualised care to you and does not disclose your data for any other purposes. The national data opt-out does not apply to our usage of your data and we are compliant with the policy, however as a service we are informed of procedures and can advise patients of where they can access the National Data Opt-out information.

For further information on:

How to set up your NHS Data Opt-Out;

https://www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/

How patient information is used in research studies;

https://www.hra.nhs.uk/information-about-patients/

How patient information is used in healthcare;

https://understandingpatientdata.org.uk/how

We understand how important it is to keep your personal information safe and secure and we take this very seriously. We have taken steps to make sure your personal information is looked after as required by Law.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully, as it contains important information about how we use the personal and healthcare information we collect on your behalf.

Please see here the Children’s Notice 

The doctors and nurses always try to see patients at a mutually convenient time.

They will do their best to keep to time during their surgeries but you will appreciate that some consultations are complicated and take longer than others.

If you are late for your appointment the doctor or nurse will do their best to see you but you may be asked to make another appointment. If you are unable to keep your appointment please telephone to cancel so that it may be offered to another patient.

Your opinion matters and it’s for this reason we encourage frank and open discussion and feedback regarding just about everything we do. We’re keen for patients to let us know what you think, whether it’s positive or negative and also to make some suggestions.

We take time to listen and understand so the way we see it, it’s by working in partnership that we can achieve the most advantageous outcomes for everyone involved. There are many ways we go about this, but most importantly the choice is yours.

Here’s some of the ways you can contact us and become involved. We’ve also listed the principal means of communication from ourselves, available to patients on an ongoing basis. Communication is a two-way process, so please get in touch whatever your reason.

Who to Contact About What

Please continue to visit our website. You can also contact us via letter, e-mail, phone or fax. Please see the Contact page for our contact details.

Our Facebook page provides a further source of information about us and the services we provide.

We accept that sometimes you may feel a need to complain. If this is the case, You might also find it helpful to speak to our Operations Team Leader, Charlotte Redgrave.

Charlotte will listen and help resolve issues and misunderstandings which may arise. She has day-to-day knowledge of situations which can occur in the life of a busy walk in centre and how we can best help put things right. You can contact Charlotte via Reception on 01722 331191. She will contact you at the earliest possible opportunity to arrange a convenient time to talk.

You may however prefer to write to us. If so, please address your letter to the Service Improvement Manager, Helen Moule.

Our address is available on the Contact page. We will acknowledge your concerns within 3 working days and will undertake a thorough investigation in order to response fully to the issues.