Communication Support Needs

We want to get better at communicating with our patients.

We want to make sure you can read and understand the information we send you. If you find it hard to read our letters or if you need someone to support you at appointments, please let us know.

• We want to know if you need information in braille, large print or easy read.
• We want to know if you need a British Sign Language interpreter or advocate.
• We want to know if we can support you to lip-read or use a hearing aid or communication tool.

Please tell the receptionist when you arrive for your next appointment, call on the main surgery number 0113 2951600 or send us your request in writing (Communication Support Needs forms are available from our waiting area or website).

Accessible Information

Making Healthcare Information Accessible

The Accessible Information Standard aims to make sure that
people who have a disability, impairment or sensory loss get
information that they can access and understand, and any
communication support that they need from health and care
services.
The Standard tells organisations how they should make sure that
patients and service users, and their carers and parents can
access and understand the information they are given. This
includes making sure that people get information in accessible
formats, for example by offering support from a British Sign
Language (BSL) interpreter, deafblind manual interpreter or an
advocate.
NHS England has produced the resources below to provide an
update on the accessible information standard:

If you need us to send you information in a different format to
our standard letter, for example large print or easy read, or if you
need help to communicate with us, for example because you use
British Sign Language, please let us know at reception. If these
needs change in the future please let us know at reception so
that we can update your record.

Website Accessibility Statement

General
Practice365 strives to ensure that its services are accessible to people with disabilities. Practice365 has invested a significant amount of resources to help ensure that its websites are made easier to use and more accessible for people with disabilities, with the strong belief that every person has the right to live with dignity, equality, comfort and independence.

This accessibility statement applies to websites hosted by Practice365.co.uk.

Accessibility on Practice365
We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts
  • zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
  • navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

Practice365 makes available on access, the UserWay Accessibility Widget, that is powered by a dedicated accessibility server. The software allows the site to improve its compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1).

How accessible this website is
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  • most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software

Enabling the Accessibility Menu
UserWay’s accessibility menu can be enabled by clicking the accessibility menu icon that appears on the corner of the page. After triggering the accessibility menu, please wait a moment for the accessibility menu to load in its entirety.

Disclaimer
Practice365 continues its efforts to constantly improve the accessibility of its site and services in the belief that it is our collective moral obligation to allow seamless, accessible and unhindered use also for those of us with disabilities.

Here For You
If you are experiencing difficulty with any content on Practice365 website, widget, any of its services or require assistance with any part of our site or software, please contact us during normal business hours as detailed below and we will be happy to assist.

Contacting Us
If you wish to report a problem, have any questions or need assistance, please email us at hello@iatropartners.co.uk

Enforcement procedure
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS). If you are based in Northern Ireland, please reefer to Equalities Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) instead of the EASS and EHRC.

Training

 

We are not a training Practice

Violence Policy

 

The Practice staff shall always show due respect and courtesy when dealing with patients and their representatives. We respectfully request that patients and their representatives do the same when dealing with members of the practice team.

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.

No form of aggression (whether verbal or physical in nature) will be tolerated – any instances of such behaviour on the practice premises may result in the perpetrator being reported to the Police and removed from the practice’s List of Registered Patients.

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.

 

Chaperone Policy

 

We will always respect your privacy, dignity and your religious and cultural beliefs particularly when intimate examinations are advisable – these will only be carried out with your express agreement and you will be offered a chaperone to attend the examination if you so wish.

You may also request a chaperone when making the appointment or on arrival at the surgery (please let the receptionist know) or at any time during the consultation.

Personal Data

 

The following IT systems are in use at the practice:

  • Referral Management (using NHS numbers in referrals)
  • Electronic Appointment Booking (the facility to book routine appointments online and, similarly, to cancel appointments
  • Online booking of repeat prescriptions
  • Summary Care Record (uploading details of your current medication and allergies to the national “spine” so that these are available for doctors involved in your care elsewhere)
  • GP to GP transfers (the electronic transfer of records from practice to practice when you re-register
  • Patient Access to records (the facility to view your medical records online).

If you are not already registered for online access and would like to be please complete our online form.

If you would like access to your medical records enabled or would like to opt out of the local or national summary care record, please contact reception.

 

IT Policy

 

This practice is committed to preserving, as far as is practical, the security of data used by our information systems. This means that we will take all reasonable actions to;

Maintain the Confidentiality of all data within the practice by:

  • Ensuring that only authorised persons can gain access to our systems
  • Not disclosing information to anyone who has no right to see it

Maintain the integrity of all data within the practice by:

  • Taking care over input
  • Ensuring that all changes are reported and monitored
  • Checking that the correct record is on the screen before updating
  • Reporting all apparent errors and ensuring that they are resolved

Maintain the availability of all data by:

  • Ensuring that all equipment is protected from intruders
  • Ensuring that backups are taken at regular, predetermined intervals
  • Ensuring that contingency is provided for possible failure or equipment theft and that any such contingency plans are tested and kept up to date

Additionally we will take all reasonable measures to comply with our legal responsibilities under: