Anybody in England, whether a resident or overseas visitor, may access primary care services at a GP practice without charge.

Homeless patients are entitled to register with a GP using a temporary address, which may be a friends address or a day centre. The practice address may also be used to register but we will need up to date contact details.

No documents are required to register with a GP, however sometimes we will contact you for further information to confirm your registration.

We request that all new patients should present two forms of identification if you have these. This helps to reduce and prevent fraudulent attempts to obtain or misuse NHS care. Overseas visitors may be asked for additional information to prove NHS entitlement.

If presenting identification, one form should ideally be photographic such as:

• Passport
• Drivers licence
• Official ID card from Public Services body
• Student matriculation card (current year)

Other documents for prove of residency that are acceptable are:

• Recent utility bill (within last 3 months)
• Council tax document
• Television licence
• Payslips (last two months)
• Rent book/agreement (Public Body or Private Landlord)
• Bank statement (Name and address section only required)
• Solicitors letter- (Clearly showing name and address)

If unable to provide photographic evidence then you can present one of the above and one of the following:

• Birth certificate
• Marriage certificate
• Divorce/annulment papers

The programme enables patients to test their kidney function from home. We will share your contact details with Healthy.io to enable them to contact you and send you a test kit.

This will help identify patients at risk of kidney disease and help us agree any early interventions that can be put in place for the benefit of your care.

Healthy.io will only use your data for the purposes of delivering their service to you.
If you do not wish to receive a home test kit from Healthy.io we will continue to manage your care within the practice.

Healthy.io are required to hold data we send them in line with retention periods outlined in the Records Management code of Practice for Health and Social Care. Further information about this is available at: www.lp.healthy.io/minuteful_info.

Please use the links below to find more information about the practice and data protection.

• Our Data Protection
• Provider Processors
• ACR project for patients with diabetes (and/or other conditions) Privacy Policy

If you wish for a chaperone to be present during an examination, please do not hesitate to ask a clinician or one of our receptionists.

It may not be possible for such a person to be provided immediately and you may have to return for the examination to be carried out at a mutually convenient time.

Trust is important in the relationship between clinician and patient and we would at all times, wish you to feel able to ask for a chaperone. It is the policy of the practice to respect the privacy, dignity, cultural and religious beliefs of our patients.

The practice is always pleased to receive letters of thanks or compliments about service from our patients. These are communicated to the whole practice team.

The practice follows the standard recommended practice complaints procedure and will always try to resolve your complaint in house. Any written complaints should be made out to Anni Baldry, practice manager. We will usually acknowledge receipt within 3 working days and aim to resolve the matter as soon as possible but will give you some idea of how long that may take at the outset.

You may also approach the following for help and advice:

• Healthwatch
• IHCA
• 01502 719567

Alternatively, you may wish to take the complaint to NHS England’s complaints department. NHS England is the commissioner or purchaser of primary care, ie GPs, dentists, opticians, pharmacy and some specialised services.

You can contact the Complaints Team at NHS England:

• By post to:
  NHS England
  PO Box 16738
  Redditch
  B97 9PT
• By email to: england.contactus@nhs.net (Please state: ‘For the attention of the complaints team’ in the subject line.)
• By telephone: 0300 311 22 33 (Monday to Friday 8:00 to 18:00, excluding English Bank Holidays)

If you feel the practice’s response is not satisfactory, you may contact the parliamentary and health service Ombudsman who will review your complaint and the practice’s response.

If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the staff working in this GP surgery, please let us know. This includes Primary Care Network staff working as part of our GP surgery. We operate a complaints procedure as part of an NHS system for dealing with complaints. Our complaints system meets national criteria.

 

How to complain

We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly when they arise and with the person concerned. For example, by requesting a face-to-face meeting to discuss your concerns.

If your problem cannot be sorted out this way and you wish to make a complaint, we would like you to let us know as soon as possible. By making your complaint quickly, it is easier for us to establish what happened. If it is not possible to do that, please let us have details of your complaint:

• Within 6 months of the incident that caused the problem; or
• Within 6 months of discovering that you have a problem, provided this is within 12 months of the incident.

Complaints should be addressed to the GP surgery team verbally or in writing to the Practice Manager. Alternatively, you may ask for an appointment with the GP surgery to discuss your concerns. They will explain the complaints procedure to you and make sure your concerns are dealt with promptly. Please be as specific as possible about your complaint.

 

What we will do

We will acknowledge your complaint within three working days. We will aim to have investigated your complaint within ten working days of the date you raised it with us. We will then offer you an explanation or a meeting with the people involved, if you would like this. When we investigate your complaint, we will aim to:

• Find out what happened and what went wrong.
• Make it possible for you to discuss what happened with those concerned, if you would like this.
• Make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate.
• Identify what we can do to make sure the problem does not happen again.

 

Complaining on behalf of someone else

We take medical confidentiality seriously. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we must know that you have their permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed unless they are incapable (because of illness) of providing this.

 

Complaining to NHS England

We hope that you will use our Practice Complaints Procedure if you are unhappy. We believe this will give us the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our GP surgery.

However, if you feel you cannot raise the complaint with us directly, please contact NHS England. You can find more information on how to make a complaint at https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/complaint/complaining-to-nhse/.

 

Unhappy with the outcome of your complaint?

If you are not happy with the way your complaint has been dealt with by the GP surgery and NHS England and would like to take the matter further, you can contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO). The PHSO makes final decisions on unresolved complaints about the NHS in England. It is an independent service which is free for everyone to use.

To take your complaint to the Ombudsman, visit the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman website or call 0345 015 4033

Need help making a complaint?

If you want help making a complaint, Healthwatch Norfolk can help you find independent NHS complaints advocacy services in your area.