In accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 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.

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 some support at appointments please let us know.

We aim to provide patients with the best care we can, but we may sometimes fall short of the mark.  If you have any compliments, concerns or complaints about our service, we want to hear about it.

We would encourage you to speak to whoever you feel most comfortable with – your doctor, a nurse, a receptionist or manager – who will try to resolve the problem on the spot.  However if you would prefer to give your feedback in writing, please send it to the Practice Manager via email or post

[email protected]

If you have a complaint to make please don’t be afraid to say how you feel.  We welcome feedback to help us improve our standards and you will not be treated any differently if you have complained.  We will just do our best to put right anything that has gone wrong.

Your complaint will always be thoroughly investigated and we seek to come to a mutual understanding of what has gone wrong and to take any action that may be needed to put things right.

We aim to acknowledge all written complaints within three working days.  Some complaints will need to be discussed within the team and will take longer to respond to in full, but we will keep you informed about how long this will take.

Although all complaints are treated in confidence it may be necessary for doctors and staff to discuss clinical information.  They will only do this as far as necessary to investigate the complaint.

If a complaint is made by someone else on a patient’s behalf we will require the patient’s written consent to discuss their medical records and details of their care and treatment.  (This does not apply to patients under 16 years of age).

If you would like help or advice from an independent body then the ICAS (Independent Complaints Advocacy Service) can help:

Independent Complaints Advocacy Services
Cheshire West
Tel: 0300 323 0006

Email: [email protected]

Although most complaints are resolved within the practice you can approach the Cheshire and Merseyside ICB who will manage the complaint on your behalf.  Please contact:

Patient Experience Team
NHS Cheshire and Merseyside
No 1 Lakeside
920 Centre Park Square
Warrington
WA1 1QY

[email protected]

0800 132 996

If you remain dissatisfied, you can seek further independent review from:

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Tel: 0345 0154033
Email: [email protected]

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.

Your Data Matters to the NHS
Information about your health and care helps us to improve your individual care, speed up diagnosis, plan your local services and research new treatments. The NHS is committed to keeping patient information safe and always being clear about how it is used.

How your data is used

Information about your individual care such as treatment and diagnoses is collected about you whenever you use health and care services. It is also used to help us and other organisations for research and planning such as research into new treatments, deciding where to put GP clinics and planning for the number of doctors and nurses in your local hospital. It is only used in this way when there is a clear legal basis to use the information to help improve health and care for you, your family and future generations.

Wherever possible we try to use data that does not identify you, but sometimes it is necessary to use your confidential patient information.

You have a choice

You do not need to do anything if you are happy about how your information is used. If you do not want your confidential patient information to be used for research and planning, you can choose to opt out securely online or through a telephone service. You can change your mind about your choice at any time.

Will choosing this opt-out affect your care and treatment?

No, choosing to opt out will not affect how information is used to support your care and treatment. You will still be invited for screening services, such as screenings for bowel cancer.

What do you need to do?

If you are happy for your confidential patient information to be used for research and planning, you do not need to do anything.

To find out more about the benefits of data sharing, how data is protected, or to make/change your opt-out choice visit www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters

Click here to Download a copy of the patient leaflet

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.

Publications of Earnings 2022/23

All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.

The average pay for GPs working in Lache Health Centre in the last financial year was £47,971 before tax and National Insurance. This is for 0 full time GPs and 5 part time GPs and 1 locum GP who worked in the practice for more than six months.

Click here for GDPR – Practice Poster (2019)

Click here for the patient privacy notice.

Click here for the children’s privacy notice.

There is a new Central NHS Computer System called the Summary Care Record (SCR). It is an electronic record which contains information about the medicines you take, allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines you have had.

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.

Your GP Practice is committed to operating in a way that complies fully with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. We recognise that the personal data legitimately required in order to carry out our business must be collected, processed, stored and disposed of fairly, lawfully and with due regard to confidentiality. We fully respect your privacy.

If you have any questions about your data or how we deal with it please contact the practice and get in touch with us by clicking on the Contact Us links available on this website.