Confidentiality and Data Sharing
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
- 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.
Subject Access Requests
All requests must be in writing with the subject’s written request. The request must clearly state what information is required. Sufficient information must be supplied to confirm the identity of the requestor. Copies will be made available in line with current legislation requirements.
Research and Planning
- Anonymised patient information may be requested for a wide variety of purposes including education, research, monitoring, epidemiology, public health surveillance, clinical audit and planning. Wherever possible this information is anonymised by the practice. Only where it is essential for the purpose will identifiable records be disclosed. Such disclosures will be kept ot the minimum necessary for the purpose. You have the right to object to any such disclosure and your objection will be respected.
Financial Audit
The Cwm Taf University health Board (UHB) has a duty to occasionally check on claims made by practices for payments. The person carrying out these checks will have been properly trained and authorised by the UHB and will be subject to a duty of confidentiality in their employment contract. On a small part of the record relating to the claim will be made available to them.
Raising a Concern (complaint)
We make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends our practice.
However, we are aware that things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. If this is so, we would wish for the matter to be settled as quickly, and as amicably, as possible. Please call the practice and outline the issue to one of our receptionists who will then pass you to the most suitable person to deal with your issue.
If you feel you do not wish to speak with anyone, please put your concern in writing and address it to either the practice manager or the senior partner. Your concern will be acknowledged and then investigated for you. This can be handed in at the desk, posted to the practice or emailed to taffvale.general@wales.nhs.uk
Violence Policy
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 Rights to Information
The Freedom of Information Act (FOI) 2000 provides members of the public with the right access information held by public authorities.
Public authorities are required to routinely publish certain information to the public as part of its normal business activities. This is known as a publication scheme.
The TaffVale Practice Publication Scheme is designed to signpost individuals to information we proactively release as and when it becomes available. The aim of this is to explain what information the practice makes available to the public and where possible to provide an easy method of accessing it.
The Publication Scheme contains seven classes of information, as follows, and information falling into each of these classes is published on our practice website:
All the information we proactively release is available free of charge on our website. Our publication scheme is a useful place to start if you’re looking for information about TaffVale Practice, before making a Freedom of Information request.
Information that is not published under the FOI Publication Scheme can be requested in writing and the release of such information will be considered in accordance with the provisions of the FOI Act 2000.
To make a Freedom of Information request, please email contact the practice taffvale.general@wales.nhs.uk or write to:
TaffVale Practice
Duffryn Road
Rhydyfelin, Pontypridd
CF37 5RW
Who we are and what we do
TaffVale Practice has 16,500 patients in the Taff Ely Area. We are also members of the Taff Ely cluster which is made up of 7 separate practices. The cluster practices can be found at www.taffelycluster.com the practice was formed in the 1980s.
Practice details and our opening times are published on our website, this information can be accessed via the www.taffvalepractice.co.uk website Please visit our website to find details of our staff and the services that we offer.
Other information is available on the practice notice boards and display tables in the waiting areas.
What we spend and how we spend it
Taff Vale Practice receives money from NHS Wales according to its contract for national General Medical Services in exchange for services provided for patients.
There may be circumstances where material cannot be released because it is confidential or commercial information or the appropriate officer designated for these purposes, under the Act, has taken the view that it may be prejudicial to the conduct of the Practice’s affairs.
If this is the case, we will respond to your FOI request with a formal letter acknowledging the reasons why we are unable to give you this information.
What our priorities are and how we are doing
Currently the practice is reviewing its demand and capacity through access audits and a complete review of its appointment system.
We are working closely with our colleagues in the Taff Ely Cluster to develop and improve services for patients in the local area. Our cluster plan can be found here www.taffelycluster.com
How we make decisions
The practice has a committee that is made up of the senior partners and management. This group meets every 2nd Thursday of the month.
Our Policies and Procedures
The practice has an extensive list of general policies and procedures in use within the practice which include but are not limited to,
- Data Protection
- Prescribing
- Zero Tolerance
- Data quality
- Information Sharing
- Individual Rights
- Communication
- Caldicott and confidentiality
- Information Governance
- Putting things right
If you have a concern about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the staff working in this practice, please let us know. We work in line with the NHS complaints procedure, “Putting Things Right”.
Lists and Registers
- GP partner – Dr Jonathan Finnegan is also a GP Trainer for Cardiff University
- GP Partner – Dr Kathryn Scullion is also a GP Trainer for Cardiff University
- GP Partner – Dr Lara D’Arcy is also a GP Trainer for Cardiff University
- GP Partner – Dr Alex Yeung is a GP appraiser
The services we offer
In addition to routine and emergency services, we offer the following range of services under contract to the NHS:
Maternity Medical Services
Contraceptive Services – inclusive of coils, implants and injections
Minor Surgery
Joint injections
Anticoagulation
Drug and Alcohol
Transgender
Near Patient Testing
Gonadorelins
Influenza Vaccinations
Pneumococcal Vaccinations
Shingles Vaccinations
Travel vaccines
Charges for our private services (including medical reports and medical examinations) are published on our website
The method by which information published under this scheme will be made available
Where it is within the capability of the practice, information will be provided on the website. Where it is impracticable to make information available on a website or when an individual does not wish to access the information by the website, the practice will assist to provide the information in the format it has been requested or offer an alternative method for it to be obtained.
Charges which may be made for information published under this scheme
The purpose of this scheme is to make the maximum amount of information readily available at minimum inconvenience and cost to the public. Charges made by the practice for routinely published material will be justified and transparent and kept to a minimum. Material which is published and accessed on a website will be provided free of charge.
Generally, only the following charges will be made:
- the costs directly incurred as a result of viewing information, photocopying, postage and packaging
- fees permitted by other legislation; and
- for information produced commercially, for example, a book, map or similar publication