Read / View our practice policies.
Children’s Privacy Notice
Download a copy of our Children’s Privacy Policy.
Complaints
Complaints can be made in writing and emailed to: cmicb-cheshire.receptionwatlingmp@nhs.net or sent by post.
Confidentiality
All patient information is handled confidentially according to NHS guidelines. You have the right to access any personal information held under the Data Protection Act but a charge may be payable. We will not disclose any details to other agencies unless we have your written consent. This goes for family members and friends of yourself also, so please ensure we have written permission to disclose information to other people should you choose to do so.
Data Protection – your personal data is safe
We are aware that recent events highlighted in the media concerning sharing your personal data may have left you confused and worried.
This has led to a rise in the number of queries asking us who we actually share your personal data with, do we have the rights to and can we trust these external organisations to look after your personal data.
We would like to assure you that as a practice we take your personal data very seriously and we have certain processes in place to make sure your personal data is in safe hands at all times.
As a practice we must adhere to UK Data Protection laws, the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, both pieces of legislation are around to make sure we look after your data. Where we do not follow any part of the Data Protection laws we are at risk of being investigated by the Information Commissioner’s Officer (ICO) on your behalf, and possibly being issued with a fine or warning. The ICO is an independent advisory body who report directly to Parliament and make sure your rights around your personal data are protected.
To help us keep on track and make sure we abide by these laws we complete something called the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) that incorporates the laws. It helps us measure how we are doing and keeps us in line with the law and we are required to complete this annually.
There will be times when we have to share your personal data with external organisations / companies in order to provide you with the care you need. However, we only do this where we need to, where we have a legal reason to do so and when we are happy they will continue to safeguard your personal data. An example would be the Clinical IT system we use that holds your medical records, this is supplied by an IT company who will host your personal data to enable us to use the system.
In any event where we share your personal data we will conduct the necessary Data Protection checks with the external organisation. Like us, they are required by data protection law to provide us with relevant assurances that any personal data we share with them will remain secure. Under the UK GDPR they are required to provide us with documents to assure us and this will include contracts which must include UK GDPR clauses. If an organisation does not process your personal data in line with law they too will be investigated by the ICO.
We cannot share your personal data without a legal basis, which means we cannot give your personal data to anyone ‘just because’ they want it. The UK GDPR sets out 6 legal bases we can use, the most common one you would have heard of is ‘consent.’ Consent is not often used in healthcare and where we are using your personal data for direct care, it just would not work and the UK GDPR recognise this so we apply a legal basis called ‘public tasks.’ Public tasks covers the use of personal data where it relates to either being in the interest of the patients care or the public interest. This means that we do not need to ask for your consent, although we are obliged to be open and transparent with your personal data which we do via our Privacy Notice (insert link).
We certainly will not sell your personal data to anyone.
When we share your personal data we need to abide by the UK GDPR principles, one of which is called ‘data minimisation’ – this means we can legally only share what is relevant and necessary for the task.
Finally along with completing the DSPT (as mentioned above) where we have any data protection concerns or need advice we have a dedicated Information Governance team who are on hand to guide us through the do’s and don’ts.
I hope this information has provided you with assurance that we take the necessary steps to make sure your personal data is safe when in our care and that where we share your personal data we do so only if the law allows us to.
Thank you
GP Net Earnings
NHS England require that the net earnings of doctors engaged in the practice is publicised and the required disclosure is shown below.
However, it should be noted that the prescribed method for calculating earnings is potentially misleading because it takes no account of how much time doctors spend working in the practice and should not be used to for any judgement about GP earnings, nor to make any comparisons with other practices.
The average earnings for GPs working in the Watling Street Medical Centre in the last financial year ending in 2022/23 was £123,398 before taxation and National Insurance.
This is for 3 full time GPs and 1Locum GP who worked in the practice for more than 6 months.
Patient Privacy Notice
Research Statement
Our practice is a research active practice. This means we actively support and conduct different types of research with the intention of improving outcomes for patients. New treatments, technologies, care approaches and devices all need to be carefully and safely tested in real life healthcare environments. Clinical research in these environments is separately funded and adds value to patient care.
The COVID-19 pandemic illustrated the importance of clinical research, which was crucial to the development of vaccines and treatments that have saved millions of lives globally. Clinical research is essential for discovering new treatments for diseases, as well as new ways to detect, diagnose, and reduce the chance of developing the disease and by improving the efficiency and efficacy of care it can be a vital tool in tackling waiting list backlogs and reducing the pressure on the NHS.
You may be approached or invited to consider taking part in research from time to time. Participation in research is completely voluntary and your decision to take part or not will not affect your clinical care in any way.
Our practice works with the NIHR Clinical Research Network Northwest Coast, who provide support to enable us to offer research to our patients. Every research study is different, and patient involvement varies- depending on the type of study. You will be provided with information on the study to help you decide whether you want to be part of it or not. Below are some examples of what you may be asked to do for a research study:
- Complete a questionnaire
- Take part in an interview
- Use a new therapy / device / website
- Take a treatment under supervision
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. The CQC now has a remit to assess how care organisations are supporting and using health and care research to improve population health. The 2021 CQC Strategy specifically refers to the value of research in population care. If you do not wish to be approached for research, please contact the practice.
Site Research Staff – who they are (GP Lead / Admin support / Nurses / HCAs) and are they GCP trained?
Current studies / Past Studies
Research Accreditations / Award nominations etc – for example: RCGP Research Ready
Your Patient Participation Group (PPG) should be aware and supportive of your drive to get ready to do research. They can also help to suggest what research might be welcomed by your patients.
Patient Research Links:
- Join Dementia Research connects registered volunteers with dementia researchers across the UK who are looking for people to join their studies: Join dementia research
- Research for The Future has opportunities to get involved in research across all health conditions as well as for healthy volunteers: Research for the Future
- NIHR Evidence makes health and care research findings informative, accessible, relevant and ready for use for all: https://evidence.nihr.ac.uk/
Useful links for organisations to look at:
Best Patient Care, Clinical Research and You staff guide Best Patient Care, Clinical Research and You – NHS R&D Forum
Embedding Research in Health and Care Services https://express.adobe.com/page/pV98Q9HG5cZCW/
Maximising the benefits of research: Guidance for integrated care systems NHS England » Maximising the benefits of research: Guidance for integrated care systems
Research Statement
Our practice is a research active practice. This means we actively support and conduct different types of research with the intention of improving outcomes for patients. New treatments, technologies, care approaches and devices all need to be carefully and safely tested in real life healthcare environments. Clinical research in these environments is separately funded and adds value to patient care.
The COVID-19 pandemic illustrated the importance of clinical research, which was crucial to the development of vaccines and treatments that have saved millions of lives globally. Clinical research is essential for discovering new treatments for diseases, as well as new ways to detect, diagnose, and reduce the chance of developing the disease and by improving the efficiency and efficacy of care it can be a vital tool in tackling waiting list backlogs and reducing the pressure on the NHS.
You may be approached or invited to consider taking part in research from time to time. Participation in research is completely voluntary and your decision to take part or not will not affect your clinical care in any way.
Our practice works with the NIHR Clinical Research Network North West Coast, who provide support to enable us to offer research to our patients. Every research study is different, and patient involvement varies- depending on the type of study. You will be provided with information on the study to help you decide whether you want to be part of it or not. Below are some examples of what you may be asked to do for a research study:
- Complete a questionnaire
- Take part in an interview
- Use a new therapy / device / website
- Take a treatment under supervision
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. The CQC now has a remit to assess how care organisations are supporting and using health and care research to improve population health. The 2021 CQC Strategy specifically refers to the value of research in population care. If you do not wish to be approached for research please contact the practice.
Patient Research Links:
- Join Dementia Research connects registered volunteers with dementia researchers across the UK who are looking for people to join their studies: Join dementia research
- Research for The Future has opportunities to get involved in research across all health conditions as well as for healthy volunteers: Research for the Future
- NIHR Evidence makes health and care research findings informative, accessible, relevant and ready for use for all: https://evidence.nihr.ac.uk/
Zero Tolerance Policy
In common with the rest of the NHS we also operate a zero tolerance policy on any issues of abuse, be it verbal or physical, towards any member of staff in the practice. Should any such incident occur we have the right to remove patients from the practice list and report incidents to police. We operate a full CCTV security system in the public areas of the practice.