In accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and Access to Health Records Act, patients may request a copy or to view their medical records. To request this a form must be completed and signed by the patient or proxy representative, these forms can be obtained via the Reception Team. 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 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 lipread or use a hearing aid or communication tool.

Please fill in this online form to inform us of your accessibility needs.

The Accessible Information Standard

Please find below the link for the NHS Accessible Information Standard Specification for more information.

• Link to Accessible Information Standard

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.

To pursue a complaint please contact the practice who will deal with your concerns appropriately.

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.

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.

Important information for patients

• This practice handles medical records in-line with laws on data protection and confidentiality.
• We share medical records with those who are involved in providing you with care and treatment.
• In some circumstances we will also share medical records for medical research, for example to find out more about why people get ill.
• We share information when the law requires us to do so, for example, to prevent infectious diseases from spreading or to check the care being provided to you is safe.
• You have the right to be given a copy of your medical record.
• You have the right to object to your medical records being shared with those who provide you with care.
• You have the right to object to your information being used for medical research and to plan health services.
• You have the right to have any mistakes corrected and to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. Please see the practice privacy notices below  or speak to a member of staff for more information about your rights

Additional information

• How we use your information
• Children’s Privacy Information Leaflet
• Subject Access Request Policy
• COVID19 Privacy Notice
• Patient Privacy Notice including Opt Out Advice
• Privacy Notice

• To provide the best possible quality service for our patients within a confidential and safe environment through effective collaboration and teamwork.
• To involve our patients in decisions regarding their treatment.
• To promote good health and well-being to our patients through education and information.
• To ensure that all member of the team have the right skills and training to carry out their duties competently, and they have opportunities to discuss and learn from problems or issues that arise at any time.
• To support continuity of care – wherever possible through personal continuity; but also through medical record continuity enabled by high quality medical records; and following guidelines based on best evidence, national, and local policy.
• To be an active and responsible member in our local health community ensuring our practice and services to our patients are commissioned and provided in a way most likely to meet their needs.
• To provide a learning environment where we train student and health professionals and are involved in teaching and research. This learning and continual improvement ethos runs through everything we do, we look to continuously make incremental improvements and learn lessons from delivering primary health care.

All patients at The Beeches Medical Practice have a name accountable Doctor who is responsible for your care. Your named Doctor will be allocated to you by the practice. You can still talk to or make appointments to see any of our Doctors or Nurses, not just your named GP.

If you have a preference and would like to request a particular Doctor at the practice to be your named GP please talk to one of our receptionists.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and personal data. Our privacy notice (download the PDF here) will inform you as to how we look after your personal data and tell you about your privacy rights and how the law protects you. It is important that you read our privacy notice.

You can visit our website without telling us who you are and without revealing any information about yourself. If you use our website to make contact with us you will, however, be required to provide your name and contact details. This information is not retained on our website but may be used to enable us to contact you to respond.

Our website may contain links to other third party websites of interest, plug ins and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not have any control over these third party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. When you leave our website we encourage you to read the privacy notice of every website you visit.

Click Here for our Safeguarding Policy

Registrar Training

The practice has been training general practice registrars for over twenty-five years. Dr Laycock is the approved trainer and has been training in the practice since 2002. We are more than happy to discuss the registrar post with any potential registrar. If you wish to contact us please ring Dr Laycock at the surgery.

We operate a learner centred approach to our registrars. When starting the period of training there is an introductory week that allows the registrar to adjust to the change from hospital to community practice. Consultation times start long and are reduced in consultation with the registrar as they become more confident. (Consultation times for the partners are 15 minutes and the registrar is not expected to reduce below this figure). Registrars are at all times encouraged to seek help when needed during the surgery or after and all partners are open to questions.

Tutorials occur three times a week for an hour in protected teaching time. These are based on an assessment of the learning needs of the individual registrar and not only use the skills of the partners but all members of the practice team when indicated.

The practice is linked to the Shropshire vocational training scheme and is part of the West Midlands Deanery.

We are more than happy to discuss the registrar post with any potential registrar. If you wish to contact us please ring Dr Jutsum at the surgery.

Medical Students

The practice has been taking 5th and 3rd year medical students since 2003, initially from Manchester and more recently from Keele University, for their community practice module. In addition more recently we are taking 3rd and 4th year students for their SSM module. The mentor for medical students is Dr Walsh, although teaching and supervision is given by all other partners. We are a small friendly practice and see the function of the modules not only as a way to integrate and build on your general medical knowledge, but as an introduction into community medicine and working in the team structure of general practice. If any student wishes to discuss a potential placement further please contact Dr Walsh at the surgery.