We provide comprehensive NHS primary care services to help you manage your health and wellbeing. We are based in the Eltham Community Hospital. You will find our reception desk by the main entrance. Please look for the Eltham Palace Surgery sign above the desk. People with disabilities can access all areas of the practice as we are on the ground floor of the building.

Our aim is to provide a high quality, caring and personal health care service to our whole patient population by:

• Putting our patients at the centre of what we do
• Having a highly qualified and trained multi-professional integrated primary healthcare team
• Offering our services in a safe, supportive and suitably equipped environment including using technological advances in health care systems for our patient’s benefit

We work very closely with our allied community nursing, health visiting and specialist teams to ensure your care is coordinated to the highest of standards. We welcome any comments or suggestions you may have. You can provide feedback online by completing the Feedback and Complaints triage.

An advocate is a person who speaks up for you and puts your case on your behalf.

An advocate is:

• Independent of social services and the NHS
• Not part of your family or one of your friends

An advocate’s role includes arguing your case when you need them to, and making sure health and social care services follow correct procedures.

They’re independent, so they represent your wishes without giving their personal opinion and without representing the views of the NHS or local authority.

An advocate might help you get information or go with you to meetings or interviews to support you.

Your advocate can also write letters on your behalf, or speak for you in situations where you don’t feel able to speak for yourself.

Find an Advocate

Advocacy services help people – particularly the most vulnerable in society – to:

• Access information and services
• Be involved in decisions about their lives
• Explore choices and options
• Defend and promote their rights and responsibilities
• Speak out about issues that matter to them

Further Information can be found on the “Someone to speak up for you (advocate)” page on the NHS website

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) makes sure hospitals, care homes, dental and GP surgeries, and all other care services in England provide people with safe, effective, compassionate and high-quality care, and encourages them to make improvements where possible.

They do this by inspecting services and publishing the results on their website: www.cqc.org.uk

You can use the results to help you make better decisions about the care you, or someone you care for, receives.

The Surgery is part of the South East London Clinical Commissioning Group.

The South East London CCG is a clinically led organisation responsible for planning, paying for and monitoring most of the health services in the six boroughs that it covers. Their greatest priority is to ensure that the 1.9 million people living in south east London experience the highest possible standard of care within the resources made available to them.

To find out more about the CCG, what they do and how you can get involved, visit their website: www.selondonccg.nhs.uk

Every patient has the right to make a complaint about the treatment or care they have received at Eltham Palace Surgery.

We understand that we may not always get everything right and, by telling us about the problem you have encountered, we will be able to improve our services and patient experience.

Who to talk to

Most complaints can be resolved at a local level. Please speak to a member of staff if you have a concern and they will assist you where possible. Alternatively, ask to speak to the Practice Manager, but note this may need to be a booked appointment.

If for any reason you do not want to speak to a member of our staff, then you can request that the Integrated Care Board (ICB) investigates your complaint. They will contact us on your behalf:

NHS England
PO BOX 16738
REDDITCH, B97 9PT
03003 112233
England.contactus@nhs.net

A complaint can be made by completing this form. You can also can also do this in writing, please click here for our address details, or in person or on the phone.

Time frames for complaints

The time constraint on bringing a complaint is 12 months from the occurrence giving rise to the complaint, or 12 months from the time you become aware of the matter about which you wish to complain.

The complaints manager will respond to within three business days to acknowledge your complaint.

We will aim to investigate and provide you with the findings as soon as we can and will provide regular updates regarding the investigation of your complaint

Investigating complaints

We will investigate all complaints effectively and in conjunction with extant legislation and guidance.

Confidentiality

We will ensure that all complaints are investigated with the utmost confidentiality and that any documents are held separately from the patient’s healthcare record.

Third party complaints

We allow third parties to make a complaint on behalf of a patient. The patient must provide consent for them to do so. A third-party patient complaint form is available from reception.

Final response

We will issue a final formal response to all complainants which will provide full details and the outcome of the complaint. We will liaise with you about the progress of any complaint.

Further action

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your complaint from either NHS South East London ICB or this organisation, then you can escalate your complaint to Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) at either:

Milbank Tower, Milbank
LONDON
SW1P 4QP

or

Citygate, Mosley Street
MANCHESTER
M2 3HQ
Tel: 0345 015 4033
www.ombudsman.org.uk

All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings (i.e. average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.

The average pay for GPs working in the practice of Eltham Palace Surgery in the last financial year was £66,476 before tax and National Insurance.

This is for 2 GP Partners who worked in the practice for more than 6 months.

Disclaimer

NHS England require that the net earnings of doctors engaged in the practice is publicised, and the required disclosure is shown above. 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 form any judgement about GP earnings, nor to make any comparison with any other practice.

Eltham Palace Surgery is part of the Primary Care Network called Eltham PCN. This consists of five local practice who work Collaboratory to deliver enhanced access provision to our patient population.

As part of the PCN, each surgery will have services for their patients to access out of core working hours namely 18:30 – 20:00 weekday and 09:00 – 17:00 Saturdays. This provision is shared between the PCN practices.

Eltham Palace Surgery has a legal duty to explain how we use personal information we collect about you as a registered patient. Staff at this practice maintain records about your health and the treatment you receive in electronic and paper format.

What information do we collect about you?

 We will collect information such as personal details, including name, address, next of kin, records of appointments, visits, telephone calls, your health records, treatment and medications, test results, X-rays, etc. and any other relevant information to enable us to deliver effective medical care.

How we will use your information

Your data is collected for the purpose of providing direct patient care; however, we can disclose this information if it is required by law, if you give consent or if it is justified in the public interest. The practice may be requested to support research; however, we will always gain your consent before sharing your information with medical research databases such as the Clinical Practice Research Datalink and QResearch or others when the law allows.

 In order to comply with its legal obligations, this practice may send data to NHS Digital when directed by the Secretary of State for Health under the Health and Social Care Act 2012. Additionally, this practice contributes to national clinical audits and will send the data that is required by NHS Digital when the law allows. This may include demographic data, such as date of birth, and information about your health which is recorded in coded form; for example, the clinical code for diabetes or high blood pressure.

Processing your information in this way and obtaining your consent ensures that we comply with Articles 6(1)(c), 6(1)(e) and 9(2)(h) of the GDPR.

Maintaining confidentiality and accessing your records

We are committed to maintaining confidentiality and protecting the information we hold about you. We adhere to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the NHS Codes of Confidentiality and Security, as well as guidance issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). You have a right to access the information we hold about you, and if you would like to access this information, you will need to complete a Subject Access Request (SAR). Please ask at reception for a SAR form and you will be given further information. Furthermore, should you identify any inaccuracies, you have a right to have the inaccurate data corrected.

Risk stratification

Risk stratification is a mechanism used to identify and subsequently manage those patients deemed as being at high risk of requiring urgent or emergency care. Usually this includes patients with long-term conditions, e.g. cancer. Your information is collected by a number of sources, including Eltham Medical Practice; this information is processed electronically and given a risk score which is relayed to your GP who can then decide on any necessary actions to ensure that you receive the most appropriate care.

Invoice validation

 Your information may be shared if you have received treatment to determine which Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is responsible for paying for your treatment. This information may include your name, address and treatment date. All of this information is held securely and confidentially; it will not be used for any other purpose or shared with any third parties.

Opt-outs

 You have a right to object to your information being shared. Should you wish to opt out of data collection, please contact a member of staff who will be able to explain how you can opt out and prevent the sharing of your information; this is done by registering to opt out online (national data opt-out programme) or if you are unable to do so or do not wish to do so online, by speaking to a member of staff.

Retention periods

 In accordance with the NHS Codes of Practice for Records Management, your healthcare records will be retained for 10 years after death or, if a patient emigrates, for 10 years after the date of emigration.

What to do if you have any questions

 Should you have any questions about our privacy policy or the information we hold about you, you can:

1. Contact the practice and ask to speak to the Business Manager.
2. GP practices are data controllers for the data they hold about their patients
3. Write to the data controller at Eltham Palace Surgery, Eltham Community Hospital, 30 Passey Place, Eltham, London. SE9 5DQ

The Data Protection Officer (DPO) for Eltham Palace Surgery can be contacted via email: GPDPO@selondonics.nhs.uk.

Complaints

 In the unlikely event that you are unhappy with any element of our data-processing methods, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the ICO. For further details, visit ico.org.uk and select “Raising a concern”.

Changes to our privacy policy

 We regularly review our privacy policy and any updates will be published on our website, in our newsletter and on posters to reflect the changes. This policy is to be reviewed by 30 October 2024.

BMA GPs as data controllers under the GDPR