Accountable GP
An accountable GP will be assigned to every patient and where a preference is expressed reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate this.
Health Checks
You will be offered a health check when you join the practice. Any patients aged 16 –74 years who have not had a consultation within the last three years may request a consultation.
Patients 75 years and over who have not had a consultation within the last twelve months may request a health check with one of our practice team. If you are unable to attend the surgery, a home visit could be arranged.
Complaint Procedure
We will be glad to help with any complaint you have and our complaints procedure is displayed in the waiting area.
New suggestions are always welcome and your comments are taken into consideration. Please put any suggestions in the post box at the Reception desk.
If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the staff working in this GP surgery, please let us know. This includes Primary Care Network staff working as part of our GP surgery. We operate a complaints procedure as part of an NHS system for dealing with complaints. Our complaints system meets national criteria.
How to complain
We encourage all those with a concern to contact us at Dr Gudi PV & Partner in the first instance so that we can provide support to resolve the issue. You can do so by:
Telephone – 01215 560 455 (ideally avoiding peak hours between 8am-10am)
Email – dr.gudi@nhs.net
Writing to us –
Dr PV Gudi & Partner
Hill Top Surgery
68 Hill Top,
West Bromwich,
West Midlands,
B70 0PU
However, you can choose to contact the Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB), Time to Talk Team by:
Complaint form: Complaint Form :: Black Country ICB
Post: Time2Talk, NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB) Civic Centre, St Peter’s Square, Wolverhampton, WV1 1SH
Website: https://blackcountry.icb.nhs.uk/have-your-say/time-2-talk
Medication Review Policy
Please check on the medication list issued with your prescription or ask at reception when your medication review is due.
Your prescriptions will only be issued when your medication review has been done.
This may mean you will have to wait on occasions.
Opting out of NHS Digital Collecting Your Data
(Type 1 Opt-out)
If you do not want your identifiable patient data (personally identifiable data in the diagram above) to be shared outside of your GP practice for purposes except for your own care, you can register an opt-out with your GP practice. This is known as a Type 1 Opt-out.
Type 1 Opt-outs were introduced in 2013 for data sharing from GP practices, but may be discontinued in the future as a new opt-out has since been introduced to cover the broader health and care system, called the National Data Opt-out. If this happens people who have registered a Type 1 Opt-out will be informed. More about National Data Opt-outs is in the section Who we share patient data with.
NHS Digital will not collect any patient data for patients who have already registered a Type 1 Opt-out in line with current policy. If this changes patients who have registered a Type 1 Opt-out will be informed.
If you do not want your patient data shared with NHS Digital, you can register a Type 1 Opt-out with your GP practice. You can register a Type 1 Opt-out at any time. You can also change your mind at any time and withdraw a Type 1 Opt-out.
Data sharing with NHS Digital will start on 1 September 2021.
If you have already registered a Type 1 Opt-out with your GP practice your data will not be shared with NHS Digital.
If you wish to register a Type 1 Opt-out with your GP practice before data sharing starts with NHS Digital, this should be done by returning this form to your GP practice. If you have previously registered a Type 1 Opt-out and you would like to withdraw this, you can also use the form to do this. You can send the form by post or email to your GP practice or call 0300 3035678 for a form to be sent out to you.
If you register a Type 1 Opt-out after your patient data has already been shared with NHS Digital, no more of your data will be shared with NHS Digital. NHS Digital will however still hold the patient data which was shared with us before you registered the Type 1 Opt-out.
If you do not want NHS Digital to share your identifiable patient data (personally identifiable data in the diagram above) with anyone else for purposes beyond your own care, then you can also register a National Data Opt-out.
Primary Care Services Complaints (From July 1st 2023)
We encourage all those with a concern to contact us at Dr Gudi PV & Partner in the first instance so that we can provide support to resolve the issue. You can do so by:
Telephone – 01215 560 455 (ideally avoiding peak hours between 8am-10am)
Email – dr.gudi@nhs.net
Writing to us –
Dr PV Gudi & Partner
Hill Top Surgery
68 Hill Top,
West Bromwich,
West Midlands,
B70 0PU
However, you can choose to contact the Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB), Time to Talk Team by:
Complaint form: Complaint Form :: Black Country ICB
Post: Time2Talk, NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB) Civic Centre, St Peter’s Square, Wolverhampton, WV1 1SH
Website: https://blackcountry.icb.nhs.uk/have-your-say/time-2-talk
Proxy Access
Proxy access is where someone is given access another person’s medical record.
For example:
- A parent or guardian who has legal responsibility for a patient under 11
- A parent or guardian where a patient aged 11 or over has given permission
- A parent or guardian who has legal responsibility for a patient between 11 and 16 where GP has assessed that the patient is not capable of making their own decisions re medical health
- A carer for a patient over the age of 16 – we would need a letter from the patient giving them permission
The proxy does not have to be a registered patient at the practice, but must be registered for online services on the GP system and always use their own login credentials.
To be given proxy access, a patient’s representative must have the informed consent of the patient or, in cases where the patient does not have capacity to consent, the GP has decided that it is in the best interests of the patient for them to have proxy access.
Patients aged 16 or above are assumed to have the capacity to consent unless there is an indication that they are not. Young patients between the ages of 11 and 16 who are judged as having capacity to consent by their GP may also consent to give proxy access to someone else.
Legitimate reasons for the practice to authorise proxy access without the patient’s consent include:
- The patient has been assessed as lacking capacity to make a decision on granting proxy access and/or the applicant has a lasting power of attorney for health and welfare registered with the Office of the Public Guardian,
- the applicant is acting as a Court Appointed Deputy on behalf of the patient, or
- the GP considers it to be in the patient’s interest in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 code of practice.
- The patient is a child who has been assessed as not competent to make a decision on granting proxy access
The practice may refuse or withdraw proxy access, if they judge that it is in the patient’s best interests to do so.
On a child’s 11th birthday, the scope of the current proxy access will be restricted, unless the GP has already assessed the child as able to make an informed decision and the child has given explicit consent for their record to be shared. This is a national standard created by imposed by NHS England to protect the confidentiality rights of young people.
From 11-16, a parent with proxy access will be able to manage certain elements of the young person’s record, such as demographic data, and make appointments and order repeat prescriptions, but they will not be able to see the young person’s past appointments or clinical record, although they would still be able to see the current repeat prescription record.
At the child’s 16th birthday the remaining proxy access will be switched off, except where the young person is competent and has given explicit consent to the parental access. If the child wants proxy access reinstated, they will need to come to the surgery in person, with proof of ID, to request it.
Parents may continue to be allowed proxy access to their child’s online services, after careful discussion with the GP, if it is felt to be in the child’s best interests.
Violent & Aggressive Behaviour
The practice does not tolerate violent and aggressive behaviour towards ANY member of Staff or Patient and follows a zero tolerance policy.
Removal From Practice List
The practice reserves the right to exclude or remove a patient from the practice list if there is an irreparable breakdown in the doctor /patient relationship.