Here is the May issue of the Nottingham City CCG newsletter

4 Issue 25 May 2013
New details for complaints, patient advice and advocacy
With the NHS organisational changes that came into effect on 1 April, a number of changes have also
been made to the arrangements for access to GP records, complaints, patient advice and advocacy.
Complaints
All primary care (GP, dentist, pharmacy, and optician)
complaints transfer to NHS England. Please direct all
primary care complainants to the NHS England
Customer Contact Centre on 0300 311 22 33
or email england.contactus@nhs.net
NHS Nottingham City Clinical Commissioning Group
investigates complaints about commissioned services –
contact 0115 883 9570 or email
patientexperienceteam@nottinghamcity.nhs.uk
Complaints advocacy
ICAS no longer provides advocacy; this is now
provided by POhWER. Please direct all advocacy
requests to POhWER on 0300 020 0093
or email yourvoiceyourchoice@pohwer.net
Patient advice
The Patient Advice & Liaison Service (PALS) function is no
longer provided by the CCG. Healthwatch Nottingham
now provides a similar service to PALS including, for
example, providing information about GP registration
and NHS dentist contact details. Patients and carers can
contact Healthwatch Nottingham on 0115 859 9511
or visit www.healthwatchnottingham.co.uk.
Look out for more information about
Nottingham HealthWatch in the June
issue of Connect.
Information
NHS Nottingham City Clinical
Commissioning Group also has an advice
and information line for patients –
call the Patient Experience Team on
0115 883 9570.
New arrangements for access to GP records
Previously when access was
requested to old GP records (usually
by the next of kin of a deceased
patient or by a non-registered
patient), the records were retrieved
from store by the PCT and reviewed
by the Medical Director before being
authorised for release (with any third
party details, sensitive information,
non-NHS external reports or anything
deemed detrimental to the wellbeing
of the patient having been redacted).
This process has now changed
and these requests are now being
forwarded to the last GP with whom
the patient was registered. Some local
GPs already accept receipt of some of
these requests and this already
happens in most of the country.
GPs are legally responsible for their
recorded medical information even
if the patient is no longer on their list.
It is acceptable for the last GP – or a
GP from that practice – to authorise
release of information recorded by
previous GPs as well as by themselves.
A small charge can be made for this.
Records should never be released
without a medical review of them.
Details in long psychiatric letters are
common sources of information that
is appropriate to redact, or suggest
requesting those separately from the
originating mental health provider.
Social services notes should not be
copied; the requestee should instead
be directed to the relevant local
authority for that information.
If a patient or next of kin requests
access to records from a dispersed
practice, or if for some other reason
there is no appropriate local
responsible GP, then the Derbyshire/
Nottinghamshire Area Team Head of
Primary Care will be responsible in
liaison with the Area Team Medical
Directorate – not the CCG.
The paperwork that the PCT was
using is now available in the GP
Portal at www.nottinghamcity.
nhs.uk and may be helpful for
keeping the necessary records.
The DH 2010 Guidance on Access
to Health Records is also available
in the GP Portal.
The arrangement for current patients
who wish to see their GP records
remains unchanged and is the
responsibility of the GP practice.
If you have any queries regarding
patient access to records please
contact the Primary Care Contracting
Team based at Birch House on
0300 300 1234.