Carnarvon Medical Centre

Practice Policies & Charter

Patients' Responsibilities

We kindly ask all our patients to:

• Attend (or cancel) any booked appointments.

• Order repeat prescriptions in good time (please allow at least 48 hours).

• Treat all practice staff with courtesy and respect at all times.

Zero Tolerance Policy on Violence and Abuse

The NHS operates a Zero Tolerance Policy towards violence and abusive behaviour.

The practice reserves the right to remove any patient from our list with immediate effect if they:

• Use or threaten physical violence.

• Display verbal abuse or aggression that causes fear for the safety of staff, patients, or others.

In such cases, patients will be notified in writing of their removal, and a record of the incident will be placed in their medical records.

Confidentiality & Access to Medical Records

We comply with Data Protection legislation, including the UK GDPR, and with laws on access to medical records.

Your identifiable information will only be shared with others:

• To provide you with further medical care (e.g. hospital referrals or district nurses).

• To help you access other services (e.g. social care), with your consent.

• When we have a legal obligation, such as in safeguarding cases.

Anonymised patient data may also be used locally or nationally to help the NHS plan and improve services (e.g. diabetes care). If you do not wish for your anonymised data to be used in this way, please let us know.

Reception and administrative staff may access your medical records when required to perform their duties — they are bound by strict confidentiality rules, the same as clinical staff.

Access to Your Records

Under the Data Protection Act and the Access to Health Records Act, you have the right to request access to your medical records.

To make a request:

• Please contact the Practice Manager in writing.

• Requests may be subject to an administration charge.

• No information will be released without your consent, unless required by law.

Freedom of Information – Publication Scheme

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the practice has a Publication Scheme outlining classes of information we routinely make available.

This scheme is available from reception. For any requests under the Freedom of Information Act, please contact the Practice Manager.

Keeping Your Contact Details Up to Date

To help us provide safe and effective care, please notify us promptly of any changes to your:

• Name

• Address

• Telephone numbers (landline or mobile)

You can inform our reception team in person, by phone, or in writing.

Privacy & Cookie Policies

We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data responsibly.

For details on how we use your information, please refer to our Privacy Policy.

Information on how we use cookies on our website can be found in our Cookie Policy.

Both policies are available on our website or from reception on request.

Sedatives for Procedures, Investigations & Flying

Carnarvon Medical Centre does not prescribe sedatives for MRI scans, CT scans, dental procedures or other investigations carried out by external providers.  We also do not prescribe sedatives for fear of flying.  Please read our full policy for further information.

Antibiotics for Travel Policy

We do not routinely prescribe antibiotics for patients to take on holiday "just in case" they become unwell.
Please read our policy for further information.

Further Information

If you would like to discuss any aspect of our practice policies, please speak to a member of our team or book an appointment with the Practice Manager.

This charter was last updated on 18 July 2025.