Our guiding principle is that we are holding your records in strict confidence.

Why we collect information about you

In the Practice we aim to provide you with the highest quality of health care.  To do this we must keep records about you, your health and the care we have provided or plan to provide to you.We will only store your information in identifiable form for a long as in necessary in and in accordance with the NHS England’s Rules found by clicking here.

You have a right to privacy under the General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act.  The Practice needs your personal, sensitive and confidential data in order perform our statutory health duties, in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller in compliance with Article 6 (e) of the GDPR and for the purposes of preventive or occupational medicine, for the assessment of the working capacity of the employee, medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems and services in compliance with Article 9, (h) of the GDPR.

These are the local standards set within this practice for the benefit of our patients. It is our job to give you treatment and advice.

Following discussion with you, you will receive the most appropriate care, given by suitably qualified people. No care or treatment will be given without your informed consent. In the interest of your health it is important for you to understand all the information given to you. Please ask us questions if you are unsure of anything.

We are committed to giving you the best possible service.

Names: People involved in your care will give you their names and ensure that you know how to contact them. The surgery should be well signposted and the doctors’ or nurses’ names indicated on their surgery room doors.

Waiting Time: We run an appointment system in this practice. You will be given a time at which the doctor or nurse hopes to be able to see you. You should not wait more than 30 minutes in the waiting room without receiving an explanation for the delay. 

Access: You will have access to a doctor rapidly in case of emergency.Patients are able to book appointments up to 4 weeks in advance as well as being able to book on the day for urgent issues. We will arrange a home visit as appropriate for those who are too ill or infirm to be brought to the surgery.

Telephone: We will try to answer the phone promptly and ensure that there are sufficient staff available to do this. Patients are able to contact the surgery for triage advise between the morning surgery

Test Results: If you have undergone tests or x-rays ordered by the practice, we will inform you of the results at your next appointment. If no further appointment needs to be arranged, we will advise you when and how to obtain the results.

Respect: Patients will be treated as individuals and partners in their healthcare, irrespective of their ethnic origin or religious and cultural beliefs.

Information: We will give you full information about the services we offer. Every effort will be made to ensure that you receive the information which directly affects your health and the care being offered.

Health Promotion: The practice will offer patients advice and information on:

• Steps they can take to promote good health and avoid illness.
• Self-help which can be undertaken without reference to a doctor in the case of minor ailments.

Health Records: You have the right to see your health records, subject to limitations in the law. These will be kept confidential at all times.

• Patients at this practice are entitled to:
• be provided with services in a courteous, civil and co-operative manner.
• a clear explanation of and advice on, the patient's medical condition and any proposed treatment.
• a referral for specialist medical opinion or other second opinion in appropriate circumstances.
• receive information via the practice noticeboard of any relevant health promotion exercise and preventative medicine initiatives.
• absolute confidentiality of medical records maintained by the practice subject to any provisions for disclosure imposed or allowed by law.
• access their own personal health records, in accordance with the Data Protection Act (please contact the Practice Manager in writing if you wish to view your records).
• have any formal complaint against the practice investigated and dealt with fairly and according to the practice complaints procedure.
• request (either in writing or verbally) to be seen by a particular doctor. We shall endeavour to comply with this request but need not do so if the preferred doctor is not able to, or has reasonable grounds for refusing.

The practice is entitled to:

• Receive co-operation, civility and courtesy from its patients at all times.
• We will ask that you:
• Please inform the practice if you change your telephone number, name or address (remember to add your postcode).
• Please make appointments that you know you can keep, and arrive on time. If for some reason you are unable to keep your appointment make sure you inform the practice as soon as possible.
• Ask for a GP home visit only if you are too ill to go to the surgery. We operate to Local Medical Committee guidelines on who should receive a home visit and operate a system of nurse triage for such requests. If possible telephone before 11.00am.
• Read our practice booklet and browse this website. This will help you get the best from the services available.
• Be patient if the doctors are running late - on another occasion it might be you who needs the extra time.
• Do not ask for another member of the family to be seen at your appointment without making prior arrangements.

The practice will not accept:

• Rudeness, threats or aggressive behaviour directed towards practitioners, staff or other patients, or repeated abuse of its facilities including emergency or out of hours service. The practice may remove from the list anyone who is violent or abusive.

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

The average pay for GPs working in Silverdale & Ryecroft Practice in the 2022/23 financial year was £101,508 before tax and National Insurance. This is for 4 full time GPs and 4 part time GPs who worked in the practice for more than 6 months.

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.