General Practice Data for Planning and Research (GPDPR)

An important update about the sharing of your medical information has been announced by NHS Digital called GPDPR (replacing GPES). This has been developed in consultation with the BMA and RCGP over the past few years and recently a Data Provision Notice has been issued to GP surgeries meaning GP surgeries have a legal obligation to comply with this data sharing exercise.

However there has been criticism about the lack of information provided to the public and a very short timescale for patients to fully understand GPDPR. It is important that you are aware what sort of data is shared, why it is shared, and importantly how you can opt out of sharing your data should you wish to.

There is a very limited timeframe for registering your decision to opt out of data sharing (23rd June 2021) before the GPDPR comes into action on 1st July 2021. It will be presumed you are happy for your data to be shared unless you specifically opt out. As a partnership we will be doing further work around how we ensure patients are aware of this change.

To find out more please read this privacy notice about GPDPR, which includes information about opting out.

To opt out please complete a Type 1 Opt Out Form (available here) and return it to the practice. These can be returned to letters.meneagestreet@nhs.net

For our full policies, please see our policy page.

Our reception staff have been experiencing high levels of verbal abuse on the phone and in person, and sometimes have been physically threatened. This cannot be tolerated. At a time of unparalled pressure in General Practice when we have been delivering a far greater number of consultations through the use of additional modes of patient communication, alongside responding to vaccination, shielding and Covid 19 issues our dedicated practice team have worked tirelessly and deserves respect as we endeavour to provide all our patients with the best patient care possible at this time.

We understand this is a small minority of patients, and do thank you for bearing with us in these unprecedented times. We fully understand the frustrations of the phone lines being busy at times, and ask if you can help by ringing for results after 11am, by keeping your conversations and requests brief; and using the on line services we offer.

In recent days the level of demand for patient services has been extraordinarily high, and continues to increase. We apologise for any delays in responding to telephone calls, processing prescriptions etc. and assure you that we are doing all we can to prioritise the workload, while continuing with the additional work of delivering second dose Covid vaccinations to our most vulnerable patients.

We would remind patients with access to computers or smart phones that they can avoid telephone congestion and save time by using the ‘E-Consult’ option on our website. Details will reach our clinicians just as quickly in that way.

In seeking to ensure that we use our resources most effectively for patient care we instruct our highly-trained staff to ask patients for the same information as would be given on the E-Consult form so that it is there for the clinician to consider before contacting you. Without this the backlog in responding would be considerably greater. 

We now have access to several other Health Resources on our Practice Team and you may wish to request help from one of these:

• Social Care Prescriber
• Mental Health Practitioner
• 1st Contact Physios
• Practice Pharmacist

We thank you for your understanding, as we aim to provide our patients with the best service possible.

Each household will have received or will receive an NHS leaflet outlining the rationale for the extraction of information from GP systems. We first advised you of this in November 2013; the planned first extraction was delayed.

You are able to refuse consent for information from your patient record to be transferred from the practice system for any purpose other than your medical care (except in special circumstances allowed by law eg a public health emergency).

Should you wish to do this please let us know so we ensure that your record is appropriately marked to prevent data extraction.

More information is available at www.hscic.gov.uk and the NHS Choices website at www.nhs.uk/caredata