Practice Policies

Access to Records

In accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and Access to Health Records Act, patients may request to see their medical records. Such requests should be made through the practice manager. No information will be released without the patient consent unless we are legally obliged to do so.

Care Quality Commission access to health records

CQC has powers under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 to access and use your health information where it is necessary to carry out their functions as a regulator.

This means that inspectors may ask to look at certain records to decide whether we are providing safe, good quality care.

Chaperone Policy

Confidentiality & Medical Records

3W Health complies with the  data protection and access to medical records legislation. Identifiable information about you will be shared with others in the following circumstances:

• To provide further medical treatment for you
• To help you get other services. This requires your consent.
• When we have a duty to others

If you do not wish anonymous information about you to be used in such a way, please let us know.

Reception and administration staff require access to your medical records in order to do their jobs. These members of staff are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the medical staff

Data Protection Policy

Freedom of Information

Information about the General Practitioners and the practice required for disclosure under this act can be made available to the public. All requests for such information should be made in writing.

National Data Opt-Out

Use this service to:

• choose if your confidential patient information is used for research and planning
• change or check your current choice

Your choice will be applied by all health and care organisations.

Any choice you make will not impact your individual care.

Read more about the national data opt-out

Make your choice about sharing data from your health records

Commissioner details

Our commissioner is Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB). Full contact details are available at: Contact Us | BOB ICB 

Please do not include confidential patient information in enquiries to email addresses in the link above, and do not use the ICB details to contact this GP practice.

For general enquiries to BOB ICB please get in touch via: bobicb.enquiries@nhs.net 

Social Media Policy

There are many social media platforms widely used by staff, patients, and members of the public, including Facebook, Twitter (now X), Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp, and LinkedIn. Our Practice has an official Facebook page where we share a range of useful information for our patient community. As a healthcare provider, we have a duty to protect patient confidentiality and safeguard vulnerable individuals. You can support us in upholding these responsibilities by following the code of conduct outlined in this policy.

Code of Conduct for Social Media and Portable Device Use

To ensure a safe, respectful, and confidential environment for all patients and staff, we kindly ask that the following code of conduct is observed:

• Users of mobile or portable devices must use them in a courteous and respectful manner. Devices should not be used during consultations unless explicitly agreed with the clinician.

• Information about other patients is strictly confidential. Patients must not share any identifiable information about others on social media without their express permission.

• Social media should not be used to make or cancel appointments, share personal medical information, or contact members of staff. All communication with the Practice should be made through appropriate, secure, and official channels.

• Photography or any form of media recording is strictly prohibited in waiting areas or any shared patient spaces. Patients must not take photographs or recordings of staff without their explicit consent.

• If you wish to leave a review about 3W Health, please do so via the official NHS website: Find out how to leave a review of an NHS service – NHS. This ensures your feedback reaches the Operations Manager and can be responded to appropriately.

• Patients must not post content on social media that identifies individual staff members at the Practice.

• Patients must not post any content that is inaccurate, threatening, obscene, defamatory, or unlawful. Any such posts on our Facebook page or other platforms will be removed and may be reported to the relevant platform.

• Offensive, derogatory, or abusive comments about our team will not be tolerated on any platform. Under the Malicious Communications Act 1988 and the Communications Act 2003, it is a criminal offence to send messages or posts containing threats, grossly offensive, obscene, menacing, or false information intended to cause distress or anxiety. We will seek legal advice and take appropriate action against any individual who posts defamatory or abusive content.

Zero Tolerance Policy

The NHS operates a zero tolerance policy with regard to violence and abuse.

3W Health has the right to remove violent and/or abusive patients from the doctor’s list in order to safeguard our practice staff and patients. Violence in this context includes actual or threatened physical violence or verbal abuse which leads to fear for a person’s safety. In this situation we will notify the patient in writing of their removal from the list and record in the patient’s medical records the fact of the removal and the circumstances leading to it.

National Data Opt-Out

Use this service to:

• choose if your confidential patient information is used for research and planning
• change or check your current choice

Your choice will be applied by all health and care organisations.

Any choice you make will not impact your individual care.

Read more about the national data opt-out

Make your choice about sharing data from your health records

Commissioner details

Our commissioner is Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB). Full contact details are available at: Contact Us | BOB ICB 

Please do not include confidential patient information in enquiries to email addresses in the link above, and do not use the ICB details to contact this GP practice.

For general enquiries to BOB ICB please get in touch via: bobicb.enquiries@nhs.net