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 and may be subject to an administration charge. No information will be released without the patient consent unless we are legally obliged to do so.

We make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends our practice.

However, we are aware that things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. If this is so, we would wish for the matter to be settled as quickly, and as amicably, as possible.

To pursue a complaint please contact the Assistant Practice Manager who will deal with your concerns appropriately. If you wish to view our full complaints policy, please enquire at reception.

Please view our Complaints Procedure.

The practice complies with 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 e.g. from district nurses and hospital services.
• To help you get other services e.g. from the social work department. This requires your consent.
• When we have a duty to others e.g. in child protection cases
• Anonymised patient information will also be used at local and national level to help the Health Board and Government plan services e.g. for diabetic care.

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.

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 to the practice manager.

General Data Protection Regulation is a new EU law that comes into force on the 25th May 2018.  Please select the following links for more information:-

GDPR Patient Leaflet

Information for Patients

Data Protection Protocol

March 2023: 

All GP Practices are required to declare the mean earnings (eg average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.  The average pay for GPs working in The Cottage Surgery during the year ended 31.3.2023 was £73,780 before tax and National Insurance.  This is for 1 full time GP and 1 locum GP who were working in the practice for more than six months.

March 2022:

All GP Practices are required to declare the mean earnings (eg average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.  The average pay for GPs working in The Cottage Surgery during the financial year 2020- 2021 was £61454 before tax and National Insurance.  This is for 1 full time GP and 1 locum GP who were working in the practice for more than six months.

March 2021:

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 The Cottage Surgery in the last financial year was £55481 before tax and National Insurance.  This is for 1 full time GP and 2 locum GP who were working in the practice for more than six months.

March 2020:

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 The Cottage Surgery in the last financial year was £50,846 before tax and National Insurance.  This is for 1 full time GP and 1 locum GP who were working in the practice for more than six months.

March 2019:

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 The Cottage Surgery in the last financial year was £56921 before tax and National Insurance.  This is for 1 full time GP and 1 locum GP who working in the practice for more than six months.

March 2018:

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 The Cottage Surgery in the last financial year was £39,089 before tax and National Insurance. This is for 1 full time GP and 1 locum GP who worked in the practice for more than six months.

March 2017:

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 The Cottage Surgery in the last financial year was £41,994 before tax and National Insurance. This is for 1 full time GP and 1 locum GP who worked in the practice for more than six months.

March 2016:

All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings (e.g. average pay) for GPs working to delivery NHS services to patients at each practice.  The average pay for GPs working in The Cottage Surgery in the last financial year was £47,754 before tax and National Insurance. This is for 1 full time GP and 1 locum GP who worked in the practice for more than six months.

All GP practices in England are legally required to share data with NHS Digital for this purpose under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 (2012 Act). More information about this requirement is contained in the data provision notice issued by NHS Digital to GP practices https://digital.nhs.uk/about-nhs-digital/corporate-information-and-documents/directions-and-data-provision-notices/data-provision-notices-dpns

You have the choice to opt out if you wish to you need to complete the attached form and send this to your Practice.

You can learn more about how NHS Digital uses your data here: General Practice Data for Planning and Research: GP Practice Privacy Notice – NHS Digital https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-collections-and-data-sets/data-collections/general-practice-data-for-planning-and-research

It is also recommended that you review the Type 2 Opt Out options/information, which can be found at https://your-data-matters.service.nhs.uk/.

This is a separate opt out form and not included with the Type 1 form.

To opt out of sharing your health records click here.

This Privacy Notice applies to personal information processed by or on behalf of the practice. It applies to the personal data of our patients and to the data you have given us about your carers/family members. It covers many different topics, please read the full policy below for details.

The Cottage Surgery Privacy Policy

Supplementary LLR Privacy Notice – COVID-19

The NHS operate a zero tolerance policy with regard to violence and abuse and the practice has the right to remove violent patients from the list with immediate effect in order to safeguard practice staff, patients and other persons. 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. Your privacy is important to us, and we are committed to protecting and safeguarding your data privacy rights.

This Privacy Notice applies to personal information processed by or on behalf of the practice. It applies to the personal data of our patients and to the data you have given us about your carers/family members. It covers many different topics, please read the full policy below for details.