At The Arch Medical Practice, we take Infection Control very seriously. An infection control statement is crucial for several reasons:

1. Protecting Public Health: Infection control statements outline measures to prevent the spread of infectious diseases within a particular setting, whether it’s a healthcare facility, workplace, school, or public event. By implementing these measures, we protect the health and well-being of individuals and communities.
2. Preventing Outbreaks: Infection control statements establish protocols and procedures to minimize the risk of outbreaks. By identifying potential sources of infection, implementing preventive measures, and responding promptly to any suspected cases, we can prevent the spread of infectious diseases and mitigate the impact of outbreaks.
3. Ensuring Compliance: In many jurisdictions, there are regulations and guidelines mandating infection control practices in various settings, particularly in healthcare. Having a clear infection control statement helps ensure compliance with these regulations, reducing the risk of legal and regulatory issues.
4. Maintaining Trust and Confidence: Demonstrating a commitment to infection control reassures employees, patients, customers, and the general public that their health and safety are a top priority. This fosters trust and confidence in the organization or establishment, enhancing its reputation and credibility.
5. Reducing Healthcare Costs: Infections can lead to increased healthcare utilization, including hospitalizations, medication costs, and lost productivity. By effectively controlling infections, we can reduce the economic burden associated with healthcare-associated infections and other communicable diseases.
6. Protecting Vulnerable Populations: Certain individuals, such as the elderly, immunocompromised individuals, and those with chronic illnesses, are more susceptible to infections and their complications. Implementing infection control measures helps protect these vulnerable populations from potential harm.
7. Contributing to Global Health Security: In an interconnected world, infectious diseases can quickly spread across borders. By implementing robust infection control measures, we not only protect local populations but also contribute to global efforts to prevent the spread of infectious diseases and promote global health security.

THE ARCH MEDICAL PRACTICE

NHS England require that the earnings of doctors engaged in the practice is published and the required disclosure is shown below. However, 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 comparisons with any other practice.

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 Arch Medical Practice was £83k before Tax and National Insurance.

Patients who do not attend their appointments are a drain on surgery resources and create problems for us all. We therefore have a policy to deal with this problem.

First appointment missed you will receive a letter or a text from the practice.
Second appointment missed you will be informed that persistent failed attendance may result in your removal from the practice list.
Further missed appointments may result in your removal from the list.
If you are unable to keep your appointment please notify the surgery as soon as possible.

TAMP74 – Appointment Punctuality Policy

There will be no discrimination by this practice related to sexual orientation, race, colour or creed of patients. Confidentiality will be maintained at all times.

Under the Equality Act 2010, it is against the law for a company to discriminate against anyone on the grounds of colour, age, sex, race / nationality – including citizenship – ethnic or national origins, marital status, civil partnership, disability, sexual orientation, any religion, or religious or philosophical belief.

It is also possible for employees to claim for discrimination on a combination of two of these grounds. Similarly if employees discriminate against a colleague or patient, the Practice could be held vicariously liable for their acts, and be responsible for paying the compensation or damages to the victim of the discrimination.

If the Practice can prove that it has done all that was reasonable to prevent the discriminatory acts from occurring then its liability can be reduced or entirely eliminated. Having an equal opportunities policy, and apprising all staff of its existence is one of the things that a reasonable employer should do.

The Practice has the following policies in place which need to be read along with this Equality and Diversity policy:

• Equality Act: Operational Procedures & Policy
• Culture & Religious policy
• Grievance Procedures
• Bullying and Harassment
• Age Discrimination
• Equal Opportunities policy
• Recruitment and Selection Policy
• Training and Development policy
• Dignity at work
• Being Open Policy
• Information Governance Policy i.e. confidentiality / consent

The Arch Medical Practice aims to provide high quality healthcare and we will treat all patients with respect and dignity.

Unfortunately, there has been an increase in verbal and physical attacks on staff and this is unacceptable.

The Arch Medical Practice and Manchester Health and Care Commissioning support The NHS Zero Tolerance Policy. This policy recognises the increasing problem of violence against staff working in the NHS and ensures that doctors and healthcare staff have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused.

Patients also have a right to access services without fear of violence at their practice. In line with this policy, we have a zero tolerance approach to aggression, abuse, violence or anti-social behaviour.

What do we mean by zero tolerance?

We understand that when patients feel ill, they do not always act in a reasonable manner and will take this into consideration when trying to deal with a misunderstanding or complaint. We ask you to treat healthcare professionals and practice staff courteously and act reasonably.

Whilst it is not possible to list all types of incidents, some examples of unacceptable behaviour are provided below:

• offensive language, verbal abuse and swearing
• racist and hate comments
• loud and intrusive conversation
• unwanted or abusive remarks
• negative, malicious or stereotypical comments
• carrying weapons or using objects as weapons
• damage, defacing or vandalism of NHS property
• threats or risk of injury to NHS staff
• intimidation
• stalking
• unreasonable behaviour and non-cooperation

This relates to any form of abuse from patients or staff which includes (but is not limited to) sexism, racism homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and ageism, or harassment or abuse on basis of disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief.

Such behaviour or verbal abuse causing distress and or constituting harassment will not be tolerated and could lead to the person being removed from the practice list. In extreme cases the police will be contacted if the patient is posing a threat to staff or others.

If you wish to provide feedback or make a complaint, https://www.thearchmedicalpractice.co.uk/practice-information/patient-opinion/

Removal from the practice list

A good patient-doctor relationship, based on mutual respect and trust, is the cornerstone of good patient care. The removal of patients from our list is an exceptional and rare event and is a last resort in an impaired patient-practice relationship.

When trust has irretrievably broken down, it is in the patient’s interest, just as much as that of the practice, that they should find a new practice. An exception to this is on immediate removal on the grounds of violence e.g. when the Police are involved.

Removing other members of the household

In rare cases if there is a possible need to visit patients at home, it may be necessary to terminate responsibility for other members of the family or the entire household.

The prospect of visiting patients where a relative who is no longer a patient of the practice by virtue of their unacceptable behaviour resides, or being regularly confronted by the removed patient, may make it too difficult for the practice to continue to look after the whole family.

This is particularly likely where the patient has been removed because of violence or threatening behaviour and keeping the other family members could put doctors or their staff at risk.

For more information and the latest news, please visit our home page https://www.thearchmedicalpractice.co.uk/

We ask you for personal information so that you can receive appropriate care and treatment. This information is recorded on computer and we are registered under the Data Protection Act.

The practice will ensure that patient confidentiality is maintained at all times by all members of the practice team. We also understand that the duty of confidentiality owed to a person less than 16 years of age is as great as the duty owed to any other person. However, for the effective functioning of a multi-disciplinary team it is sometimes necessary that medical information about you is shared between members of the team. If you have a specific objection to this, please inform the Health Care Professional dealing with you at the time, or the Practice Manager.

Sharing your patient information is critical in supporting your care and treatment, especially in situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This is where the GM Care Record comes in.

Health and care organisations across Greater Manchester have accelerated the deployment of the GM Care Record for all 2.8m citizens to provide frontline professionals with vital information in the fight against COVID-19.

The GM Care Record allows workers in health or social care, easy access to patient information that is critical to support decision-making about patient care and treatment.

It shares important information about your health and care including:

• Any current health or care issues
• Your medications
• Allergies you may have
• Results of any recent tests that you may have had
• Details on any plans created for your care or treatment
• Information on any social care or carer support you my recieve

The GM Care Record pulls patient information from several important areas of health and care including:

• primary care e.g. GP practices
• community services
• mental health services
• social care
• secondary care e.g. hospitals
• specialist services e.g. NWAS

It’s an extension of integrated care records already live in each locality of Greater Manchester (e.g. Manchester Care Record, Bolton Care Record etc). However, it collates patient information from across Greater Manchester into one place, making it easily accessible for health and care workers to inform direct care from across geographies and organisations.

It means that patients won’t have to keep repeating their medical history to each professional in different organisations, care plans will be followed consistently and clinicians will be better equipped to identify patterns and plan care more effectively to meet the patients’ needs.

The amount of data that the GM Care Record holds is increasing all the time. Data is constantly being added, so that a combined record can be developed for all our citizens to help better decision making and more informed care and treatment.

In response to the pandemic, the GM Care Record also includes information about when a patient has been diagnosed with COVID-19 and whether they are self-isolating at home or have been hospitalised. This ensures continuity of care across different care settings and alternatives such as digital support can be put in place.

The project has been overseen by Health Innovation Manchester and the GM Health and Social Care Partnership, working on behalf of GM’s devolved health and care partners. Rapid progress has been made in weeks rather than months as part of the city region’s digital response plan and collaborative effort.

The Accessible Information Standard tells us how we should make sure that disabled patients receive information in formats that they can understand and receive appropriate support to help them to communicate.  We must follow the Accessible Information Standard by law. These standards include ensuring that people get information in different formats if they need it, such as: large print, braille, easy read, email etc.

Further information can be found on NHS England’s website at: www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/patients/accessibleinfo/

Please let the receptionists know if you require any communication or information support needs.