Practice Policies & Patient Information

We are currently accepting new registrations from the immediate Coggeshall area. Please click here for more information on how to register.

For Disabled Patients

A car parking space is reserved for blue badge holders.

The building has access and facilities for the disabled. We also have wheelchairs available for patients to use if access to surgery is difficult from our car park. Please ask at reception.

Meet our clinical and non-clinical staff.

Should you have any suggestions to improve how the Practice operates or manages its services, please complete a Friends and Family Test feedback form.

Please let us know as soon as possible when  you change address – preferably in writing. If you have moved outside the practice boundary unfortunately you will need to re-register with another practice.

We need to know your new address in full, including the postcode – not forgetting your new telephone number and your mobile number too.

Remember to give us full details of your name and any other members of your family who have moved with you.

Alternatively you can fill in this form.

See our documents here.

Information about you and the care you receive is shared, in a secure system, by healthcare staff to support your treatment and care.
It is important that we, the NHS, can use this information to plan and improve services for all patients. We would like to link information from all the different places where you receive care, such as your GP, hospital and community service, to help us provide a full picture. This will allow us to compare the care you received in one area against the care you received in another, so we can see what has worked best.
Information such as your postcode and NHS number, but not your name, will be used to link your records in a secure system, so your identity is protected. Information which does not reveal your identity can then be used by others, such as researchers and those planning health services, to make sure we provide the best care possible for everyone.
You have a choice.
If you are happy for your information to be used in this way you do not have to do anything. If you have any concerns or wish to prevent this from happening, please speak to practice staff or download a copy of the leaflet “How information about you helps us to provide better care” below.
We need to make sure that you know this is happening and the choices you have.
How information about you helps us to provide better care
Care Data – Frequently Asked Questions
NHS England Population Health Programme
You can find out more on the NHS England Care Data website.

If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the staff working in this GP surgery, please let us know. This includes Primary Care Network staff working as part of our GP surgery. We operate a complaints procedure as part of an NHS system for dealing with complaints. Our complaints system meets national criteria.
 
How to complain
We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly when they arise and with the person concerned. For example, by requesting a face-to-face meeting to discuss your concerns.
If your problem cannot be sorted out this way and you wish to make a complaint, we would like you to let us know as soon as possible. By making your complaint quickly, it is easier for us to establish what happened. If it is not possible to do that, please let us have details of your complaint:
Within 6 months of the incident that caused the problem; or
Within 6 months of discovering that you have a problem, provided this is within 12 months of the incident.
Complaints should be addressed to the GP surgery team verbally or in writing. Alternatively, you may ask for an appointment with the GP surgery to discuss your concerns. They will explain the complaints procedure to you and make sure your concerns are dealt with promptly. Please be as specific as possible about your complaint.
 
What we will do
We will acknowledge your complaint within three working days. We will aim to have investigated your complaint within ten working days of the date you raised it with us. We will then offer you an explanation or a meeting with the people involved, if you would like this. When we investigate your complaint, we will aim to:
Find out what happened and what went wrong.
Make it possible for you to discuss what happened with those concerned, if you would like this.
Make sure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate.
Identify what we can do to make sure the problem does not happen again.
 
Complaining on behalf of someone else
We take medical confidentiality seriously. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we must know that you have their permission to do so. A note signed by the person concerned will be needed unless they are incapable (because of illness) of providing this.
 
Complaining to Mid and South Essex ICB
We hope that you will use our Practice Complaints Procedure if you are unhappy. We believe this will give us the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our GP surgery.
However, if you feel you cannot raise the complaint with us directly, please contact Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board.
You can do this by:
Telephone: 01268 594444
E-mail: [email protected]
Writing to: Mid and South Essex Integrated Care System · Phoenix House, Christopher Martin Road, Basildon, Essex, SS14 3HG
 
Unhappy with the outcome of your complaint?
If you are not happy with the way your complaint has been dealt with by the GP surgery and NHS England and would like to take the matter further, you can contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO). The PHSO makes final decisions on unresolved complaints about the NHS in England. It is an independent service which is free for everyone to use.
To take your complaint to the Ombudsman, visit the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman website or call 0345 015 4033
Need help making a complaint?
POhWER is a charity that helps people to be involved in decisions being made about their care.
If you need help to make your complaint you can use their NHS Complaints Advocacy service which is free, independent of the NHS and confidential.
Call POhWER’s support centre on 0300 456 2370 for advice.

The Practice

There are 3 full time doctors providing general medical services to patients registered with us and temporary residents within our practice boundary.

We also provide immediately necessary treatment for any person not registered with the practice who has a medical emergency within our practice boundary (but depending on the emergency, it may be more appropriate to attend the local Accident & Emergency Department at either Colchester General Hospital or Broomfield Hospital).

Patient Group Contact Details

Chair: Sue Wilson – Telephone 01376 561840

Patient Participation Group

• Are you interested in finding out more about Coggeshall Surgery?
• Would you like to influence the development of local health services?

The surgery has set up a Patient Participation Group and is recruiting patients to meet with us on a regular basis to discuss ideas and hear about planned changes.

If you are interested in joining the Group or would like to know more please contact

Practice Manager

Darren Piggott

Telephone 01376 561242

– We ask that you treat the doctors and the practice staff with the same courtesy and respect at all times.

– The doctors have instructed the receptionists to ask certain questions so that they may deal with your request in accordance with the doctors’ practice policy.

– You must tell us if there is anything you do do not understand.

– Please follow the doctor’s advice and take the full course of any medicine which may be prescribed.

– Please let us know if you change any of your personal details or your address

– If you cannot keep an appointment please let us know as soon as possible – this may enable someone else to be seen.

– Please try to arrive on time. If we are running late please do not blame the receptionist. Repeated failure to attend appointments with no explanation may result in removal from the practice list.

– Please order repeat prescriptions in advance.

– Do not expect a prescription every time you see the doctor – they are often not necessary.

– You are advised to accept any invitations for health screening issued by the practice

– Before requesting a home visit, think seriously whether it is necessary. When requesting a visit please contact the surgery by 11.00am unless a genuine emergency arises later.

– Out of hours visits should only be requested in an emergency, not for minor illness which can wait until the next morning.

– Please avoid calling the practice during the peak morning period for non-urgent matters.

– Children must be supervised by a responsible adult whilst on the surgery premises. They may NOT be left in the Waiting Room unsupervised.

– You will be treated as a partner in the care and attention you receive. Being a partner means that we have responsibilities to each other. Help us to help you.

– You will be treated as an individual and will be given courtesy and respect at all times, irrespective of your ethnic origin, religious belief, personal attributes or the nature of your health problems.

– Staff will maintain your right to privacy and not discuss your illness with other staff or doctors within hearing distance of other people.

– When hospital reports and results become available you have a right to a full explanation of your illness or any tests carried out.

– Staff will identify themselves and their role within the practice on request.  

– We will try to ensure that you are seen within a reasonable time. Where this is not possible you will receive an explanation for the delay on request, if we have not already informed you.

– If you need a repeat prescription, one will be provided within 72 hours of your request excluding Bank Holidays and weekends.

– We are aware that both our full time Doctors are female but if a patient specifically wanted to see a male Doctor the practice has an agreement with other local practices where this can be arranged.

– If you request a home visit or out of hours house call the doctor or his qualified deputy will make the decision whether to give advice over the telephone or visit. Lack of transport in itself is not a reason for a home visit.

– If you have any complaints or concerns relating to the practice, its staff or the services offered please contact the Doctors or Practice Manager who will provide a timely response to them.

There is a new Central NHS Computer System called the Summary Care Record (SCR). It is an electronic record which contains information about the medicines you take, allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines you have had.
Why do I need a Summary Care Record?
Storing information in one place makes it easier for healthcare staff to treat you in an emergency, or when your GP practice is closed.
This information could make a difference to how a doctor decides to care for you, for example which medicines they choose to prescribe for you.
Who can see it?
Only healthcare staff involved in your care can see your Summary Care Record.
How do I know if I have one?
Over half of the population of England now have a Summary Care Record. You can find out whether Summary Care Records have come to your area by looking at our interactive map or by asking your GP.
Do I have to have one?
No, it is not compulsory. If you choose to opt out of the scheme, then you will need to complete a form and bring it along to the surgery. You can use the form at the foot of this page.
More Information
For further information visit the NHS Care records website.

Information about your health and care helps us to improve your individual care, speed up diagnosis, plan your local services and research new treatments. The NHS is committed to keeping patient information safe and always being clear about how it is used.
How Your Data is Used
Information about your individual care such as treatment and diagnosis is collected about you whenever you use health and care services. It is also used to help us and other organisations for research and planning such as research into new treatments, deciding where to put GP clinics and planning for the number of doctors and nurses in your local hospital. It is only used in this way when there is a clear legal basis to use the information to help improve health and care for you, your family and future generations.
Wherever possible we try to use data that does not identify you, but sometimes it is necessary to use your confidential patient information.
You Have a Choice
You do not need to do anything if you are happy about how your information is used. If you do not want your confidential patient information to be used for research and planning, you can choose to opt out securely online or through a telephone service. You can change your mind about your choice at any time.
Will choosing this opt-out affect your care and treatment?
No, choosing to opt out will not affect how information is used to support your care and treatment. You will still be invited for screening services, such as screenings for bowel cancer.
What do you need to do?
If you are happy for your confidential patient information to be used for research and planning, you do not need to do anything.
To find out more about the benefits of data sharing, how data is protected, or to make/change your opt-out choice visit www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters
Download a copy of the patient leaflet

We hold patient details on computer and are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).  To ensure that we are compliant with new European data protection law, known as General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) we have updated our privacy and data security policies.
You have the right to know what information we hold about you and the Practice’s privacy notice for patients can be viewed under further information on this web site. The privacy notice explains why we collect information about our patients and how we use that information.
It is important that the NHS keeps accurate and up-to-date records about your health and treatment so that those treating you can give you the best possible advice and care.
If you would like to see your records, please contact the surgery.

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

The average pay for GPs working in the practice of Coggeshall Surgery in the last financial year was £86,303 before tax and National Insurance.

This is for 3 full time GPs who worked in the practice for more than six months.

March 2024