Surgery Information

This policy is designed to protect both patients and staff from abuse or allegations of abuse and to assist patients to make an informed choice about their examinations and consultations.

Guidelines

Clinicians (male and female) should consider whether an intimate or personal examination of the patient (either male or female) is justified, or whether the nature of the consultation poses a risk of misunderstanding.

• The clinician should give the patient a clear explanation of what the examination will involve.
• Always adopt a professional and considerate manner – be careful with humour as a way of relaxing a nervous situation as it can easily be misinterpreted.
• Always ensure that the patient is provided with adequate privacy to undress and dress.
• Ensure that a suitable sign is clearly on display in each consulting or treatment room offering the chaperone service if required.

This should remove the potential for misunderstanding. However, there will still be times when either the clinician, or the patient, feels uncomfortable, and it would be appropriate to consider using a chaperone. Patients who request a chaperone should never be examined without a chaperone being present. If necessary, where a chaperone is not available, the consultation / examination should be rearranged for a mutually convenient time when a chaperone can be present.

Complaints and claims have not been limited to male doctors with female patients – there are many examples of alleged homosexual assault by female and male doctors. Consideration should also be given to the possibility of a malicious accusation by a patient.

There may be rare occasions when a chaperone is needed for a home visit. The following procedure should still be followed.

Who can act as a chaperone?

A variety of people can act as a chaperone in the practice. Where possible, it is strongly recommended that chaperones should be clinical staff familiar with procedural aspects of personal examination. Where suitable clinical staff members are not available the examination should be deferred.

Where the practice determine that non-clinical staff will act in this capacity the patient must agree to the presence of a non-clinician in the examination, and be at ease with this. The staff member should be trained in the procedural aspects of personal examinations, comfortable in acting in the role of chaperone, and be confident in the scope and extent of their role. They will have received instruction on where to stand and what to watch and instructions to that effect will be laid down in writing by the practice.

Confidentiality 

• The chaperone should only be present for the examination itself, and most discussion with the patient should take place while the chaperone is not present.
• Patients should be reassured that all practice staff understand their responsibility not to divulge confidential information.

Click here to link to the latest GMC guidelines for intimate examinations: Intimate examinations and chaperones – professional standards – GMC (gmc-uk.org).

Procedure

• The clinician will contact the HCA/Nurse to request a chaperone.
• The clinician will record in the notes that the chaperone is present, and identify the chaperone.
• Where no chaperone is available the examination will not take place – the patient should not normally be permitted to dispense with the chaperone once a desire to have one present has been expressed.
  • The chaperone will enter the room discreetly and remain in room until the clinician has finished the examination.
• The chaperone will normally attend inside the curtain at the head of the examination couch and watch the procedure.
• To prevent embarrassment, the chaperone should not enter into conversation with the patient or GP unless requested to do so, or make any mention of the consultation afterwards.
• The chaperone will make a record in the patient’s notes after examination. The record will state that there were no problems, or give details of any concerns or incidents that occurred.
• The patient can refuse a chaperone, and if so this must be recorded in the patient’s medical record

Please see our IPC Annual Statement APRIL 2025

Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB
Omega House
112 Southampton Road
Eastleigh
SO50 5PB

Tel: 0300 561 2561
Integrated Care Board :: NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight

NHS England
South East Regional Team
Oakley Road
Southampton
SO16 4GX

Tel: 023 80296914
www.nhs.uk/services

Isle of Wight County Council
Customer Service Centre
County Hall, High Street
Newport, Isle of Wight
PO30 1UD

Tel: IOW 821 000
www.iwight.com

Privacy Notice

Patient Confidentiality

The practice complies with GDPR 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.

Patient Rights & Responsibilities

Users of the National Health Service have rights. The following explains what they are. They fall into three main categories.

Legislated Rights

Rights that have been written into law by means of Parliamentary Acts or Bills. (For example, UK GDPR and DPA 2018). As a patient of the NHS you have 7 rights.

• You are entitled to receive health care on the basis of clinical need, regardless of your income.
• You are entitled to be registered with a Medical practice. You are entitled to change your practice at any time. You do not have to give a reason for your decision.
• You are legally entitled to accept or refuse treatment as you see fit. This includes examinations, tests, diagnostic procedures, medication, operations, etc.
• You can refuse to be involved in research trials. If you do not agree to be involved in research trials, you can withdraw at any time.
• You are entitled to equal treatment regardless of race, gender, age or disability.
• You have a right to information on GP practices in your area and the services they provide. All practices must provide an information leaflet.
• You have a right to confidentiality. Personal information about your health is confidential and should only be disclosed to those who need that information to provide you with effective treatment, you can consent to share with other individuals outside of the NHS

Access to your Health Records.

You have a legal entitlement to see a copy of the records held about you. All records stored on computer can be accessed. If you wish to see your records you should apply in to the practice for a Subject Access Request.

Guideline Rights

• You are entitled to have reasonable access to high quality service and facilities.
• You are entitled to information on what is wrong with you and the treatment options available. Ask questions. You should be given truthful, clear answers.
• You are entitled to ask for a second opinion on your diagnosis or treatment.
• You can ask to have someone with you (friend, relative, interpreter) at any time. You may find this beneficial, particularly if you are asking questions or need moral support.

Human Rights

It is your right to be treated as a human being by another human being and as they would wish to be treated themselves, i.e. with dignity, politeness, respect and consideration. These may not necessarily be covered legally or even be contained in guidelines, but human rights will come into many of the areas mentioned above and are certainly just as important.

Consent

A doctor, nurse, or anyone else looking after your health, has to have your agreement before they can examine or treat you. This policy applies to both children and adults. Your consent will be sought before any of your information is shared with any individual not connected with your direct health care.

Patient Responsibilities

Patients, too, have certain responsibilities:

• Keeping appointments:  Please try to arrive on time. If you are unable to attend an appointment, please inform the clinic or surgery in good time. Address. If you move house, change address or telephone number, or the postcode is changed, please inform your GP practice or outpatient clinic.
• Treat all healthcare staff in a reasonable, courteous manner.
• Use emergency services in a responsible manner. Please use the out-of-hours services for emergencies only and not for routine care.
• Take care with medicines. Medicines are for one person only and should not be shared. Keep them safely away from children and in the original container. Take any unwanted medicines to a chemist for safe disposal.

Zero Tolerance Policy

Violence and Aggression

We require everyone to treat our staff with dignity and respect at all times.  Any callers who fail to do so will have the call terminated without warning.

This practice does not tolerate violence or aggression in any form.  A patient committing an act of violence or aggression will be reported to the police and they will be removed from our list of patients.

Alternative arrangements for the care of violent or aggressive patients will be provided by the IOW ICB.