Our Practice aims to ensure that all of our patients have access to information they can easily understand and that we are supportive to any communication need they may have.

If you have an impaired vision and find it hard to read letters we can support you with large print or braille.

If you have impaired hearing we can support you with the help of sign language, a hearing aid or communication tool.

To become better at communicating with our patients we ask that you inform us of any preferences or needs you may have.

We aim to offer a friendly, personal, comprehensive and high standard of family health care to all our patients. We always welcome your feedback and value your comments and suggestions. Please get in touch by telephone and let us know your thoughts. We endeavour to listen to your comments and act appropriately on the constructive feedback to deliver the best for you and your family.

We always try to provide the best services possible, but there may be times when you feel this has not happened. It is not appropriate to bring a complaint to a surgery medical appointment. If you are unhappy about what we have said or done, let us know either in writing or, if you prefer, by speaking to the Practice Manager, Mrs Lynn Crutwell.

All complaints will be dealt with through our Practice Complaints System, please see our Practice Complaints Procedures below.

Comments Complaints & Suggestions

All our staff are aware of the Data Protection Act and follow the guidelines regarding disclosure of information. No information about a patient, or patient record will be disclosed to anyone outside of the Practice Team, or Hospital Services, without a patient’s permission.

DNA Policy 2025

If a patient fails to attend for an appointment and does not contact the surgery in advance to cancel or change this appointment this then becomes a ‘Did Not Attend’ (DNA).

Recently the number of DNA appointments has risen at our Surgery with an average of 40 appointments a week wasted due to non-attenders, this equates to two full days of appointments with one of our Doctors.

The effects of these are:

An increase in the waiting time for appointments
Frustration for both staff and patients
A waste of resources
A potential risk to the health of the patient

We understand appointments are sometimes missed due to unforeseen circumstances, but we would ask that you contact the Practice as soon as possible if you are unable to attend your appointment or your appointment is no longer needed.

You can contact us to cancel your appointment by:

Calling: 0191 496 3770
Emailing: STYNCCG.TheGlenMedicalGroup@nhs.net
Texting: 0787 422 1946 (for cancellation of appointments only, please give your full name, appointment date & time)

At this time the pressure on our appointments is immense and we now monitor the amount of appointments missed weekly. Following our Practice policy we will ask anyone who does not attend on three separate occasions within one year to register at another Practice.

Employee-Privacy-Notice

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 earnings figures for The Glen and The Park combined is £94,264.  This includes 3 partners, 3 salaried GP’s and one locum who all worked for the practices for the minimum period of time.

“To provide patients with the highest standard of medical care possible
combining evidence based and patient centred approaches, delivered with dignity and respect by friendly, attentive and efficient people.”

Practice Objectives

• Patients’ medical conditions will be managed according to the highest standards as defined by the profession.

• Patients will be treated with courtesy and consideration by all our staff. Patients will receive appropriate information about their condition and treatment.

• The practice will endeavour to educate patients on health care matters whenever possible.

• Partners, nurses and staff will be encouraged to pursue appropriate further training.

• The practice will undertake professional training as a service to the profession.

Patient’s rights and responsibilities

• Patients should attend their appointments at the arranged time. If this is not possible they should inform the surgery as soon as possible.

• We expect that patients will understand that appointments are for one person only. Additional appointments should be made for more than one person.

• Patients are responsible for their own health, and the health of their children, and should cooperate with the practice in endeavouring to keep themselves healthy. We give you professional help and advice – please act on it!

• Requests for help and advice for non-urgent matters should be made during normal surgery hours only (0800 – 1800 hrs. Mon – Fri).

• Home visits should only be requested for patients who are seriously ill or housebound. It is important to bear in mind that most medical problems are dealt with more effectively in the clinical setting of a well-equipped surgery or hospital.

• Patients should appreciate that home visits are made at the doctor’s discretion.
Requests for visits and advice outside normal surgery hours should only be made for genuine emergencies.

• Many problems can be solved by advice alone; therefore patients should not always expect a prescription or a face to face consultation.

• We ask that patients treat the staff and doctors with courtesy and respect. Bear in mind that the reception staff have a very difficult job to do, juggling with limited resources and without detailed medical knowledge. They are trying to do their best for you.

Named Accountable General Practitioner for all patients

In line with NHS contractual requirements all registered patients have now been allocated a named GP. You can, however, see any GP of your choice in the Practice.

If you are not aware of who your named GP is and would like to know please ask at reception.

Dear Patient,

GPs and their practice teams provide the vast majority of NHS care outside of hospitals, supporting you and your family throughout your lives. In a perfect world, we want to be able to offer every patient:

Safety – prompt access to a GP or practice nurse you trust, with well-staffed surgeries and enough resource so that no patient feels left behind.

Stability – a family doctor who knows you, your medical history, and your community without the stress and difficulty of finding it difficult to get an appointment.

Hope for the future – care that focuses on keeping you well, not just treating illness. We want more time for meaningful consultations, joined-up support closer to your home, from modern GP surgery premises with safe and effective technology to make this possible.

The government talks of “bringing back the family doctor” but what politicians  promise is often not planned properly or funded fairly to be able to be delivered in reality.

We aim to respond to all appointment and advice requests promptly, prioritising those most in need. Sometimes we may need to offer you an appointment on another day or direct you to another suitable service.

For safety reasons, urgent medical requests cannot be accepted via our online  system. For something urgent, pick up the phone or walk in to our reception.

The need to prioritise urgent cases to keep patients safe can result in longer waiting times for routine/non-urgent appointments.

The new requirement to allow patients unlimited online access for non- urgent medical requests, throughout core hours, makes it more likely that we will have no choice but to create hospital-style waiting lists to meet patient need.

We want to guide you through the NHS, co-ordinate your care, and support you to stay healthy. We want every patient to feel safe and confident in their GP practice – now and in the future.

GPs are on your side.

The Challenges Your Practice Faces

Rising demand, fewer GPs – GPs care for 17% more patients than in 2015, but with fewer GPs. Funding has not kept pace, so many patients find it hard to see their GP quickly, leading to the stressful scramble to secure an appointment.

Practice closures – Around 2,000 practices have been lost since 2010, that’s one in four surgeries, leaving fewer local practices and longer waits or travel for patients.

Funding pressures – Practices receive just 31p per patient per day to provide unlimited consultations with our doctors and nurses, making it hard to employ enough staff and sustain services.

Workforce challenges – More GPs are leaving the NHS than joining. While our staff work tirelessly, system pressures and patient frustration can affect everyone’s morale and wellbeing. We have unemployed GPs now – and practices lack funds to hire them.

Unsafe workloads – Many GPs see far more than the accepted safe limit of patients per day, often working over 60 hours a week. Recent government changes risk making this worse.

Ageing buildings – One in five GP surgeries is now over 75 years old – older than the NHS itself which started in 1948. There is very little investment to provide modern facilities fit for today’s needs.

Access versus continuity – Government policy means speed of an appointment comes before choice. This lack of continuity of care, means patients often don’t get to see a familiar face who knows them well.

Demand management – We always aim to respond to all appointment and advice requests promptly, prioritising those most in need. Sometimes we may need to offer you an appointment on another day or direct you to another suitable service.

For safety reasons, urgent medical requests cannot always be accepted via our online system. For something urgent, pick up the telephone or walk into our surgery.

The need to prioritise urgent cases to keep patients safe can result in longer waiting times for routine/non-urgent appointments.

The new requirement to allow patients unlimited online access for non-urgent requests, throughout core hours, makes it more likely that we will have no choice but to create hospital style waiting lists to meet demand.

We may unfortunately sometimes face challenges beyond our control:

• difficulties with accessing services at the local hospitals and long waiting lists
• workforce challenges – not enough GPs to look after you
• the need to provide our teams with compulsory NHS training and education
• unforeseen events
• NHS IT challenges with old and slow equipment
• lack of investment in practice buildings and development
• public health emergencies
• Our core contract hours are Monday – Friday, 8am– 630pm.
• Our consulting times are between these hours.
• Please note at certain times, e.g. lunch or the ends of the day, a clinician may not be present in the building (e.g. out on home visits).
• In any emergency, please dial 999 for an ambulance or attend the nearest
• Accident & Emergency department.

 We believe patients deserve more

• At present, GPs and their teams are under huge pressure – caring for more people with fewer resources.
• Without proper investment, the safety, stability and continuity of care that patients value most are at risk.
• As your GP practice, we will always do what we can to deliver the best service possible for you and your family. With the right resources and support, we could expand our services, employ more staff, and deliver the safe, timely, and personalised care you deserve.
• Please remember that our current GP contract funds patient care on average at 31p per day per patient, which is not enough to meet rising demand and to provide the care you and your family deserve.

So please bear with us – and thank you for your support as we try our best for you and your family. See NHS England’s You and Your General Practice document here: You and Your family

See NHS England’s You and Your General Practice document here: You and Your General Practice  NHS England » You and your general practice – English

Website Privacy Policy

This GP Practice, as the data controller may collect personal information from visitors to this site. This information is used only to respond to enquiries, monitor site usage and to enhance the use of certain technologies – such as activity based information. Cookies and logging of IP addresses are used to enable the GP Practice to monitor site traffic and repeat visitor statistics. Statistics will not include information that can be used to identify any individual.

The GP Practice will at all times comply with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998.

Use of Personal Information Provided by the User

Where personal information (e.g. name, address, telephone number etc) is provided to the GP Practice via its website for whatever purpose (e.g. registration, survey, feedback), it is made clear to the individual what the information collected will be used for and who it will be provided to. The GP Practice will only use the information collected for the stated purpose.

At this current time, any personal information provided, is only used by the GP Practice. It will not sell, trade, provide or rent personal information to third parties. Specific personal information will be released where the NHS is required to do so by law, e.g. court order. Transfer of data will be done so on the express permission of the supplying individual.

When you submit personal information, you consent to our use of the information as set out in this privacy policy.

Scope of this Privacy Policy

This privacy policy only covers sites belonging to and operated by the GP Practice. Links within this site to other websites are not covered by this policy.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

The GP Practice may amend this policy from time to time. If substantial changes are made to the way in which the Council obtains and uses your personal information the website will show prominently any announcement to this effect.

There are times when you see your Doctor that you will need to make choices about your healthcare. Your Doctor will discuss with you your treatment options, what are both the benefits and risks of treatments available to you, this should then enable you to choose the the best treatment option that is right for you.

MAGIC Poster

Whilst we accept there will be times when our service has not been up to standard and a patient has felt a need to complain, we are always delighted when patients let us know when we have done something well and these compliments are always shared with our staff.  We also welcome any suggestions from patients on how we may improve our service, or facilities.

How we use your medical Records

Our Fair Processing Privacy Notice explains why we collect information about you and how that information may be used to deliver your direct care and manage the local health and social care system.

The notice reflects:

• What information we collect about you;
• How and why we use that information;
• How we retain your information and keep it secure;
• Who we share your information with and why we do this.

The notice also explains your rights in relation to consent to use your information, the right to control who can see your data and how to seek advice and support if you feel that your information has not been used appropriately.

A full copy of the Fair Processing Privacy Notice is available below:

Privacy Leaflet Adult

Children’s Privacy Information Leaflet

Privacy Notice

If you wish to make a Subject Access Request you can apply to the practice in writing at the address below, via email or by downloading the form below.

The Glen Medical Group

Glen Primary Care Centre

Hebburn

NE31 1NU

Email: STYNCCG.theglenmedicalgroup@nhs.net

Patient Subject Access Request Form

Abuse to any member of our practice team is totally unacceptable, whether verbal or physical. All abuse is reported to the Practice Manager, all incidents are logged with serious incidents discussed at practice meetings.

Any physical abuse to a member of staff will be reported to the police. The patient will then be removed immediately from our list. If a patient is verbally abusive, a discussion will be held within the Partnership and it may be agreed that the patient is removed from the Practice List.

Verbal or physical abuse on our Practice premises will not be tolerated, it is not only distressing to members of staff but also to patients who may witness the event, especially the elderly and young children.

Our practice has signed up to the NHS Zero Tolerance Campaign which makes verbal abuse, threat and physical violence to all NHS staff unacceptable. Any such behaviour from any patients may result in their removal from our practice list.