Practice Policy

Infection Control Annual Statement

The Practice is committed to the control of infection. Our aim is to keep a clean and tidy surgery to promote a safe environment for staff, patients and visitors in accordance with national and local guidelines. This statement has been produced in line with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and details the practice’s compliance with guidance and our Infection Control Action Plan for the coming year.

Click here to download the complete statement (opens in new window) >>

Zero tolerance

Patients who are violent or abusive to Doctors, Staff or other persons on practice premises may be removed from the practice list and referred to Suffolk Commissioning Group for registration at another practice..

Freedom of information

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 recognises that members of the public have the right to know how public services are organised and run, how much they cost and how decisions are made.

From 1 January 2005 the Freedom of Information Act has obliged General Practice to respond to requests about information that it holds and is recorded in any format, and has created a right of access to that information. These rights are subject to some exceptions which have to be taken into consideration before deciding what information it can release.

Chaperone policy

This organisation is committed to providing a safe, comfortable environment where patients and staff can be confident that best practice is being followed at all times and the safety of everyone is of paramount importance.

All patients are entitled to have a chaperone present for any consultation, examination or procedure where they feel one is required. This chaperone may be a family member or friend. On occasions you may prefer a formal chaperone to be present, i.e. a trained member of staff.

Wherever possible we would ask you to make this request at the time of booking appointment so that arrangements can be made and your appointment is not delayed in any way. Where this is not possible we will endeavour to provide a formal chaperone at the time of request. However occasionally it may be necessary to reschedule your appointment.

Your healthcare professional may also require a chaperone to be present for certain consultations in accordance with our chaperone policy.

If you would like to see a copy of our Chaperone Policy or have any questions or comments regarding this please contact the Operations Manager.

Practice Complaints Procedure

While we strive to give all our patients the best possible service, We appreciate from time to time complaints arise and we will listen and rectify any problems we are notified of. In the first instance you should address any complaint either verbally or in writing to the Complaints Manager here at the practice or to NHS England complaints. If you are not satisfied with the final response from the practice or North East Essex Integrated Care Board (SNEEICB) you can contact the Ombudsman.

Please note that we have to respect our duty of confidentiality to patients and a patient’s consent will be necessary if a complaint is not made by that patient in person.

Please see further information about making a complaint in this link

This GP surgery is research active

All NHS organisations are expected to participate and support health and care research. Conducting high-quality clinical research helps us to keep improving NHS care by finding out which treatments work best.

You may be contacted from time to time about taking part in a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) study. If you are asked about taking part in NIHR research, someone in the care team looking after you will look at your health records to see whether you are eligible to take part before asking you whether you are interested or sending you a letter on behalf of the researcher.

You are free to choose whether or not to take part in any research study you are approached about.

Go here (opens in new window) for more details about how your information may be used in research. For more information on the NIHR please visit their website (opens in new window)

GP mean earnings

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 Ixworth Surgery in the last financial year was £61,156 before tax and National Insurance. This is for 7 part time GPs who worked in the practice for more than six months.

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 comparison with any other practice.