Children's Consent to Treatment
The Age of Legal Capacity (Scotland) Act 1991 provides that a person under the age of 16 years shall have legal capacity to consent on his or her own behalf to any surgical, medical or dental procedure or treatment, including psychological or psychiatric examination where, in the opinion of an attending qualified medical practitioner, he or she is capable of understanding the nature and possible consequences of the procedure or treatment.
Perth & Scone Medical Group is committed to ensuring that a competent person of any age has the right to determine their own health care treatment without recourse to the views and wishes of their parents. We recognise that confidentiality is a right valued by young people and our health care team is fully committed to respecting that right.
Electronic Records
If you require urgent medical care when the practice is closed it is important that some information is available to help doctors and nurses treating you. A summary of basic information about your health is copied from your medical records and stored electronically using the highest standards of security so that it is available as quickly as possible when needed.
Each patient in Scotland will have an Emergency Care Summary (ECS) on their records, which contains some basic information about your health, e.g. recently prescribed medication and drug allergies.
Furthermore, some patients may also have an eKIS (electronic Key Information Summary) in place. This summary will contain the information already held in the ECS Summary but may also include some additional relevant information around your medical history as well as information about your wishes for your care.
Only NHS staff directly involved in your medical care will be allowed to look at either your Emergency Care Summary or Electronic Health Record. They will not be able to see your full patient record.
If you do not want the above doctors and other staff to have access to this information please let the practice know.
More information is contained in the leaflets "Your Emergency Care Summary: What Does it Mean for You?" and "NHS Tayside Electronic Health Record", as well as our Privacy Statement.
Equal Opportunities Policy
Perth and Scone Medical Group is committed to a policy of equality of opportunity in the provision of its services. Our aim is to ensure that no patient or any other person wishing to access and make use of our services receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of race (includes colour, nationality, ethnic and national origins), sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status or of other conditions not justified in law or relevant to the performance of the job.
Medical Research
From time to time we are asked to provide data which is then used for medical research purposes. To this end, information that we hold about you may be used but this information will only be used in this way for research projects which have been approved by the Local Research Ethics Committee. Find out more in our Medical Research leaflet.
National Screening Programmes
Data from the practice system may be used lawfully to share information about relevant patients in order to facilitate their inclusion in any of the national screening programmes when appropriate. Find out more in our National Screening leaflet.
Patient Charter
You will be treated as an individual and will be given courtesy and respect at all times. You will receive the most appropriate care, given by suitably qualified people, and no care or treatment will be given without your informed consent.
In return we would ask you to treat all doctors and staff with courtesy and respect. We would also ask that you try to follow the medical advice offered, and take any medication as advised.
Read the full Charter and further information about Working in Partnership.
Privacy Statement
The Healthcare Team at Perth & Scone Medical Group strives to ensure that your medical information is kept safe and secure and is only used for the purposes in which was intended to be used. The practice conforms to the current legislation on GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) 2018. Our Privacy Statement is designed to advise you on how we handle and use your information.
Referrals for Private Specialist Care
After discussion and agreement, your GP will be happy to refer you for private care if requested. This will be done in the same manner and timescales as it would be when referring a patient for NHS provided care. However, to do this we do need you to provide the specific information around the specialist or clinic the referral has to be sent to.
When making a request for private specialist care, you will not be charged for the initial referral from the GP but you may be charged if further information or management is required following an episode of private care.
An estimated cost can be provided beforehand and charges may be made for:
- Insurance claim documentation completion
- Post operative wound care, should it be required at the practice
- Follow-up or management at the practice which would differ from NHS managed care
- NHS Tayside Laboratory fees for blood testing
Removal of Patients from our List
We are committed to removing patients from the practice list only in exceptional circumstances, for example when the patient's behaviour has led to a complete breakdown in the relationship between the practice and the patient.
If a decision is taken to remove a patient from the list, they will be formally advised by letter giving the reasons for the decision to remove. The patient will then be officially notified by Practitioner Services in Aberdeen of their date of removal from our list and given information on how to register with another doctor.
We have a zero tolerance policy towards threatening or abusive behaviour and in these cases this may result in immediate removal from the list. Patients who also fail to attend for their booked appointments without notifying the practice may also find they are removed from the list.
Subject Access Requests
From time to time, patients or third parties acting on behalf of yourself or any patient can apply to have access information held within your medical records under the terms of the GDPR 2018 (for living patients) or Access to Health Records Act 1990 (for deceased patients). This is known as a Subject Access Request. Find out more in our Subject Access Request leaflet.
Medical Records and Confidentiality
As a patient of this practice your medical records are confidential and are accessible only to the members of the Primary Health Care Team involved in your care. All our staff are trained to respect their duty of confidentiality and have this written into their Contracts of Employment.
Access to Your Medical Records
You have a right to access to information held within your medical records. Copies of your records will be supplied within 30 days of receiving a valid request. In some exceptional circumstances a longer time frame may apply, but if this is the case you will be advised at the outset. Proof of identity may be required before a request can be processed.
Information can and will be redacted to protect any third party who may be named within your medical record and your GP has a right to withhold any information he or she feels may cause you significant harm or distress in receiving. There will be no charge made for this although a fee may be requested if the request is felt to be excessive or repeated.
Freedom of Information
The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) provides individuals with a right of access to recorded information held by Scotland's public authorities. Refer to our Freedom of Information page to find out types of information that we routinely publish and how to access it.