Prescribing Drugs of Concern for New Patients

A controlled substance is generally a drug or chemical whose manufacture, possession, or use is regulated by the government because of the potential for abuse or addiction. Such drugs include those classified as narcotics, stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, and cannabis. Many of our patients require strong, potentially addictive medication to help manage their condition(s). Of concern are ‘drugs of dependence ’(e.g. opioid medications and benzodiazepines, gabapentinoids, sleeping tablets), particularly when these are prescribed on an on-going basis.

Due to increasing reports of abuse of prescription drugs and patient behavioral problems, The Grange Medical Practice has established a policy to ensure best practice management of your condition, while reducing the risk of problems with drug prescriptions.

There are many other treatment options and many people find Live well With Pain a very helpful website to support patients.  There is an increasing evidence base that the best way to manage chronic pain is not through medication. 

If you are a new patient to the practice: 

• It may take time to get accurate medical information about your condition. Until such information is available, your GP may choose not to prescribe any medication. It is our policy that GPs do not prescribe drugs of dependence until they have a full clinical picture. 
• Your new GP may decide not to continue prescribing a medication previously prescribed for you. It may be determined that such a medication is not suitable. It is our policy that GPs do not prescribe drugs of dependence if they feel that previous prescriptions were inappropriate. 
• Your new GP will evaluate your condition and only prescribe a strength necessary for you. This may be different to the drug you had prescribed at your previous GP Practice. 

General practice standards: 

1. If the decision to prescribe is taken after a shared discussion of goals, plans, risks and benefits, you may be required to confirm your consent in writing. 

1. You will be asked to complete a Medication Management Plan: Treatment Agreement that will detail our practice’s expectations when prescribing drugs of dependence. This agreement details your responsibilities as a patient taking a drug of dependence; any prescriptions issues; advice on taking your medications; how we will monitor your care; and the standards of behaviour that are expected. 

1. Patients may need to acknowledge that their care requirements may be complex, and that referral for on-going care for all or part of your healthcare may be required. It is our practice policy that patient care is matched with the level of complexity. 

1. Patients are reminded that we have a zero tolerance on issues relating to staff abuse. 

Read/Download our GDPR Privacy Notice

The government has asked all GP Practices to make their patients aware they have a Named Accountable GP.  Here at the Grange Group Practice, we have a pooled list. This means you are registered with the Practice as a whole and can see the GP of your choice.

You do however have a “Usual GP.” This is the GP you are likely to see most often.  If you wish to know who your “Usual GP” is, please ask us when you are next in the surgery.

The Grange Group Practice works hard to ensure patients can access health care professionals and services when needed.

The appointment system is audited regularly to monitor the amount of “wasted” clinical time due to patients not attending appointments.

In an attempt to reduce the amount of missed appointments, the Grange Group Practice operate a strict Did Not Attend (DNA) Policy.

Patients are encouraged to cancel appointments in advance if they cannot attend.

DNA Policy Overview

The DNA policy states that patients who miss 2 appointments in a 12 month rolling period are sent a warning letter and added to a register or list.

If a patient misses 3 appointments in a 12 month rolling period, The Grange Group Practice reserves the right to remove that patient from the list.

The DNA policy allows the Practice to remove patients who frequently fail to attend appointments.  This should result in greater availability of appointments for the rest of our patients.

How to cancel your appointment

The Grange Group Practice encourages patients to cancel appointments in advance if they are unable to attend.

This allows other patients to use the appointment slot.

There are many ways to cancel an appointment, including the following methods:

• Call us on 01484 428 282.
• Email us at grange.admin@nhs.net

What to do if you are removed from the practice list

Patients who are removed from the list are encouraged to register with another GP Practice as soon as possible, to prevent any gaps in treatment or care.

Under the Freedom of Information act patients have the right to access or view their medical record. Copies of records will occur a charge.

At The Grange Medical Practice, we are committed to ensuring a safe, respectful, and supportive environment for both our patients and staff. Patients comfort, and wellbeing are at the heart of everything we do.

All patients have the right to request a chaperone for any consultation, examination, or procedure where they feel it is needed. A chaperone will always be a trained member of our team.

Please Note: Friends or family members can be present during the consultation or examination but they cannot act a chaperone.

We have both male and female trained chaperones within our team. If you have a preference or would like a chaperone present, we kindly ask that you let us know when booking your appointment so we can make the necessary arrangements in advance. This helps to avoid any delays on the day of your appointment.

If a request is made at short notice, we will do our best to provide a chaperone at the time. However, in rare instances where this is not possible, we may need to reschedule your appointment to ensure your needs are fully met.

If you have any questions or concerns about chaperones, please speak to any member of our team.

When contacting the surgery, we ask that our patients behave appropriately and respect our colleagues and other patients..

We understand that when patients are unwell they need to be dealt with as quickly as possible, and we have processes in place to make sure patients are seen by the right clinician, at the right time.

Our colleagues are here to help, and it is unacceptable to abuse them in any way.  The Zero Tolerance Policy is in place to protect our colleagues and our patients from inappropriate behavior and gives the Practice the right to remove patients who behave in an unacceptable manner.

Inappropriate behavior can cause undue stress for our colleagues, and other patients.  This is not tolerated by the Practice.

Examples of inappropriate behavior include:

• Foul and Abusive Language
• Aggressive Behavior
• Shouting
• Inappropriate Comments
• Confrontational Behaviour

Patients are advised to speak to a member of the management team if they are unhappy with their experience at the Practice.

Overview of the Zero Tolerance Policy

Colleagues and/or patients report incidents to the management team and a decision is made to decide if the patient(s) involved should be sent a warning letter or be removed from the practice.

If a warning letter is sent to the patient(s) about the incident, the patient(s) involved are entitled to write a response detailing their version of events regarding the incident.

In the event of a serious incident, a patient may be removed immediately from the practice.

If you are removed from the practice, you should register at another practice as soon as possible to prevent any gaps in your care.

In line with Department of Health Guidelines the Practice has a complaints procedure. Equally we welcome constructive criticism so we can ensure our services are meeting the needs of our patients.

Practice Complaint Procedure

This section explains why the GP Practice collects information about you and how that information may be used.

The health care professionals who provide you with care maintain records about your health and any treatment or care you have received previously (e.g. NHS Trust, GP Surgery, Walk-in clinic, etc.). These records help to provide you with the best possible healthcare. Please see the Privacy Notice for Patients, Covid19 Privacy Notice and the Young Patient Privacy Notice, the fair processing notice for Greater Huddersfield Clinical Commissioning Group for further information.

There is a new Central NHS Computer System called the Summary Care Record (SCR). The Summary Care Record is meant to help emergency doctors and nurses help you when you contact them when the surgery is closed. Initially, it will contain just your medications and allergies.