Please telephone us an explain you need to see a Doctor urgently – The receptionist will ask you for a brief description of the problem and will offer you a sameday appointment to see a Doctor. If you call after 11am, the Receptionist will pass on the nature of your problem to the Doctor, who will either request you come to the surgery or they will telephone you to discuss the problem.

Requesting a repeat prescription is easy. Please sign up to GP online services and you’ll be able to use a website or app to order repeat prescriptions online. The service is free and available to everyone who is registered with a GP.

Alternatively please visit out our General and Admin Enquiries page and click Request Repeat Prescription button for a step by step guide.

You can book an appointment by using Patient Access, please do not email or fax an appointment request. If you are unable to book  then call us on 0121 453 3516.

Appointments can be booked 24 hours a day 7 days a week online or during surgery hours by telephone. To register for online appointments please fill out our online form or request access from the reception on your next visit.

If you have been referred for a Choose and Book Appointment recently, you will need to book your own hospital appointment. You will have been sent the paperwork to do this within 2 weeks. Please contact the appointment centre details on section 2 on the enclosed paperwork and give details of both your reference number and password. You should then be able to arrange an appointment at your convenience at your chosen hospital.

Should you contact the e-referral service and there are no appointments available to book at your selected hospital, you will be put on that hospital waiting list for an appointment to be sent to you. It is the hospital’s responsibility to ensure you receive an appointment. Please be assured that you are on the hospital waiting list and will be sent an appointment in due course.

If you have not heard from the hospital with an appointment, please contact the hospital directly quoting your reference number and password. Please see the direct telephone numbers for the hospitals as below as they manage their own waiting lists.

Birmingham Eye Hospital – 0121 507 6712

Birmingham Treatment Centre – 0121 507 4151

Birmingham Women’s Hospital – 0121 627 2786

Children’s Hospital  – 0121 333 9700

Solihull/Heartlands – 0121 424 1234

Royal Orthopaedic Hospital – 0121 685 4186

Queen Elizabeth Hospital – 0121 371 7066

To track your e-Referral you will need the following details to log into the e-Referral website:

Your date of birth

Reference number – this will be on the first page of your letter

Password – this will be on the last page of your letter

Please make sure to update your mobile number.

Monday – 08:00 to 18:30

Tuesday – 08:00 to 18:30

Wednesday – 08:00 to 18:30

Thursday – 08:00 to 18:30

Friday – 08:00 to 18:30

Please note that a request for home visit to provide medical care must to be made before 12 pm. Requests after 12 pm will be passed to the duty doctor for triage. The receptionist will need details of symptoms and a contact telephone number. Home visits requested by 12 pm will take place at the end of morning surgery between 12:00 pm & 3:00 pm. The duty doctor will arrange visits for requests that come in after 12 pm and a visit is deemed appropriate. Only urgent requests will be seen the same day.

Home visits are only available for patients who are housebound because of illness or disability.

NHS Services

In addition to GP consultations the Practice offers a comprehensive range of healthcare services and specialist clinics:

Adult Immunisations – are your vaccinations up to date? If not, make an appointment to see one of our Practice Nurses to have your routine vaccinations. Adult Vaccines available on the NHS

Ante-natal Care – the Doctors work closely with the midwives to deliver your ante-natal care. Please arrange an appointment with your Doctor if you are pregnant.

Child Health Surveillance 6 – 8 week developmental review -Appointments for consultations will be sent from the practice. These are undertaken by the GP.

Childhood immunisations – Appointments for your child’s immunisations will be sent to you direct from the child health team. It is important that you attend for these appointments as the vaccinations need to be given at specific times in your child’s development (8, 12, and 16 weeks). If you are unable to attend please let us know so that we can re-arrange in a timely fashion. Childrens Vaccination Schedule

Contraception and Sexual Health – a full range of contraceptive services are available – this includes fitting coils as well as hormonal methods e.g. the pill, injections and implants. These services are also available to residents who are not registered with the Practice.

Chronic Disease Reviews – We have changed the way we invite our patients with chronic diseases, so that hopefully it will make it easier to know when you will be invited and reduce the number of times we ask you to attend. By chronic disease, we mean Diabetes, Asthma, COPD, Stroke monitoring and Heart Disease. Instead of asking you to see the nurse about separate conditions, we will invite you to attend for a nurse appointment each year in the month of your birth for a review of any of these conditions. So, if you suffer from 2 of these conditions, the nurse will review both conditions at the same appointment. You are welcome to book appointments if you have any concerns at any other time and the nurse will arrange any follow up you may need before your next routine review. We hope this will make your review appointment procedure simpler and more effective.

Holiday/ Routine Vaccinations – are your tetanus and polio vaccinations up to date? If not, make an appointment to see the Nurse to have a booster dose. Holiday vaccinations are just as important- ask for details at reception

Health Promotion – the Practice firmly believes that good health can be maintained by adopting a healthy lifestyle. Advice and encouragement are available for all our patient

Minor Surgery – these clinics are held on some Fridays by appointment. In these clinics minor lumps and bumps, skin tags, verrucas and warts may be removed. Please see your Doctor for further details.

Smoking Cessation – we have a comprehensive programme of help if you want to stop smoking. This involves initial support to set a quit date, prescription of medication to help you to stop smoking and follow up advice to help you keep well when not smoking. Please book an appointment with reception if you want help to quit.

Travel Vaccinations – if you require any vaccinations relating to foreign travel you need to make an appointment with one of our Practice Nurses at least two months before your planned travel. This allows time to plan and complete a course of any necessary injections and sign post you to other specialist clinics.

Please see our travel form

Click here

Non-NHS Services

The National Health Service provides most health care to most people free of charge, but there are exceptions such as prescription charges. The NHS does not employ GPs but has a contract with them to provide NHS general medical services for their patients. Sometimes, however, GPs are asked to provides additional services, which fall outside their contract with the NHS, and in these circumstances, they are entitled to make a reasonable charge for providing them. It is up to the individual practice to decide how much to charge, although the BMA produces lists of suggested fees for the Doctors to use as a guideline.

When a doctor signs a certificate or completes a report, the doctor needs to check the patient’s entire medical record to ensure that they are providing accurate information. GPs will not be able to complete forms overnight, so please ensure that you give them reasonable notice. Not all documents need a signature by a doctor. For example, you could ask another person in a position of trust, who may be willing to sign a passport application free of charge. (Teacher, Accountant, etc).

If you have several forms requiring completion, present them all at once and ask the receptionist if bringing them as a ‘job lot’ can reduce the price. You can also complete the form to the best of your ability in pencil, so the doctor just has to quickly verify your entries against the information held by the practice.

What is covered by the NHS and what is not?

Examples of non-NHS services for which GPs can charge their NHS patients are:

• Certain travel vaccinations

• Private medical insurance reports

• Holiday cancellation claim forms

• Referral for private care forms

• Letters requested by, or on behalf of, the patient

The fees charged are based on the British Medical Association (BMA) suggested scales and our reception staff will be happy to advise you about them along with appointment availability.

We aim to complete all reports within 2 weeks from the date of receipt. If the report does not form part of the NHS services a charge may apply. Where possible, we base our fees in line with the British Medical Associate (BMA) Guidance.

IMPORTANT: Contact reception about any requests you may have. Do not book an appointment with the Doctor to discuss a medical report or letter.

The fees charged are based on the British Medical Association (BMA) suggested scales and our reception staff will be happy to advise you about them along with appointment availability.

IMPORTANT: Do not book an appointment with the Doctor to discuss a medical report or letter.

No charge for any of the following information,

• Copies and access to Medical records (patient)

• Health records held on the computer

• Full set

• Summary

• Health records held in part on computer and in part manually

• Health records held manually

• Vaccination History

• Photo Copying of Medical Notes (Private Company)

Fee to allow patients access to their own health records where no copy is required

We don’t offer following service,

Employment, Pre-Employment Medical and Report

Employment, Pre-Employment Report (No Examination)

Fees for Non NHS Work

Service

Private Sick Note – Simple and no opinion – £26

Private Sick Report – Complex and no opinion – £62.50

Private Sick Report – Detailed report & opinion – £124.5

To Whom It May Concern Letter (GP opinion) (including Cambridge diet forms and water sure scheme) – £24.00 (inc VAT@£4.00)

Blue Badge Appeal (disabled parking) – £36.00 (inc VAT@£6.00)

DNA Test – private – £72.00 (inc VAT)

Fostering & Adoption – Medical & Report – £88.63.00 (inc VAT@£14.77)

Assessment of Capacity – £60.00 (inc VAT@£10.00)

Power of attorney – £60.00 (inc VAT@£10.00)

Performing Arts – £24.00 (inc VAT@£4.00)

GP’s signature – £24.00 (inc VAT@£4.00)

INSURANCE

Life Insurance Reports (no medical) – £90.00

DRIVING

HGV/Taxi Medical – £100.00

TRAVEL

Fitness to Travel – £24.00 (inc VAT@£4.00)

Cancellation of Holiday Claim Form – £24.00 (inc VAT@£4.00)

Earlier in the year NHS England and NHS Clinical Commissioners also published guidance on ‘Items which should not be routinely prescribed in primary care’ and subsequently the Birmingham and Solihull CCG policy was produced. Medicines included in the policy are:

Co-proxamol

Dosulepin

Glucosamine and chondroitin

Herbal treatments

Homeopathy

Immediate release fentanyl

Lidocaine plasters

Liothyronine

Lutein and antioxidants

Once daily Tadalafil

Omega-3 fatty acid compounds

Perindopril arginine

Prolonged release doxazosin

Rubifacients (excluding topical NSAIDs)

Targinact – Oxycodone and naloxone combination

Tramacet – paracetamol and tramadol combination

Trimipramine

Vaccines administered exclusively for the purposes of travel (see list in policy)

NHS England Guidance:https://www.england.nhs.uk/medicines/conditions-for-which-over-the-counter-items-should-not-routinely-be-prescribed/ 

Birmingham and Solihull CCG policy: https://nhs.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fc496e37a02fff5979483df7e&id=50f4e99283&e=261acd4ccf

Chaperone Policy

It is the policy of this practice to respect the privacy, dignity, religious and cultural beliefs of our patients.

If you feel you would like a chaperone to be present during a physical examination by a doctor or any other health professional you may be consulting at the surgery (or if you prefer to be examined by a doctor or health professional of the same sex as yourself) please let us know and we will do our best to comply with your wishes.

Violence Policy

The NHS operate a zero tolerance policy with regard to violence and abuse and the practice has the right to remove violent patients from the list with immediate effect in order to safeguard practice staff, patients and other persons. Violence in this context includes actual or threatened physical violence or verbal abuse which leads to fear for a person’s safety. In this situation we will notify the patient in writing of their removal from the list and record in the patient’s medical records the fact of the removal and the circumstances leading to it.

Leach Heath Medical Centre

The average salary pay for GPs working at LHMC in the last financial year was £69,023 before tax and National Insurance. This is for 2 full time GPs and 1part time GP who have worked in the practice for more than 6 months.

Leach Heath Medical Centre takes the protection of our patient’s data and privacy very seriously. we have gone to great lengths to ensure we are fully compliant with GDPR legislation.

Read Our Privacy Policy

Is your feedback positive or negative?

Positive Feedback: We really work hard to provide you with good quality healthcare services and we are human too. If you are happy with our services then please do tell us and tell others too.

Negative Feedback: If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the staff working in this practice, please let us know. We operate practice complaints procedure as part of a NHS system for dealing with complaints. Our complaints system meets national criteria.

Making a Complaint

Most problems can be sorted out quickly and easily with the person concerned, often at the time they arise, and this may be the approach you try first.

If you cannot resolve the issue, please ask to speak to the Reception Manager in the first instance, if they are not able to resolve your complaint and you wish to make a formal complaint you should do so, preferably in writing as soon as possible after the event and ideally within a few days, giving as much detail as you can, as this helps us to establish what happened more easily. In any event, this should be:
• Within 12 months of the incident,
• or within 12 months of you becoming aware of the matter

If you are a registered patient you can complain about your own care. You are not normally able to complain about someone else’s treatment without their written authority. See the separate section in this leaflet for what to do in this case.

We are able to provide you with a separate
complaints form to register your complaint and this includes a third-party authority form to enable a complaint to be made by someone else. Please ask at reception for this. You can provide this in
your own format providing it covers all of the
necessary aspects.

Send your written complaint to:
Practice Manager, Leach Heath Medical Centre, Leach Heath Lane, Rednal, Birmingham, B45 9BU
Info.leachheathsbpct@nhs.net
You may also make your complaint directly to NHS England,
By telephone: 03003 11 22 33
By email: england.contactus@nhs.net
By post: NHS England, PO Box 16738, Redditch, B97 9PT

What We Do Next

We aim to settle complaints as soon as possible.
We will usually acknowledge receipt within three working days, and aim to resolve the matter as soon as possible but will give you some idea of how long that may take at the outset. You will then receive a formal reply in writing, or you may be invited to meet with the person(s) concerned to attempt to resolve the issue. If the matter is likely to take longer than this we will let you know, and keep you informed as the investigation progresses.

When looking into a complaint, we attempt to see what happened and why, to see if there is something we can learn from this, and make it possible for you to discuss the issue with those involved if you wish to do so.

When the investigations are complete, a final written response will be sent to you.

Where your complaint involves more than one organisation (e.g. social services) we will liaise with that organisation so that you receive one coordinated reply. We may need your consent to do this. Where your complaint has been initially sent to an incorrect organisation, we may seek your consent to forward this to the correct person to deal with.

The final response letter will include details of the result of your complaint and also your right to refer the matter further to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (details shown elsewhere in this leaflet) if you remain dissatisfied with the response.

The practice Complaints Manager is: Josie Jones, Practice Manager

Complaining on Behalf of Someone Else

We keep to the strict rules of medical and personal confidentiality. If you wish to make a complaint and are not the patient involved, we will require the written consent of the patient to confirm that they are unhappy with their treatment and that we can deal with someone else about it. In the event the patient is deceased, then we may agree to respond to a family member or anyone acting on their behalf or who has had an interest in the welfare of the patient.

Please ask at reception for the Complaints Form, which contains a suitable authority for the patient to sign to enable the complaint to proceed. Alternatively, we will send one to you to return to us when we receive your initial written complaint.

Where the patient is incapable of providing consent due to illness, accident or mental capacity, it may still be possible to deal with the complaint. Please provide the precise details of the circumstances that prevent this in your covering letter.

Please note that we are unable to discuss any issue relating to someone else without their express permission, which must be in writing, unless the circumstances above apply. You may also find that if you are complaining on behalf of a child who is capable of making their own complaint, we will expect that child to contact us themselves to lodge their complaint.

We may still need to correspond directly with the patient, or may be able to deal directly with the third party. This depends on the wording of the authority provided.

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome

You have the right to approach the
Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman.

Their contact details are:
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Millbank Tower
30 Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP

Tel: 0345 0154033
Website: www.ombudsman.org.uk
http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/make-a-complaint (to complain online or download a paper form)

You may also approach the Independent Health

Complaints Advocacy or the local Healthwatch for help or advice;
https://www.seap.org.uk/services/nhs-complaints-advocacy/

The local Healthwatch can be found at:
http://www.healthwatch.co.uk/
Healthwatch Birmingham
Colbalt Square, 83 Hagley Road
Birmingham
B16 8QG
United Kingdom

0800 6525 278

List of useful links and phone numbers

QE  Main switch – 0121 371 2000

QE Appointments – 0121 371 7070

QE Imagining Appointments – 012 1 371 4695

ROH Switch Appointments – 0121 685 4000, 0121 685 4186

Children’s  main Appointments – 0121 333 9999, 0121 333 9700

Women – 0121 427 1377

Social services – 0121 303 1234

Birmingham Carer Hub – 0333 006 9711

Mon, Tues, Thurs & Fri: 8.45am-5.15pm  Weds: 8.45am-7pm

Yewcroft / Quinton Carers Group – The Kenrick Centre Mill Farm Road

Monthly 2nd Wednesday of each month – Harborne  0300 304 5530  or Michelle Long 07392 319482

Longbridge Carers Group – Longbridge Health & Community Centre, 10 Park Way 0300 304 5530 or Michelle Long 07392 319482 Health & Wellbeing Carers Group Monthly 2nd Thursday of each month – Michelle Long 07392, 319482

Creative Support – 88 Bristol Road South Northfield

alt. Wednesdays 2-3pm – 0121 476 4349 Birmingham.hob@creativesupport.org.uk

Looking Forward – Term time only

(Parent and Carer Support Group) – 17 Victoria Road Harborne

Fortnightly, Thursdays 10-11:30 – info@cpmids.org.uk

National Autistic Society, Monday Thursday 10-4 Friday 9-3 – 0808 800 4104

National Dementia & Alzheimer’s Helpline – 0300 222 11 22

Ring and Ride – 0330 053 8135

Autism West Midlands – 0121 450 7582 / 0303 03 00 111

Silverline—Helpline for older people – 0800 4 70 80 90

Age UK – 0800 055 6112

Age Concern – 0121 362 3650

info@ageconcernbirmingham.org.uk

Citizens Advice – 0344 411 1444 

www.citizensadvice.org.uk

National Debtline – 08088084000

www.nationaldebtline.co.uk

CRUSE Bereavement Care – 0808 808 1677

Citizens Advice Bureau – 03444 111 444

MIND – 0300 123 3393

Dementia Awareness – 0121 466 6000

Samaritans – 0121 666 6644

Birmingham Healthy Minds – 0121 301 2525

Modern Slavery Statement

Section 54 of the UK Modern Slavery Act (2015) requires commercial organisations operating in the UK with an annual turnover in excess of £36m to produce a ‘slavery and human trafficking statement for each financial year of the organisation’.

Organisational Structure and Business

Our Health Partnership is one of the UK’s biggest GP partnerships. It brings together 52 surgeries in the Midlands and Shropshire. By using our shared expertise to tackle the challenges of GP practice today, we can keep local surgeries thriving and provide the excellent care that our patients need now and into the future.

Our approach to slavery and human trafficking

We are committed to tackling modern slavery within every part of our business and its supply chains. Our Anti-slavery statement, in combination with the establishment of effective policies, demonstrates our commitment to the issue of modern slavery and ensures that appropriate and coordinated action is taken throughout the business.

Due diligence

We have taken action to understand and address the risks of modern slavery within our operations, including:

• The development of robust processes around whistleblowing, grievance, disciplinary and bullying and harassment policies, to provide both staff and patients with assurance that modern slavery concerns will be raised and dealt with appropriately

• Staff training and increasing awareness of modern slavery, on how to spot signs and raise complaints within the organisation, and monitoring the delivery of this training to staff

• Putting in place Strict standards for conduct in the workplace, mirroring the NHS code of conduct, as referenced within our staff handbook and code of conduct policy

• Ensuring inappropriate employment practices are avoided by adhering to our Illegal Working Prevention, DBS, and Recruitment policies, to ensure identity checks, DBS, qualifications and references are in place

• Continued development of policies around safeguarding.

What should I do if I suspect someone is a victim of modern slavery?

If you suspect that you or someone you have come across may be an adult victim of modern slavery and in need of help, please contact The Salvation Army’s confidential and anonymous referral helpline on 0800 808 3733 – available 365 days a year, 24/7 with interpretation services where needed.

How we use your medical records Important information for patients

• This practice handles medical records in-line with laws on data protection and confidentiality.

• We share medical records with those who are involved in providing you with care and treatment.

• In some circumstances we will also share medical records for medical research, for example to find out more about why people get ill.

• We share information when the law requires us to do so, for example, to prevent infectious diseases from spreading or to check the care being provided to you is safe.

• You have the right to be given a copy of your medical record.

• You have the right to object to your medical records being shared with those who provide you with care.

• You have the right to object to your information being used for medical research and to plan health services.

• You have the right to have any mistakes corrected and to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. Please see the practice privacy notice on the website or speak to a member of staff for more information about your rights.