The Care Quality Commission (CQC) makes sure hospitals, care homes, dental and GP surgeries, and all other care services in England provide people with safe, effective, compassionate and high-quality care, and encourages them to make improvements where possible.

They do this by inspecting services and publishing the results on their website: www.cqc.org.uk

You can use the results to help you make better decisions about the care you, or someone you care for, receives.

Our CQC Inspection

Our practice is inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to ensure we are meeting essential standards of quality and safety.

Updated 19.2.21

St Mary’s Surgery is part of the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Integrated Care System (ICS). This ICS is one of the largest in the country covering a patient population of over 990,000 people.

The ICS is responsible for planning and buying local NHS services, such as hospital care and in the community, as well as ensuring that the best possible care and treatment is delivered to patients.

For more information, please visit the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Integrated Care System website. 

Updated 04.01.23

For patients attending appointments at St Mary’s Surgery or collecting medication from our dispensary at 37 St Mary’s Street there is free car parking at the rear of the surgery building. Please only use this when attending the surgery.

The Surgery car park will be locked outside of surgery opening hours.

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

If a home visit is thought to be required by a patient, relative or carer please contact the surgery using askmyGP or telephone the surgery.  You will receive a telephone call back from a doctor or nurse to discuss the clinical problem who will then arrange for the most appropriate action.

Please remember that several patients can be seen in the practice in the time it takes to make one home visit. So please help us to help you and our other patients by visiting the surgery whenever possible. At the surgery your GP will have access to all your medical records and there are better facilities for examining and treating patients.

We cannot undertake home visits for reasons of convenience, lack of transport, or simply because a patient is a resident in a residential care home, sheltered accommodation or nursing home. We will be happy to provide you with details of local taxi firms and volunteer car services, if required.

Don’t forget you can call NHS 111 for medical help and advice, or in an emergency dial 999.

Updated 17.3.21

Weekday evening appointments are available at St Mary’s every Tuesday and alternate Wednesdays between 18:30 and 20:00 and once per month on Saturdays from 8:30am to 5:00pm.

These clinics are run by the Ely North and South Primary Care Network (of which St Mary’s is a member). These appointments are non-urgent and routine and can be booked with a GP, Practice Nurse, Clinical Pharmacist and Health and Wellbeing Coach. Please note that these appointments will be with locally based clinicians, but not always with clinicians from St Mary’s.

To book, change or cancel  your evening or weekend appointment, please call 01353 663434 and choose option 1.

We understand that this can be an upsetting time.  The following provides a practical list of actions that need to be undertaken when a death occurs either at home or in hospital.

If death occurs at home

1. Telephone the surgery and inform reception and a doctor will visit to confirm that death has taken place.
2. If the death is unexpected and the doctor is not able to explain the cause of death, they may need to inform the police and the coroner.
3. Once the death is confirmed, contact a funeral director.
4. The Medical Certificate of Death needs to be completed by a doctor who has been involved in the patient’s care and has seen them in the period prior to their death. There may be a delay if the doctor is not working or is on leave, but we will endeavour to keep you informed.
5. Since the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, the Medical Certificate of Death is now emailed to the Registrar.
6. Book an appointment with the Registrar to register the death by phoning 0345 045 1363. You will need to tell the Registrar:

• the person’s full name at time of death and any names previously used, including maiden surname
• the person’s date and place of birth (town and county if born in the UK, and country, if born abroad)
• their last address
• their occupation
• the full name, date of birth and occupation of a surviving spouse or civil partner
• if they were getting a state pension or any other state benefit.

7. When you register a death, the Registrar will normally issue a Certificate for Burial or Cremation (green form) for you to give to your funeral director, who will look after the necessary arrangements for the funeral. The Registrar will also issue a Certificate of Registration of Death (form BD8) which you will need to fill out and return if the deceased was receiving a state pension. The Registrar will also enquire as to the number of certified copies you require for dealing with the deceased’s finances (a fee is payable for each copy).

If the death occurs in hospital

1. Contact a funeral director to inform him his services are required.
2. Follow steps 4 onwards.

Cremation documentation

Your funeral director will usually liaise directly with the surgery regarding the additional certification required.

More information about registering a death.

Updated 17.3.21

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), everybody has the right to obtain a copy of their personal data. Personal data in relation to the surgery means your medical records, and an individual is only entitled to their own personal data, and not to information relating to other people (unless the information is also about them or they are acting on behalf of someone). Under special circumstances, some information may be withheld.

You do not need to give a reason to see your personal data and access to the majority of your medical records can be provided through SystmOnline, if you are registered.  This is the primary means of accessing your information and we encourage all patients to register for online access.

Where access is not possible, then patients can make a Subject Access Request (SAR) to the practice. We ask that you make your request in writing, where possible and be as specific as possible about the information you require.

The practice will provide the SAR information you require free of charge within one calendar month of the date of your request. However if your request is more complex or a number of requests have been made by you, the turnaround time might be extended and we may charge a reasonable fee where the request is viewed as excessive or additional copies are required.

Making a Subject Access Request

Patients must provide proof of identity when making a SAR.

Required documentation:

An individual making a request for his/her own records

• A copy of one of the following – birth certificate, passport or driving licence plus a copy of proof of address, such as utility bill

An individual making a request on behalf of an individual (acting as a representative)

• One item showing proof of the patient’s identity and one item showing proof of the representative’s identity.

Read St Mary’s Surgery full SAR policy and find request forms.

Updated 10.05.2023

St Mary’s Surgery aims to provide you with the highest quality healthcare. To do this we must keep records about you, your health and the care or treatment that we have provided for you or plan to provide for you.

These records are your ‘health care record’, and may be stored in paper form or on computer and electronic systems and may include personal data.

What is personal data?

Personal data is information about you, such as:

• Basic details – name, address, date of birth, NHS number, contact details, next of kin, etc.
• Sensitive personal data – details about contact we have had with you, eg clinical visits, notes and reports about your health, records about any treatment and care you have received, and test results, eg blood tests or x-rays.

As a healthcare provider, St Mary’s Surgery is permitted to collect, store, use and share this information under Data Protection Legislation, which has a specific section related to healthcare data.

Here are some examples of what we do with your information

• Refer you to other healthcare providers when you need other services or tests
• Share samples with laboratories for testing (eg blood samples)
• Share test results with hospitals or community services
• Allow out of hours GPs or clinicians to look at your health record when you have an appointment
• Send prescriptions to a pharmacy
• Share reports with a coroner
• Receive reports of appointments you have attended elsewhere, such as with the community nurse, or if you have stayed in hospital.

What else do we do with your information?

As well as activities related directly to your care, we also use information in ways which allow us to check that care is safe and provide data for the improvement and planning of services.

The surgery is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office as a Data Controller and our registration number is Z7309438.

St Mary’s surgery takes your privacy very seriously. If you have any questions or concerns in relation to the way we manage your personal information, please contact the Practice Manager.

Read our full privacy policy.

Updated: 10.05.2023

What is a Summary Care Record?

A Summary Care Record (SCR) is a short summary of your medical records. It tells other health and care staff who care for you important information about the medicines you take, any allergies you have and any bad reactions to medicines that you have had.

Giving access to your SCR to health professionals away from your usual GP (for example in an emergency, at out-patient clinics or when you’re on holiday) means that they can give you a better patient experience and ensure you are given the right medicines and treatment at the point of care. Only healthcare staff involved in your care can see your SCR.

Your SCR also includes your name, address, date of birth and your unique NHS number to help identify you correctly.

More information about how the NHS uses Summary Care Records.

As a patient registered with a GP in England, you will automatically have an SCR created unless you opt out. To do so, you need to let your GP practice know by filling in and returning a summary care opt out form.

Regardless of your past decisions about your Summary Care Record consent preferences, you can change your mind at any time.

Children under 16 years

A patient or guardian can request to opt out children under 16. Ultimately it is the GPs decision whether to create the records or not, because of their duty of care to the child. If you are the parent or guardian of a child under 16 and feel that they are able to understand, then you should make this information available to them.

Updated 17.3.21

St Mary’s Surgery immediate and long-term equipment fund is called SMILE. Donations – which are very thankfully received – are deposited in this fund.

This enables the practice to purchase items of equipment which benefit our patients, such as nebulisers for asthma patients, glucometers for diabetic patients, sonic aids for antenatal patients, dermatoscopes for dermatological conditions, ECG machines, defibrillators and so on.

If you would like to make a donation, please contact the assistant practice manager.

Updated 1.3.21