Frequently asked questions

If you are an employee/locum

Provide the complaint to your practice manager or director for them to seek advice from their insurer, who may or may not be us.

You may be asked to provide a statement, which we can assist you with. In order to do this, we will need copies of the letter of complaint and the patient’s records.

Then, contact our clinical negligence team at [email protected]. If possible, attach copies of the patient’s records and the letter of complaint. Please note you will need to obtain the practice owner's permission to send the records to us.

If you are a practice owner/ manager

Please contact our clinical negligence team at [email protected] to notify us of the complaint. If possible, attach copies of the patient’s records and complaint.

You may wish to request statements from the employees or locums whom examined the patient. Please be assured that in the event that they are also AOP members, information barriers will be implemented to prevent conflicts.

We can then assist you in preparing a suitable response. It is helpful if you have already prepared a draft response and sent it to us, suggestions of points to cover in your response are outlined below.

• Detail the background of the patient’s examination(s)
• Pick out each allegation in turn as contained in the letter of complaint and respond to them individually
• Explain the next stage in your practice complaints procedure
• If you wish to make a good will payment to the patient, this can be included but please ensure that you allow us to suggest the appropriate wording

In the event of a letter of complaint or letter of claim, your employer may ask you for a statement in order to help them respond to the complaint.

Please contact us before you provide this statement, so that we can assist you in the preparation of it and provide our clinical advice.

Ensure that your employer provides you with copies of your examinations, and fundus photos, OCT scans etc. in order to prepare your statement.

It is helpful to include a short draft statement when you send us the records. Suggested points to cover in your written statement are outlined below:

• Whether you were an employee or locum at the time of the visit(s)
• Whether you recall the patient
• If you do not recall the patient, please refer to your entries in the patient records. Please indicate whether you are relying on your usual practise and your entries in the records, rather than your direct recollection of the examination
• The purpose of the visit
• The patient’s history and symptoms
• The examination you carried out – please address every aspect of the examination from beginning to end with reference to your entries in the records
• Any tests you carried out, the reason for doing so and results
• Any tests you were provided with, and your interpretation of them
• Your diagnosis / clinical determination
• What referral was made, if any, and reasons for doing so/not doing so; and
• Your future management and reasoning

In addition, if in relation to a complaint / claim:

• Please also provide your response to the complaint
• In hindsight, anything you would have done differently; and
• Any other information you consider may be helpful

If you are an employee/locum

Provide the records request to your practice manager or director for them to seek advice from their insurer, who may or may not be us.

You may be asked to provide a statement, which we can assist you with. In order to do this, we will need copies of the records request and the patient’s records.

Then, contact our clinical negligence team at [email protected]. If possible, attach copies of the patient’s records and the records request. Please note you will need to obtain the practice owner’s permission to send the records to us.

If you are a practice owner/manager

Please contact our clinical negligence team at [email protected] to notify us of the records request. If possible, attach copies of the patient’s records and the records request.

Form of authority

Provided you have a signed letter of authority from the patient, you can safely disclose information to the solicitor requesting it. If you have any doubts as to its authenticity, you should contact the patient directly to confirm they are happy for you to disclose this information and/or request a form of identification, for example a copy of the patient’s passport, to confirm their identification.

Timescales

Once you are satisfied that the applicant is authorised to access the information, you should act on the subject access request “without undue delay” and at the “latest within one month of receipt”. You should calculate the time limit from the day after the organisation received the request (whether the day after was a working day or not) until the corresponding calendar date in the next month.

Payment for Records

In most cases, an organisation cannot charge a fee to comply with a subject access request. The only exception to this is if the request is “manifestly unfounded” or “excessive” – this is unlikely to apply in the case of first-time requests. 

Sending the records by secure means

The patient records should be sent by “recorded delivery” if sent in hard copy format or “password encrypted” if sent electronically. Another way to send the records securely is to redact any personal identifiable information (for example the patient’s name and address).

Records to be sent

Unless otherwise specified, we would recommend providing photocopies or screenshots of the patient’s entire clinical record, including all examination notes, tests, referrals, visual field plots, imaging, dispensing notes etc. It is better for any imaging to be sent in high-resolution jpeg format.

The key thing is not to panic and never to amend your records.

I am an employee

If you are an employee, pass the letter to your practice manager or director for them to seek advice from their insurer, who may or may not be us.

Then, contact our clinical negligence team at [email protected]. If possible, attach copies of the patient’s records and the letter of claim. Please note you will need to obtain the practice owner’s permission to send the records to us.

Your employer may ask you for a statement, which we can assist you with. In order to do this, we will need copies of the letter of claim and the patient’s records.

I am a locum

If you are a locum, please contact our clinical negligence team at [email protected]. If possible, attach copies of the patient’s records and the letter of claim. Please note you will need to obtain the practice owner’s permission to send the records to us.

We will then ask you for a statement of your examination(s) of the patient.

The practice at which you locum may ask you for a statement, which we can assist you with.

We will then contact the claimant’s solicitors for you.