Patients

This Privacy Notice explains why the GP Practice collects information about you, how we use it, the conditions under which we may disclose it to others and how we keep it secure.

How is your information used?

The Healthcare 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, and are accessible by all members of the practice team – General Practitioners, Nurses, Healthcare Assistants, administration and reception staff. NHS health records may be electronic, on paper or a mixture of both, and we use a combination of working practices and technology to ensure that your information is kept confidential and secure.

What type of information is collected from you?

Records which this GP Practice hold about you may include the following information:

• Details about you, such as your address, contact numbers, carer, legal representative, emergency contact details;
• Any contact the surgery has had with you, such as appointments, telephone consultations etc.;
• Notes and reports about your health which could be generated from the practice or other Health & Social care organisations;
• Details about your treatment and care;
• Results of investigations such as laboratory tests, x-rays etc.;
• Relevant information of you relatives or those who care for you;
• Any other information which you have agreed to share with us, relating to you and your carer/family members.

Your records are used to facilitate the healthcare you receive from the practice to ensure care and treatment is delivered in the best possible way. Information held about you may be used to help protect the health of the public and to help us manage and contribute to the wider the NHS. Information may be used within the GP practice for clinical audits to monitor the quality of the service provided.

Some of this information will be held centrally and used for statistical purposes. Where we do this, we take strict measures to ensure that individual patients cannot be identified by redacting this information. Sometimes your information may be requested to be used for research purposes, and the practice will always gain your consent before releasing the information for this purpose.

How do we maintain the confidentiality of your records?

We are committed to protecting your privacy and will only use information collected lawfully in accordance with:

• EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• Data Protection Act 1998
• Human Rights Act 1998
• Common Law Duty of Confidentiality
• Health and Social Care Act 2012
• NHS Codes of Confidentiality, Information Security and Records Management
• Information: To Share or Not to Share Review

Every member of staff who works for an NHS organisation has a legal obligation to keep information about you confidential. Our policy within the Practice ensures that all staff adheres to a strict internal Confidentiality Policy.

We will only ever use or pass on information about you if others involved in your care have a genuine need for it. We will not disclose your information to any third party without your permission unless there are exceptional circumstances (i.e. life or death situations), where the law requires information to be passed on and / or in accordance with the information sharing principle following Dame Fiona Caldicott’s information sharing review (Information to share or not to share) where “The duty to share information can be as important as the duty to protect patient confidentiality.” This means that health and social care professionals should have the confidence to share information in the best interests of their patients within the framework set out by the Caldicott principles. They should be supported by the policies of their own employers, regulators and professional bodies.

Who has access to your information?

We do not sell or rent your information to third parties. We will not share your information with third parties for marketing purposes.

We may share your information, subject to strict agreements on how it will be used, with the following organisations;

• NHS Trusts / Foundation Trusts;
• Other General Practitioners;
• Other General Practices with which we are federated and provide collaborative services;
• NHS Commissioning Support Units;
• Independent Contractors such as dentists, opticians, pharmacists;
• Private Sector Providers;
• Voluntary Sector Providers;
• Ambulance Trusts;
• Clinical Commissioning Groups;
• Social Care Services;
• NHS Digital;
• Local Authorities;
• Education Services;
• Fire and Rescue Services;
• Police & Judicial Services;
• Other ‘data processors’ which you will be informed of.

You will be informed who your data will be shared with and in some cases asked for explicit consent for this happen when this is required.

We may also use external companies to process personal information, such as for archiving purposes. These companies are bound by contractual agreements to ensure information is kept confidential and secure.

Risk Stratification

Risk stratification data tools are increasingly being used in the NHS to help determine a person’s risk of suffering a particular condition, preventing an unplanned or (re)admission and identifying a need for preventive intervention. Information about you is collected from a number of sources including NHS Trusts and from this GP Practice. Risk stratification enables your GP to focus on preventing ill health and not just the treatment of sickness. If necessary your GP may be able to offer you additional services. Please note that you have the right to opt out of your data being used in this way.

Medicines Management

The Practice may conduct Medicines Management Reviews of medications prescribed to its patients. This service performs a review of prescribed medications to ensure patients receive the most appropriate, up to date and cost effective treatments. This service is provided to practices within North East Lincolnshire through North East Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group.

How long do we keep your information?

Your health record is a lifelong record which will be digital, with potentially some records in paper format depending on when you were born.

Your choices

Should you have any concerns about how your information is managed at the GP, please contact the GP Practice Manager. If you are still unhappy following a review by the GP Practice, you can then complain to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) via their website.

If you are happy for your data to be extracted and used for the purposes described in this Privacy Notice then you do not need to do anything. If you have any concerns about how your data is shared then please contact the Practice.

Use of SystmOnline

TPP, who supply SystmOne, the clinical system which the practice uses, may request or collect certain information about you when you use SystmOnline. TPP's Privacy Policy is incorporated into these Terms and Conditions by reference and explains how TPP treats your information and protects your privacy when you use SystmOnline. You agree to the use of your data in accordance with TPP’s Privacy Policy.

How you can access and update your information

The accuracy of your information is important to us. It is essential that you tell the person treating you if any of your details such as your name or address have changed or if any of your details such as date of birth is incorrect in order for this to be amended. You have a responsibility to inform us of any changes so our records are accurate and up to date for you.

Who is the Data Controller and Data Protection Officer?

This practice have appointed Barry Jackson to be the Data Protection Officer (DPO). He is employed by N3i and can be contacted through their service desk on phone 0300 002 0001, or email dpo@n3i.co.uk.

Feedback

Should you have any queries or concerns about how your information is managed by the Practice please refer to and act in accordance with our Compliment, Concerns and Complaints Policy.

If you are still unhappy following a review by the Practice you can then complain to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO):

www.ico.org.uk
casework@ico.org.uk
Telephone: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745

Young people

What is a Privacy Notice?

A Privacy notice helps your doctor’s surgery tell you how it uses information it has about you, like your name, address, date of birth and all of the notes the doctor or nurse makes about you in your Healthcare record whenever you come to see us. It also tells you how we make sure your information is kept safe.

What information do we collect about you?

We collect information about you such as: your name, why you are coming to see us, your birthday and year you were born, your address, the name of the person who will generally bring you to your appointments, your family doctor (General Practitioner or GP), the reason that you are coming to see us, any information that your family doctor or you or your family gives us, test results, X-rays and any other information to enable us to care for you.

Why we collect it?

Our main purpose is to deliver the best care and treatment to adults and children, and we collect the information we need to care for you in the best way. We ask for your address so that we know where we can contact you, we ask for your date of birth as your age may be important to your care and each time you come to see us we will write down things that you tell us, things that we tell you and any medicines or treatment we give you so that way we can look back at what we have done for you to make sure we are treating you in the best way.

What do we do with it?

We keep the information we collect electronically and on paper. All of this information together is called your Health Record and anyone involved in caring for you at the practice can see what has been collected. This way we can all make the right decisions about your care with all of the information you have given us.

Who we share it with?

We may share the information we record about you with other hospitals involved in your care. We routinely share information with school nurses, but not directly with school unless it is important for them to know. If you have a social worker, we will share it with them too. That way they are kept up to date on what we are doing for you. Your parents/guardians should get a copy of any letters we send to your doctor about your care.

If you tell us something that makes us worried about your safety or the safety of someone else you know, we might have to share this with other people outside of the practice - even if you don’t want us to. This is part of our job to keep you and others safe

How do we keep your information safe?

Everyone working in our practice understands that they need to keep your information safe; this is called keeping your information confidential or protecting your privacy. They have training every year to remind them of this, we tell them that they are only allowed to look at your information if they are involved in your care or to help us run our practice and they understand that they must keep any information safe especially the information that identifies you. This might be your name or address and anything you come to see us about. We are not allowed to give any of this type of information to anyone who shouldn’t see it. This includes talking to them about it.

Checking we are doing our best

All GP Practices are checked by organisations to make sure they are treating and caring for patients and families in the best way they can. The people who inspect us may ask to see a small number of Health Records. They check that notes are written clearly and are kept safe to ensure that we are recording and storing your information safely.

How long do we keep your information for?

We will keep a copy of your information in our Practice for as long as you are registered with our Practice.

Am I able to see the information you collect about me?

Yes, you are. You or your family will need to ask your doctor or nurse first though as there may be things that we would need to explain to you such as abbreviations or medical words.

Can I have a copy of my records?

Yes, you can. Your parent/ guardian will need to contact us to tell us what they want to see - it may just be part of your record, your x ray or a report. We will check they are who they say they are to make sure we are not sharing your information with anyone who shouldn’t see it. You may be able to request your health records yourself.

If I think some of my information is wrong can I do anything about it?

Yes, you can. You or our parent or guardian needs to contact the practice and let us know what it is that you think is wrong.

If I’m unhappy with the way you’ve used some of my information can I do anything?

Yes, you can. Let us know by contacting us. If you’re still not happy, you can contact the Information Commissioners Office.

We hope this information tells you what you need to know about the information we collect about you. If you want to know anything else, please contact the Practice.

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Job applicants

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