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Privacy Notice Posted or Updated on 27 Oct 2023

Practice Privacy Notice

How we use your personal information

Drs Webb & Crowther have a legal duty to explain how we use any personal information we collect about you, as a registered patient at the practice. Staff at this practice maintain records about your health and the treatment you receive in electronic and paper format.   

What information do we collect about you?

We will collect information such as personal details, including name, address, next of kin, carer, records of appointments, visits, telephone calls, your health records, treatment and medications in the surgery, discharge notes from other organisations such as hospitals, walk in clinics, test results, X-rays, etc. and any other relevant information to enable us to deliver effective medical care.

How we will use your information

Your data is collected for the purpose of providing direct patient care; however, we can disclose this information if it is required by law, if you give consent or if it is justified in the public interest. The practice may be requested to support research; however, we will always gain your consent before sharing your information with medical research databases such as the Clinical Practice Research Datalink and QResearch or others when the law allows.

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 Yorkshire through Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby Clinical Commissioning Group.

In order to comply with its legal obligations, this practice may send data to NHS Digital when directed by the Secretary of State for Health under the Health and Social Care Act 2012. Additionally, this practice contributes to national clinical audits and will send the data that is required by NHS Digital when the law allows. This may include demographic data, such as date of birth, and information about your health which is recorded in coded form; for example, the clinical code for diabetes or high blood pressure.

 Processing your information in this way and obtaining your consent ensures that we comply with Articles 6(1)(c), 6(1)(e) and 9(2)(h) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Maintaining confidentiality and accessing your records

We are committed to maintaining confidentiality and protecting the information we hold about you. We adhere to the:

General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018 (which replaced the Data Protection Act 1998)

NHS Codes of Confidentiality and Security

Health and social Care Act 2012

Guidance issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)

Human Rights Act 1998

Common Law Duty of Confidentiality

You have a right to access the information we hold about you, and if you would like to access this information, you will need to complete a Subject Access Request (SAR). Please ask at reception for a SAR form and you will be given further information. We are required to respond within one month. Furthermore, should you identify any inaccuracies you have a right to have the inaccurate data corrected.

Every member of staff who works for an NHS organisation has a legal obligation to keep information about you confidential.

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 new 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 employers, regulators and professional bodies.

Who are our partner organisations?

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

  • NHS Trusts / Foundation Trusts
  • GP’s
  • 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
  • Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC)
  • Local Authorities
  • Education Services
  • Fire and Rescue Services
  • Police & Judicial Services
  • Voluntary Sector Providers
  • Private Sector Providers
  • Other ‘data processors’ which you will be informed of

We have a data sharing agreement with all the practices within the Whitby locality: Whitby Group Practice, Egton Surgery, Danby Surgery and Staithes Surgery. This is to enable the clinicians working the Better Access Surgeries, such as Saturday morning surgery at Sleights and Sandsend Medical Practice, to access patient clinical records when seeing patients. This service is provided by the Heartbeat Alliance enabling patients from these practices to be seen on a pre-booked appointment basis. Clinicians running surgeries in the Better Access service only have access to the clinical records of those patients who have pre-booked an appointment.

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. A risk score is then arrived at through an analysis of your de-identified information using software managed by NHS England and is only provided back to your GP as data controller in an identifiable form. 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.

Invoice validation

Your information may be shared if you have received treatment to determine which Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is responsible for paying for your treatment. This information may include your name, address and treatment date. All of this information is held securely and confidentially; it will not be used for any other purpose or shared with any third parties.

Opt-outs

You have a right to object to your information being shared.  Should you wish to opt out of data collection, please contact a member of staff who will be able to explain how you can opt out and prevent the sharing of your information; this is done by registering a Type 1 opt-out, preventing your information from being shared outside this practice.

Whenever you use a health or care service, such as attending Accident & Emergency or using Community Care services, important information about you is collected in a patient record for that service. Collecting this information helps to ensure you get the best possible care and treatment.

The information collected about you when you use these services can also be used and provided to other organisations for purposes beyond your individual care, for instance to help with:

  • improving the quality and standards of care provided
  • research into the development of new treatments
  • preventing illness and diseases
  • monitoring safety
  • planning services

This may only take place when there is a clear legal basis to use this information. All these uses help to provide better health and care for you, your family and future generations. Confidential patient information about your health and care is only used like this where allowed by law.

Most of the time, anonymised data is used for research and planning so that you cannot be identified in which case your confidential patient information isn’t needed.

You have a choice about whether you want your confidential patient information to be used in this way. If you are happy with this use of information you do not need to do anything. If you do choose to opt-out your confidential patient information will still be used to support your individual care.

To find out more or to register your choice to opt out, please visit www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters. On this web page you will:

  • See what is meant by confidential patient information
  • Find examples of when confidential patient information is used for individual care and examples of when it is used for purposes beyond individual care
  • Find out more about the benefits of sharing data
  • Understand more about who uses the data
  • Find out how your data is protected
  • Be able to access the system to view, set or change your opt-out setting
  • Find the contact telephone number if you want to know any more or to set/change your opt-out by phone
  • See the situations where the opt-out will not apply

You can also find out more about how patient information is used at:

www.hra.nhs.uk/information-about-patients (which covers health and care research); and

understandingpatientdata.org.uk/what-you-need-know (which covers how and why patient information is used, the safeguards and how decisions are made)

This is known as a Type 2 opt-out. You can change your mind about your choice at any time.

Data being used or shared for purposes beyond individual care does not include your data being shared with insurance companies or used for marketing purposes and data would only be used in this way with your specific agreement.

Health and care organisations have until 2020 to put systems and processes in place so they can apply your national data opt-out choice. Our organisation is able to apply your national data opt-out choice to any confidential patient information we may use or share with other organisations for purposes beyond your individual care.[1]

Retention periods

In accordance with the NHS Codes of Practice for Records Management, your healthcare records will be retained for 10 years after death, or if a patient emigrates, for 10 years after the date of emigration.

Notification

We are required to register a notification with the Information Commissioner to describe the purposes for which we process personal and sensitive information.

This information is publicly available on the Information Commissioners Office website www.ico.org.uk

What to do if you have any questions

Should you have any questions about our privacy policy or the information we hold about you, you can:

  1. Contact the practice’s data controller via email at: lyn.akers@nhs.net practices are data controllers for the data they hold about their patients
  2. Write to the Practice Manager at Catterick Village Health Centre, High Street, Catterick Village, Richmond North Yorkshire DL10 7LD

The Data Protection Officer (DPO) Catterick village Health Centre is Julia Davies

Information can also be found on the NHS Digital website digital.nhs.uk . This is the national information and technology partner to the health and care system. Please note that Drs Webb & Crowther  are not responsible for the content of this website.

Complaints

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 ico.org.uk  and select ‘Raising a concern’; Telephone number 0303 123 1113 (local rate). Please note that Sleights and Sandsend Medical Practice are not responsible for the content of this 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.

Change of Details

It is important 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.

Changes to our privacy policy

We regularly review our privacy policy and any updates will be published on our website, in our newsletter and on posters to reflect the changes. This policy is to be reviewed May 2019. 

If you would like this information in an alternative format or language, or if you need help with communicating with us, for example British Sign Language/ large print, please let us know. You can call us on 01748 811475 or email lyn.akers@nhs.net

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