PRACTICE PRIVACY NOTICE

MERRIDALE MEDICAL CENTRE

How we use your information to provide you with healthcare

This privacy notice explains why we at Merridale Medical Centre collect information about our patients and how we use that information.

MerridaleMedical Centre manages patient information in accordance with existing laws and with guidance from organisations that govern the provision of healthcare in England such as the Department of Health and the General Medical Council.

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

Data Protection Act 1998

General Data Protection Rules 2018

Human Rights Act 1998

Common Law Duty of Confidentiality

Health and Social Care Act 2012

NHS Codes of Confidentiality and Information Security

As data controllers, GPs have fair processing responsibilities under the Data Protection Act 1998. In practice, this means ensuring that your personal confidential data (PCD) is handled clearly and transparently, and in a reasonably expected way.

The Health and Social Care Act 2012 changed the way that personal confidential data is processed, therefore it is important that our patients are aware of and understand these changes, and that you have an opportunity to object and know how to do so.

The health care professionals who provide you with care maintain records about your health and any NHS treatment or care you have received (e.g. NHS Hospital Trust, GP Surgery, Walk-in clinic, etc.).

NHS health records may be processed electronically, on paper or a mixture of both; a combination of working practices and technology are used to ensure that your information is kept confidential and secure. Records held by this GP practice may include the following information list below;

• Details about you, such as  name, address, date of birth and next of kin
• Any contact the practice has had with you, including appointments, clinic visits, etc.
• Notes and reports about your health
• Details about treatment and care received
• Results of investigations, such as blood tests, x-rays, etc.
• Relevant information from other health professionals, relatives or those who care for you

The practice collects and holds data for the sole purpose of providing healthcare services to our patients and we will ensure that the information is kept confidential. However, we can disclose personal information if:

• It is required by law
• You provide consent – either implicitly or for the sake of your own care, or explicitly for other purposes
• It is justified to be in the public interest

Some of this information will be held centrally and used for statistical purposes. Where we hold data centrally, we take strict and secure measures to ensure that individual patients cannot be identified.

Information may be used for clinical audit purposes to monitor the quality of service provided, and may be held centrally and used for statistical purposes. Where we do this we ensure that patient records cannot be identified.

Sometimes your information may be requested to be used for clinical research purposes – the practice will always confirm your consent has been gained before releasing the information.

Improvements in information technology are also making it possible for us to share data with other healthcare providers with the objective of providing you with better care.

A patient can object to their personal information being shared with other health care providers but if this limits the treatment that you can receive then the doctor will explain this to you at the time.

Mobile Telephone

If you provide us with your mobile phone number we may use this to send you reminders about any appointments or other health screening information being carried out.

Our Web site: http://www.merridalemedicalcentre.co.uk/ 

You can access our website without giving us any information about yourself. But sometimes we do need information to provide services that you request, and this statement of privacy explains data collection and use in those situations.

In general, you can visit our web site without telling us who you are and without revealing any information about yourself. However there may be occasions when you choose to give us personal information, for example, when you choose to contact us or request information from us. We will ask you when we need information that personally identifies you or allows us to contact you.

We intend to protect the quality and integrity of your personally identifiable information and we have implemented appropriate technical and organisational measures to do so. We ensure that your personal data will not be disclosed to any other party apart from State institutions and authorities if required by law or other regulation.

We do not use cookies on this website therefore you will not see a message asking you to choose to accept or decline cookies.

Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should be aware that we don’t have any control over the other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting these sites.

Risk Stratification

The risk stratification is a process for identifying and managing patients who are at high risk of requiring emergency or urgent care. Typically this is because patients have a long term condition such as COPD, cancer or other medical condition at risk of sudden deterioration. NHS England (the National Commissioning Board) encourages GPs to use the risk stratification tools as part of their local strategies for supporting patients with long-term conditions and to provide care plans and planned care with the aim to prevent avoidable admissions or other emergency care.

Information about you is collected from a number of sources including NHS Trusts and from  GP practices. A risk score is then arrived at through an analysis of your de-identified information using software provided by GEM as the data processor and is provided back in an identifiable form to your GP or member of your care team as data controller.

Please note that you have the right to opt out of the Risk Stratification.

Should you have any concerns about how your information is managed, or wish to opt out of any data collection at the practice, please contact the practice.

Patients have the right to change their minds and reverse a previous decision. Please contact the practice, if you change your mind regarding any previous choice.

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 the Data Protection Act 1998 (which is overseen by the Information Commissioner’s Office), Human Rights Act, the Common Law Duty of Confidentiality, and the NHS Codes of Confidentiality and Security. Every staff member who works for an NHS organisation has a legal obligation to maintain the confidentiality of patient information.

All of our staff, contractors and committee members receive appropriate and regular training to ensure they are aware of their personal responsibilities and have legal and contractual obligations to uphold confidentiality, enforceable through disciplinary procedures. Only a limited number of authorised staff has access to personal information where it is appropriate to their role and is strictly on a need-to-know basis.

We maintain our duty of confidentiality to you at all times. 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), or where the law requires information to be passed on.

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 (your care and treatment)

Specialist Trusts (your care and treatment)

Independent Contractors such as dentists, opticians, pharmacists (your care and treatment)

Private Sector Providers (Private hospitals such as Spire and Nuffield for your care and treatment)

Voluntary Sector Providers (with your consent only)

Ambulance Trusts (emergency care)

Clinical Commissioning Groups

Social Care Services (safeguarding and emergency care or with your consent)

Local Authorities (safeguarding and emergency care or with your consent)

Education Services (safeguarding and emergency care or with your consent)

Fire and Rescue Services (emergency only)

DWP (with your consent)

Police (emergency only)

Access to personal information

You have a right under the Data Protection Act 1998 to access/view information the practice holds about you, and to have it amended or removed should it be inaccurate. This is known as ‘the right of subject access’.

If you would like to make a ‘subject access request’, please contact the practice in writing. There may be a charge depending on the type of request.

The practice is registered as a data controller under the Data Protection Act 1998. The registration number isZ5441916 and can be viewed online in the public register at http://www.ico.gov.uk/

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.

Notification

The Data Protection Act 1998 requires organisations to register a notification with the Information Commissioner to describe the purposes for which they process personal and sensitive information. This information is publicly available on the Information Commissioners Office website www.ico.org.uk. The practice is registered with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO).

Who is the Data Controller?

The Data Controller, responsible for keeping your information secure and confidential is Merridale Medical Centre. Any changes to this notice will be published on our website and displayed in prominent notices in the surgery.

The Partnership is registered as a data controller under the Data Protection Act 1998 registration numberZ5441916Our registration can be viewed on-line in the public register at www.ico.gov.uk

Further information

Further information about the way in which the NHS uses personal information and your rights in that respect can be found in:

The NHS Care Record Guarantee :http://www.nigb.nhs.uk/pubs/nhscrg.pdf

The NHS Constitution :https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-nhs-constitution-for-england

NHS Digital’s Guide to Confidentiality in Health & Social Care gives more information on the rules around information sharing :http://content.digital.nhs.uk/article/4979/Assuring-information

An independent review of information about patients is shared across the health and care system led by Dame Fiona Caldicott was conducted in 2012. The report, Information: To share or not to share? The Information Governance Review, be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-information-governance-review

NHS England – Better Data, Informed Commissioning, Driving Improved Outcomes: Clinical Data Sets provides further information about the data flowing within the NHS to support commissioning.

Please visit the NHS Digital website for further information about their work. Information about their responsibility for collecting data from across the health and social care system can be found.

The Information Commissioner’s Office is the Regulator for the Data Protection Act 1998 and offer independent advice and guidance on the law and personal data, including your rights and how to access your personal information. For further information please visit the www.ico.gov.uk