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Privacy Notice

How we use your personal information

This fair processing notice explains why the GP practice collects information about you and how that information may be used. Healthcare professionals who provide you with care maintain records about your health and any treatment, or care, you have previously received from other sources (e.g. NHS Trust, GP Surgery, Walk-in clinic, etc.). These records may be electronic or on paper and we ensure that your information is kept both confidential and secure. Records which this GP Practice holds about you may include some, or all, of the following information:

  • Details about you, such as your address, carer, legal representative, emergency contact details.
  • Any contact the surgery has had with you, such as appointments, clinic visits, emergency appointments, etc.
  • Notes and reports about your health.
  • The contents of any telephone calls made into, or out of, the practice.
  • Details about your treatment and care.
  • Results of investigations such as laboratory tests, x-rays etc.
  • Relevant information from other health professionals, relatives or those who care for you.

Your data may also be used within the GP practice for clinical audit purposes and to assess the quality of services provided.

In addition to being used to provide personal care to you, data held about you may also be used in the interests of public health protection. 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.

Sometimes your information may be requested to be used for research purposes, if this happens the surgery will always obtain your consent before releasing any data about you.

 

Risk Stratification

Risk stratification is used by the NHS to help determine a person’s risk of suffering a particular condition which can be prevented through intervention. Information about you is collected from a number of sources including NHS Trusts and Rusthall Medical Centre. By analysis of your data, a risk score is obtained using software managed by NHS Kent and Medway Health Informatics Service (KMHIS). It is only your GP who receives it in an identifiable form. As a result of this process, your GP may be able to offer you specific services intended to improve the quality of your healthcare.

Please note that you have the right to opt out of your data being used in this way.

 

Medicines Management Reviews

The practice may conduct reviews of a medicines management review from time to time. This is a review of the medication prescribed to its patients and is intended to ensure that they receive the most appropriate, up to date and cost effective treatments.

 

How do we maintain the confidentiality of your records?

All personal data, whether electronic or physical, is stored securely and only accessible in accordance with our data protection policy, which ensures that the only people who have access to it are those who have a lawful need to do so.

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

  • General Data Protection Regulations (EU 2016/679)
  • Data Protection Act 2018
  • Human Rights Act 1998
  • Common Law Duty of Confidentiality
  • Health and Social Care Act 2012
  • NHS Codes of Confidentiality, Information Security and Records Management

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 share information about you if there is a genuine need for it.

We will not disclose your information to any third party without your permission unless there are exceptional circumstances (eg. in life or death situations), where the law requires information to be passed on.

We will follow the framework for information sharing as set out by the Caldicott principles.

 

Who are our partner organisations?

Subject to strict agreements on how it will be used, we may share your data with some or all of the following partner organisations who may be involved in your healthcare;

  • NHS and other Foundation Trusts, including Ambulance Trusts
  • NHS Commissioning Support Units and Clinical Commissioning Groups
  • The Care Quality Commission (CQC)
  • Other GP surgeries and healthcare providers such as dentists, opticians and pharmacists
  • Social Care Services either directly or via the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC)
  • Local Authorities and Education Services
  • Fire and Rescue Services, Police and Judicial Services
  • Voluntary and Private Sector Providers
  • Other ‘data processors’ which you will be informed of

You will be informed with whom your data is intended to be shared with and may be asked for explicit consent to allow this to happen, should the need arise.

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

 

Access to personal information

You will have a right now and under the General Data Protection Regulations to request access to view, or obtain, copies of whatever information the surgery holds about you and to have it amended, should it be inaccurate. In order to request this, you need to do the following:

  • Your request must be made in writing or by email to the practice, marked for the attention of the Data Protection Officer.
  • You have a right of access to a copy of all of the information held about you free of charge.
  • We are required to respond to you within one month.
  • You will need to give adequate information (for example full name, address, date of birth, NHS number and details of your request) so that your identity can be verified and your records located.
 

Objections / Complaints

Should you have any concerns about how your information is managed at the practice, please contact the Data Protection Officer for the surgery. 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.

 

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

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: Rusthall Medical Centre (ICO No 5703302)

 

Complaints

Should you have any concerns about how your information is managed by the Practice please contact the Practice Manager at Rusthall Medical Centre, Nellington Road, Rusthall, Tunbridge Wells Kent TN4 8UW

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