How we use your personal information

This privacy report explains why the GP practice collects information about you and how that information may be used.

The health care 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, District Nurses, Out of Hours, Hospitals etc.). These records help to provide you with the best possible healthcare.

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.

Data on your health records which Market Rasen Surgery hold about you may include the following information;

Details about you: address, NHS number, D:O:B, contact details, emergency contact details, carers, legal representative,
- Any contact the surgery has had with you, such as appointments, clinic visits, emergency appointments,
Notes and reports about your health
Medication past and current
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 (e.g. NHS Trust, GP Surgery, Walk-in clinic, District Nurses, Out of Hours, Hospitals etc.)

To ensure you receive the best possible care, your records are used to facilitate the care you receive. Information held about you may be used to help protect the health of the public and to help us manage the NHS. Non identifiable information may be used within the GP practice for clinical audit to monitor the quality of the service provided.

Some of this non-identifiable information may be uploaded centrally and used for statistical purposes. When this does happen, strict measures are put in place to ensure that individual patients cannot be identified. Sometimes your information may be requested to be used for research purposes – the surgery will always gain your consent before releasing the information for this purpose. Please note that you have the right to opt out of your data being used in this way.

The CCG 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.

How Market Rasen Surgery maintain the confidentiality of your records?

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

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. 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 Out of Hours
- 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
Police & Judicial Services
Voluntary Sector Providers
Private Sector Providers
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 to happen when this is required. We may also use external companies to process personal information. These companies are bound by contractual agreements to ensure information is kept confidential and secure.

Access to personal information

You have a right under the Data Protection Act 1998 to request access to view or to obtain copies of what 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 to the Practice Manager – for information from the hospital you should write direct to them
We are required to respond to you within 40 days
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.

Should you have any concerns about how your information is managed at the Practice, please contact the 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 (www.ico.gov.uk).

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 www.ico.org.uk

Market Rasen Surgery is registered with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO). The certificate is displayed in our Practice at the front of reception.

Who is the Data Controller?

Market Rasen Surgery is the Data Controller and is responsible for keeping your information secure and confidential.Complaints

Should you have any concerns about how your information is managed by the Practice please contact the Practice Manager at the following address:

Market Rasen Surgery

MillRoad

Market Rasen

LN8 3BP

If you’re unhappy with our findings other complaints related organisations NHS Complaints Advocacy Service POhWER provide a free, independent and confidential advocacy service to support people who need help with filling in forms and writing letters for their NHS complaint.

website: http://www.pohwer.net/our-services/nhs-complaints-advocacy

Telephone: 0300 456 2370 Lincolnshire: 0300 200 0084

e-mail: pohwer@pohwer.net

You have the right to approach the Ombudsman. The contact details are: The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman

Tel: 0345 0154 033

Website: www.ombudsman.org.uk

The Healthcare Commission

Telephone: 0845 601 3012

Fax: 020 7448 9180

Email: complaints@healthcarecommission.org.uk

Further information in relation to this is available on our website.