To view our current supplementary privacy notice, please visit COVID-19 Privacy Notice online.

What is Personal Data?

Personal data is information that relates to a single person, such as his/her name, age, medical history, diagnoses, etc.

What is Consent?

The changes to the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 mean that we must get explicit permission from an individual when using their data. This is to protect your right to privacy and we may ask you to provide consent to do certain things, such as contact you or record certain information about you in your clinical record. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

How we use your Personal Data

The health care professionals who provide you with care maintain records about your health and any treatment or care you have received previously. These records help to provide you with the best possible healthcare. Records may be held in electronic or manual (written down) format and may include the following information:

• Details about you, such as address and next of kin
• Any contact the surgery has had with you, such as appointments or visits
• Notes and reports about your health
• Details about your treatment and care
• Results of investigations, such as blood tests or x-rays
• Relevant information from other health professionals, relatives or those who care for you and know you well

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. Information may be used for clinical audit to monitor the quality of the service provided, or used for statistical purposes. Where we do this, we take strict measures to ensure individual patients cannot be identified. Sometimes your information may be requested for research purposes, but we will always endeavour to gain your consent before releasing any information.

We will endeavour to ensure that your data is:

• Processed lawfully, fairly and transparently
• Only collected for specific, explicit and legitimate purposes
• Is limited to what is necessary for the purposes for which is it processed
• Is accurate and kept up to date
• Is held securely
• Is only retained for as long as is necessary for the reason it was collected

Sharing your Personal Data

We will not share information that identifies you for any reason unless:

• You ask us to do via a discussion for a referral
• We ask and you give us specific permission
• We have to do this by law
• We have special permission for health or research purposes
• We have special permission because the interests of the public are thought to be of greater importance than your confidentiality – for example, if you had a serious medical condition that may put others you had come into contact with at risk

To share your information we must have a lawful reason to do so. Generally, this is because we have a legal obligation. We may securely share your information with:

• Social Services
• Health and Care professionals
• The Local Authority
• Your GP
• Your family or representative (with your permission)

They may need to use your records to:

• Provide care
• Check the quality of your care
• Protect the health of the general public
• Manage social care services
• Help investigate any concerns or complaints you or your family have about your care

Anyone who receives information from us also has a legal duty to keep it confidential.

Your Rights

We promise you that we will:

• Discuss and agree on what we record about you
• Give you access to your records
• Keep you informed about, and ensure that you have input into, your care plan

You have specific rights under the Data Protection Act 2018, the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Common Law Duty of Confidentiality. The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Race Relations Act 1968 may also apply.

You have the right to ask for a copy of all records about you. If you think anything is inaccurate, please let us know. We are committed to being transparent and accountable for how we use your information. If you have any concerns or questions please contact the surgery.

How do we maintain the Confidentiality of your Records?

Every member of staff who works for or received information from an NHS organisation has a legal obligation to keep information about you confidential. 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 or where the law requires us to do so.

We may also have to share your information (subject to strict agreements on how it will be used) with other NHS approved Partner organisations.