Use Of Your Data
Data Protection
This privacy notice explains why The Grange, Greenview and Kinsley Medical Centres collect information about you, and how that information may be used.
As data controllers, GPs have fair processing responsibilities under the Data Protection Act 1998. This means ensuring that your personal confidential data (PCD) is handled in ways that are safe, transparent and what you would reasonably expect. The Health and Social Care Act 2012 changed the way that personal confidential data is processed. Therefore it is important that patients are made aware of, and understand, these changes and that you have an opportunity to object if you so wish and that you know how to do so.
Health care professionals maintain records about your health and any treatment or care you have received within the NHS (e.g. NHS Hospital Trust, GP Surgery, Walk-in clinic, etc.). These records help to provide the best possible healthcare.
NHS health records may be processed electronically, on paper or a mixture of both, and 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:
- Details about you such as address and next of kin
- Any contacts the surgery has had with you such as appointments, clinic visits etc
- Notes and reports about your health
- 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
This GP Practice collects and holds data for the sole purpose of providing healthcare services to our patients and we will ensure that information is kept confidential. We can disclose personal information if:
- it is required by law
- you consent – either implicitly for the sake of your own care or explicitly for other purposes
- it is justified 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 measures to ensure that individual patients cannot be identified.
Sometimes information about you may be requested to be used for research purposes. The Practice will always endeavour to gain your consent before releasing the information. Under the powers of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 (HSCA) the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) can request Personal Confidential Data (PCD) from GP Practices without seeking the patient’s consent. The Care.Data Programme allows PCD to be collected by the HSCIC to ensure that the quality and safety of services is consistent across the country. 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.
Any patient can choose to withdraw their consent to their data being used in this way. When the Practice is about to participate in any new data-sharing scheme we will make patients aware by displaying prominent notices in the surgery and on our website at least four weeks before the scheme is due to start. We will also explain clearly what you have to do to ‘opt-out’ of each new scheme.
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.
Risk Stratification
Risk stratification is a process for identifying and managing patients who are at a higher risk of emergency hospital admission. Typically this is because patients have a long term condition such as COPD or cancer. NHS England encourages GPs to use risk stratification tools as part of their local strategies for supporting patients with long-term conditions and to help prevent avoidable admissions.
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 anonymous information using computer programmes. Your information is only provided back to your GP or member of your care team in an identifiable form. Risk stratification enables your GP to focus on the prevention of 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 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 Manager or your healthcare professional to discuss how the disclosure of your personal information can be restricted. All 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.
Invoice Validation
If you have received treatment within the NHS, access to your personal information may be required in order to determine which Clinical Commissioning Group should pay for the treatment or procedure you have received.
This information would most likely include information such as your name, address, date of treatment and may be passed on to enable the billing process. These details are held in a secure environment and kept confidential. This information will only be used to validate invoices, and will not be shared for any further purposes.
NHS Health Checks
All of our patients aged 40 to 74 not previously diagnosed with cardiovascular disease are eligible to be invited for an NHS Health Check. Nobody outside the healthcare team in the practice will see confidential information about you during the invitation process and only contact details would be securely transferred to a data processor (if that method was employed). You may be given the chance to attend your health check either within the practice or at a community venue. If your health check is at a community venue all data collected will be securely transferred back into the practice system and nobody outside the healthcare team in the practice will see confidential information about you during this process.
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.
All of our staff, contractors and committee members receive appropriate and on-going training to ensure they are aware of their personal responsibilities and have 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. The following are examples of the types of organisations that we are likely to share information with:
- NHS and specialist hospitals, Trusts
- Independent Contractors such as dentists, opticians, pharmacists
- Private and Voluntary Sector Providers
- Ambulance Trusts
- Clinical Commissioning Groups and NHS England
- Social Care Services and Local Authorities
- Education Services
- Police, Fire and Rescue Services
- Other ‘data processors’ during specific project work e.g. Diabetes UK
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 we do hold information about you we will:
- give you a description of it;
- tell you why we are holding it;
- tell you who it could be disclosed to; and
- let you have a copy of the information in an intelligible form.
If you would like to make a ‘subject access request’, please contact the Practice Manager in writing. There may be a charge for this service.
Any changes to this notice will be published on our website and on the Practice notice board.
The Practice is registered as a data controller under the Data Protection Act 1998. The registration number is Z5008374 and can be viewed online in the public register at
ico.org.uk/what_we_cover/register_of_data_controllers
Use Of Your Data: Download a copy of this document (PDF, 176KB)
Data Protection
The practice complies with data protection and access to medical records legislation. Identifiable information about you will be shared with others in the following circumstances:
To provide further medical treatment for you for example from hospitals or to access district nursing services.
To help you to access other services for example from the social work department, this does require your consent.
When we have a duty to others for example in child protection cases.
Anonymised patient information will also be used at local and national level to help the Health Board and Government plan services; for example, for diabetic care.
If you do not wish anonymous information about you to be used in such a way, please let us know.
The reception and administration teams require access to your medical records in order for them to carry out their jobs. These staff members are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as all the medical staff.
For further information about confidentiality, please take a copy of our confidentiality leaflet from the waiting area or please ask at reception.
When visiting the surgery we ask that patients do stand back from the reception desk to allow the person in front to speak confidently to the reception staff. Please respect the privacy of the person standing in front of you.
If you do need to speak to a receptionist in private then please ask.
Access To Records
In accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and Access to Health Records Act, patients may request to see their medical records. Such requests should be made in writing to the practice manager and may be subject to an administration charge.
Freedom of Information
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 obliges the practice to produce a Publication Scheme. A Publication Scheme is a guide to the ‘classes’ of information the practice intends to routinely make available. This scheme is available from our practice manager. Download the Practice's Publication Scheme in Word format (DOC, 57KB) or Download it in text format (RTF, 31KB).
Electronic Patient Record
Your Electronic Patient Record and the Sharing of Information
The General Practice or Clinical Service you are attending uses a secure computerised records system, which allows clinical staff to share information in your record to ensure the best care can be provided to you.
A facility is now available in this system which allows you to have control over how your record is shared between the different teams of clinical staff treating you both now and in the future. You will be asked at each location where you are treated to agree to make your clinical record shareable with other NHS staff that you are under the care of. At any time in the future you can request that this is changed.
Details of what will happen if you consent to the Electronic Patient Record sharing
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If you consent to share your information
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If you do not consent to share your information
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- Your record from your treatment by this practice or department will be available to other clinical services who need to treat you or are treating you and who use a compatible system. Your consent to view (share in) can be specified at each service.
- But only staff with a legitimate clinical reason to access your record may do so.
- All access to patient’s computerised records are automatically recorded with the date, time and person who accessed the record.
- Staff are restricted to certain functions and views depending on their professional role.
- It is also possible for you to request at any time that a particular part of your record (e.g. a particular consultation with your GP) is marked as private (non shareable).
- It is also possible for you to ask that your record is not shared between different NHS organisations (i.e. GP, Care Trust, Hospitals etc) but allow it to be shared between departments in those organisations.
- Again the same rules of confidentiality and access described above apply.
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- Your full record of treatment by this practice or department will NOT be available to other clinical services that need to treat you.
- Having access to all the current information is important in being able to provide you with the best quality of care.
- You would need to take extra care to ensure that if you are treated by other services you are able to provide them with any information about yourself they might need.
- You can change your mind at any time.
In the event of an emergency:
In certain circumstances, such as if you are unconscious or there is a court order, healthcare staff may look at your record without asking you. If they have to do this, a note will be made on your record.
If we share information without your permission, we will make sure that we keep to the Data Protection Act 1998, the NHS confidentiality code of practice and other national guidelines on best practice. There is more information about existing guidelines at: www.nhscarerecords.nhs.uk/carerecords
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Further information is available on the attached leaflet (EXTERNAL PDF DOWNLOAD).
To let us know your preferences for sharing, please tell the receptionist next time you visit us or you can print, complete and hand in the attached form (DOCX, 26KB).
For more information on how the NHS looks after patient records, please see:
Caldicott 2 Review (EXTERNAL PDF LINK)
Risk Profiling
How your NHS records are used
This practice is taking part in a new NHS service that helps your family doctor (GP) to spot whether you need more help to manage your health.
The service is called “risk profiling”.
Using information from your health records, a secure NHS computer system will look at any recent treatments you have had in hospital or at this surgery, and any existing health conditions that you have, and alert your doctor to the likelihood of a possible future hospital admission. The clinical team at the surgery will use the information to help you get early care and treatment where it is needed.
The information will be seen only by qualified health workers involved in your care. NHS security systems will protect your health information and patient confidentiality at all times.
If you don’t want your information being used in this way, or have any other concerns, please contact the receptionist.
National Diabetes Audit
The Grange, Greenview and Kinsley Medical Centre participated in the National Diabetes Audit (NDA) which was one of the largest annual clinical audits in the world, integrating data from both primary and secondary care sources, making it the most comprehensive Audit of its kind
Previous reports can be found on the Diabetes UK website.