Confidentiality

Patient Confidentiality And Data Protection

We ask you for personal information so that you can receive appropriate care and treatment. This information is recorded on computer and we are registered under the Data Protection Act. The practice will ensure that patient confidentiality is maintained at all times by all members of the practice team. However, for the effective functioning of a multi-disciplinary team it is sometimes necessary that medical information about you is shared between members of the practice team.

Access To Medical Records

From time to time it is possible that your records may be accessed by, for example, members of Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board or members of staff working for that body. These members of staff (who all will have signed a duty of confidentiality) are required to review the quality and consistency of patient records, for the management of healthcare services in the NHS.

Wherever it is practicable, patient information will be anonymised and/or aggregated. If this is not possible and patient identifiable information is disclosed, a note will be made in your records.

If you have any questions or comments about confidentiality of patient records, or if you would prefer that your records are not accessed for these purposes, please contact the practice manager.

If someone else other than the patient is to collect a prescription on behalf of the patient, as of the 25th May 2018, with the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), EXPLICIT consent (i.e. signed & identified) will be required. Please find our suggested consent 'slips' here (DOC, 35KB). We will NOT be able to hand over prescriptions to 3rd parties for ANY reason without this consent & the 3rd party producing identification from the 25th May 2018.

This also applies to the collection of any other item on behalf of a patient (blood forms/letters/online access/sick notes etc) & our suggested consent slip can be found here (DOC, 37KB)

Sharing your records (DOCX, 12KB)

Form to refuse consent to share records outside of your GP Practice (DOCX, 13KB)

DORRIDGE SURGERY PRIVACY POLICY MAY 2023 (DOCX, 211KB)

3 USEFUL WEBSITES RELATING TO DATA SHARING:

digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-collections-and-data-sets/data-collections/general-practice-data-for-planning-and-research

medconfidential.org

caredata2.nhsdatasharing.info

How we use your information

Using & Protecting your records

The practice asks you for information so that you can receive proper care and treatment. We keep this information, together with details of your care because it may be needed if we see you again.

We may use this information for other reasons : for example to help us protect the health of the public generally and to see that the NHS runs efficiently, plans for the future, trains its staff, can account for how it spends taxpayers money and the actions it takes on our behalf. Information may also be needed to help educate tomorrow’s clinical staff and to carry out medical and other health research for the benefit of everyone.

Sometimes the law requires us to pass on information, but in these circumstances we would see your permission first. However, we can disclose personal information about a patient if it is in the interest of either that person or the general public for example, on a missing person.

The NHS Central Register for England and Wales holds basic personal details of all patients registered with a general practitioner. The Register does not contain clinical information.

All staff working for the NHS have a legal duty to keep information about you confidential.

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 England
NHS Trusts
Specialist Trusts
Independent Contractors such as dentists, opticians, pharmacists
Private Sector Providers
Voluntary Sector Providers
Ambulance Trusts
Clinical Commissioning Groups
Social Care Services
Local Authorities
Education Services
Fire and Rescue Services
Police
Other ‘data processors’

You may be receiving care from other people as well as the NHS. So that we can all work together for your benefit we may need to share information about you. The surgery only ever uses or passes on information about you if people have a genuine need for it in your interest. We share clinical information about you with our colleagues in secondary care—by this we mean the hospitals that might treat you. So if we refer you to see a consultant we will include details about you and your past medical history as well as why we are sending you to see someone. If you attend the Solihull GP led walk in centre, you will be asked if you want to share the details of your consultation with us. It helps us if you do agree in order that we keep an up to date record of all your treatment and prescriptions. Anyone who received information from us is also under a legal duty to keep it confidential.

Your relatives, carers or friends can only be kept up to date with your medical history or treatment if you consent for this to happen. Children under the age of 16 are usually classed as minors and therefore information regarding their care is shared with their parents, unless they are thought to be able to understand their own treatment and condition.

Please read our patient leaflet for more information TO BE UPDATED or follow the links below. If you would like an opt out form please print off the opt out forms at the bottom of the page and return to the surgery.

The practice is part of the local Your care connect project - to find out more about this please follow the link http://midlandsyourcareconnected.nhs.uk/index.php/patient-information

The practice has both a Senior Information Risk Owner (Amanda Shakespeare) and a Caldicott Guardian (Dr D Reid). Contact the surgery on 01564 776262

NHS UK - information sharing www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/thenhs/records/healthrecords/Pages/care-data.aspx

Understanding patient data - understandingpatientdata.org.uk