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.

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, 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. Records which this GP practice hold about you may include 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
• 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

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 within the GP practice for clinical audit to monitor the quality of the service provided.

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 – the surgery will always gain your consent before releasing the information for this purpose.

Risk Stratification

Risk stratification data tools are increasingly being used in the NHS to help determine a person’s risk of suffering a particular condition, preventing an unplanned or (re)admission and identifying a need for preventive intervention. 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 de-identified information using software managed by our clinical system provider, and is only provided back to your GP as data controller in an identifiable form. Risk stratification enables your GP to focus on preventing 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 your data being used in this way.

Medicines Management

The practice 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. This service is provided to practices within the South Eastern Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group.

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:

• General Data Protection Regulations 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
• 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 / foundation trusts
• 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
• Fire and rescue services
• Police and judicial services
• Voluntary sector providers
• Southern Hampshire primary care alliance
• 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 happen when this is required.

We may also use external companies to process personal information, such as for archiving purposes. 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 General Data Protection Regulations 2018 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 GP – for information from the hospital you should write direct to them
• There may be a charge to have a printed copy of the information held about you
• 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

Objections / Complaints

Should you have any concerns about how your information is managed at the GP, please contact the GP operations 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.

Please note you may be asked for proof of ID for change of name e.g. marriage certificate.

Notification

The General Data Protection Regulations 2018 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: The Elms Practice.

Complaints

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

The Elms Practice
Elm Grove
Hayling Island
Hampshire
PO11 9AP

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

Email: casework@ico.org.uk

Telephone: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745

Healthy io Privacy Policy

ACR project for patients with diabetes (and/or other conditions)

The data is being processed for the purpose of delivery of a programme, sponsored by NHS digital, to monitor urine for indications of chronic kidney disease (CKD) which is recommended to be undertaken annually for patients at risk of chronic kidney disease e.g., patients living with diabetes. The programme enables patients to test their kidney function from home.

We will share your contact details with Healthy.io to enable them to contact you and send you a test kit. This will help identify patients at risk of kidney disease and help us agree any early interventions that can be put in place for the benefit of your care. Healthy.io will only use your data for the purposes of delivering their service to you. If you do not wish to receive a home test kit from Healthy.io we will continue to manage your care within the practice.

Healthy.io are required to hold data we send them in line with retention periods outlined in the records management code of practice for health and social care.

Collection of Personal Information

You can access most of the pages on our website without giving us your personal information. However, you may choose to provide us with your personal information on some pages of the website by completing an on-line form.

By submitting your personal information, you consent to our use of the information as set out in this privacy policy.

Use of Personal Information

We shall use any personal information you give to us, in accordance with this policy, and with any additional statements appearing on forms used for submitting your personal information. We shall not disclose your personal information to any third parties without obtaining your prior consent unless we are required by law to do so. In particular:

We shall use your personal information to administer, and may respond to, your request.

We shall securely store the information you supply together with any response we may provide.

If you contact us regarding the website we may use your details to reply to you. If you make a comment or complaint about other aspects of the service we may use your details to investigate your comments.

Data Storage

All data obtained by us is held and used in compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018.

Links

This website contains links to other sites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third parties that run any other websites. Please refer to their own privacy policies for more information.

Access to your Personal Information

You have a right under the Data Protection Act 2018 to ask us to provide you with the information we hold about you and to have any inaccuracies corrected. If you would like to access a copy of your information, please contact the operations manager using the following contact details in the heading above.