This practice keeps medical records confidential and complies with the General Data Protection Regulation.
We hold your medical record so that we can provide you with safe care and treatment. We will also use your information so that this practice can check and review the quality of the care we provide. This helps us to improve our services to you.
- We will share relevant information from your medical record with other health or social care staff or organisations when they provide you with care. For example, your GP will share information when they refer you to a specialist in a hospital. Or your GP will send details about your prescription to your chosen pharmacy.
- Healthcare staff working in A&E and out of hours care will also have access to your information. For example, it is important that staff who are treating you in an emergency know if you have any allergic reactions. This will involve the use of your Summary Care Record.
- You have the right to object to information being shared for your own care. Please speak to the practice if you wish to object. You also have the right to have any mistakes or errors corrected.
- We will use the data that we hold on your medical records to contact you directly in relation to your medical care. This may include text, phone or written communication.
Registering for NHS care
All patients who receive NHS care are registered on a national database. This database holds your name, address, date of birth and NHS Number but it does not hold information about the care you receive. The database is held by NHS Digital, a national organisation which has legal responsibilities to collect NHS data.
This practice must comply with the law and will send data to NHS Digital, for example, when it is told to do so by the Secretary of State for Health or NHS England under the Health and Social Care Act 2012.
More information about NHS Digital and how it uses information can be found on their website, or the phone number for general enquiries to NHS Digital is 0300 303 5678.
Safeguarding
Sometimes we need to share information so that other people, including healthcare staff, children or others with safeguarding needs, are protected from risk of harm. These circumstances are rare. We do not need your consent or agreement to do this.
Care Quality Commission (CQC)
The CQC regulates health and social care services to ensure that safe care is provided. The law says that we must report certain serious events to the CQC, for example, when patient safety has been put at risk.
For more information about the CQC, please visit www.cqc.org.uk.