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 through the practice manager and may be subject to an administration charge. No information will be released without the patient consent unless we are legally obliged to do so.

We make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends our practice.

However, we are aware that things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. If this is so, we would wish for the matter to be settled as quickly, and as amicably, as possible.

To pursue a complaint please contact the practice manager who will deal with your concerns appropriately. Further written information is available regarding the complaints procedure from reception.

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 e.g. from district nurses and hospital services.
• To help you get other services e.g. from the social work department. This requires your consent.
• When we have a duty to others e.g. 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 e.g. for diabetic care.

If you do not wish anonymous information about you to be used in such a way, please let us know.

Reception and administration staff require access to your medical records in order to do their jobs. These members of staff are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the medical staff.

Information about the General Practioners and the practice required for disclosure under this act can be made available to the public. All requests for such information should be made to the practice manager.

Everyone working for the NHS has a legal duty to keep information about you confidential.

We have a duty to

• Maintain full and accurate records of the care we provide to you
• Keep records about you confidential, secure and accurate
• Provide information in a format that is accessible to you (i.e., in large type if you are partially sighted).

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

• you ask us to do so;
• we ask, and you give us specific permission;
• we must do this by law;
• we have special permission for health or research purposes or
• we have special permission because the interests of the public are thought to be of greater importance than your confidentiality

Our guiding principle is that we are holding your records in

STRICT CONFIDENCE

Who are our partner organisations?

We may share information with the following main partner organisations:

• NHS England
• Our Commissioners
• NHS Trusts / Organisation (Hospitals, CCG’s)
• Ambulance Service

• Social Services

We may also share your information, with your consent and subject to strict sharing protocols about how it will be used,

With:

• Education Services
• Local Authorities
• Voluntary Sector Providers
• Private Sector

Anyone who receives information from us also has a legal duty to:

KEEP IT CONFIDENTIAL!

If you believe the Trust has breached any of your Data Protection Rights.

You have a right to complain to the UK supervisory Authority as below.

Information Commissioner:

Wycliffe house

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire SK9 5AF

Tel:       01625 545745

www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Why we collect information about you?

In the Practice we aim to provide you with the highest quality of health care. To do this we must keep records about you, your health and the care we have provided or plan to provide to you.

These records may include:

• Basic details about you, such as address, date of birth, next of kin
• Contact we have had with you such as clinical visits
• Details and records about your treatment and care
• Results of x-rays, laboratory test etc.,
• Relevant information from people who care for you and know you well, such as health professionals and relatives
• It is good practice for people in the NHS who provide care to:

• discuss and agree with you what they are going to record about you

• give you a copy of letters they are writing about you; and

• show you what they have recorded about you, if you ask.

• We will only store your information in identifiable form for a long as in necessary in and in accordance with the NHS England’s Rules found here: – https://digital.nhs.uk/media/1158/Records-Management-Code-of-Practice-for-Health-and-Social-Care-2016/pdf/Records-management-COP-HSC-2016

How your records are used?

The people who care for you use your records to:

• Provide a good basis for all health decisions made by you and care professionals
• Allow you to work with those providing care
• Make sure your care is safe and effective, and
• Work effectively with others providing you with care

Others may also need to use records about you to:

• check the quality of care (such as clinical audit)
• protect the health of the public
• keep track of NHS spending
• manage the health service
• help investigate any concerns or complaints you or your family have about your health care
• teach health workers and
• help with research

Some information will be held centrally to be used for statistical purposes. In these instances, we take strict measures to ensure that individual patients cannot be identified.

We use anonymous information, wherever possible, but on occasions we may use personally confidential information for essential NHS purposes such as research and auditing. However, this information will only be used with your consent, unless the law requires us to pass on the information.

The Legal Part

You have a right to privacy under the General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act. The Practice needs your personal, sensitive and confidential data in order perform our statutory health duties, in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller in compliance with Article 6 (e) of the GDPR and

for the purposes of preventive or occupational medicine, for the assessment of the working capacity of the employee, medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems and services on the in compliance with Article 9, (h) of the GDPR.

You have the right to ask for a copy of all records about you.

• Your request should be made in writing to the practice holding your information
• We are required to respond to you within one Month
• You will need to give adequate information (for example full name, address, date of birth NHS number etc.) To Access your record contact: Orient House Medical Centre
• If you think anything is inaccurate or incorrect, please inform the Practice as soon as possible.

The NHS operate a zero tolerance policy with regard to violence and abuse and the practice has the right to remove violent patients from the list with immediate effect in order to safeguard practice staff, patients and other persons. Violence in this context includes actual or threatened physical violence or verbal abuse which leads to fear for a person’s safety. In this situation we will notify the patient in writing of their removal from the list and record in the patient’s medical records the fact of the removal and the circumstances leading to it.