Practice Details – High Street Surgery 301 High Street Epping CM16 4DA

Data Protection Officer – Jane Marley          

What is a privacy notice?

A privacy notice helps your doctor’s surgery tell you how it uses information it has about you, like your name, address, date of birth and all of the notes the doctor or nurse makes about you in your healthcare record.

Why do we need one?

You doctor’s surgery needs a privacy notice to make sure it meets the legal requirements which are written in a new document called the General Data Protection Regulation (Or GDPR for short).

What is GDPR?

GDPR is a document that helps your doctor’s surgery keep the information about you secure.  It was introduced on the 25^th May 2018, making sure that your doctor, nurse and any other staff at the practice follow the rules and keeps your information safe.

What information do we collect about you?

Don’t worry; we only collect the information we need to help us keep you healthy – such as your name, address, information about your parents or guardians, records of appointments, visits, telephone calls, your health record, treatment and medicines, test results, X-rays and any other information to enable us to care for you.

How do we use your information?

Your information is taken to help us provide your care.  But we might need to share this information with other medical teams, such as hospitals, if you need to be seen by a special doctor or sent for an X-ray.  Your doctor’s surgery may be asked to help with exciting medical research; but don’t worry, we will ask you, or your parents or adults with parental responsibility, if it’s okay to share your information.

How do we keep your information private?

Well, your doctor’s surgery knows that it is very important to protect the information we have about you.  We make sure we follow rules that are written in the GDPR and other important rule books.

Don’t want to share?

All of our patients, no matter what their age, can say that they don’t want to share their information.  If you are under 16 this is something which your parents or adults with parental responsibility will have to decide.  They can get more information from a member of staff at the surgery, who can also explain what this means to you.

How do I access my records?

Remember we told you about the GDPR?  Well, if you want to see what is written about you, you have a right to access the information we hold about you, but you will need to complete a Subject Access Request (SAR).  Your parents or adults with parental responsibility will do this on your behalf if you are under 16.  But if are over 12, you may be classed as being competent and you may be able to do this yourself.  Please write in to the Practice Manager to request this and you will be given further information on how this process works, (or ask your parents or adults with parental responsibility to do so).

What do I do if I have a question?

If you have any questions, ask a member of the surgery team or your parents or adults with parental responsibility.  You can:

1. Contact the practice’s data controller via email: F81072-Results@nhs.net
2. GP Practices are data controllers for the data they hold about you.

What to do if you are not happy about how we manage your information

We really want to make sure you are happy, but we understand that sometimes things can go wrong.  If you or your parents or adults with parental responsibility are unhappy with any part of our data processing methods, you can speak to the Practice Manager. 

January 2021

How The High Street Surgery uses your information to provide you with healthcare
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. For more information see: https://digital.nhs.uk/summary-care-records or alternatively speak to the practice.
• 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.
Other important information about how your information is used to provide you with healthcare
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.
• More information can be found at: www.digital.nhs.uk or the phone number for general enquires at NHS Digital is 0300 303 5678.

Identifying patients who might be at risk of certain diseases
• Your medical records will be searched by a computer programme so that we can identify patients who might be at high risk from certain diseases such as heart disease or unplanned admissions to hospital.
• This means we can offer patients additional care or support as early as possible.
• This process will involve linking information from your GP record with information from other health or social care services you have used.
• Information which identifies you will only be seen by this practice.
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.
We are required by law to provide you with the following information about how we handle your information.
Data Controller contact details
The High Street Surgery, 301 High Street, Epping, Essex CM16 4DA
Data Protection Officer contact details
Renier van Zyl, Stellar Healthcare, Building 1, Spencer Close, St Margaret’s Hospital, The Plain, Epping, Essex, CM16 6TN, telephone: 01992 660272
Purpose of the processing
• To give direct health or social care to individual patients.
• For example, when a patient agrees to a referral for direct care, such as to a hospital, relevant information about the patient will be shared with the other healthcare staff to enable them to give appropriate advice, investigations, treatments and/or care.
• To check and review the quality of care (this is called audit and clinical governance).

Lawful basis for processing
These purposes are supported under the following sections of the GDPR:
Article 6(1)(e) ‘…necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority…’; and
Article 9(2)(h) ‘necessary for the purposes of preventative 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...”
Healthcare staff will also respect and comply with their obligations under the common law duty of confidence.
Recipient or categories of recipients of the processed data
The data will be shared with:
• healthcare professionals and staff in this surgery;
• local hospitals;
• out of hours services;
• diagnostic and treatment centres;
• or other organisations involved in the provision of direct care to individual patients.
Rights to object
• You have the right to object to information being shared between those who are providing you with direct care.
• This may affect the care you receive – please speak to the practice.
• You are not able to object to your name, address and other demographic information being sent to NHS Digital.
• This is necessary if you wish to be registered to receive NHS care.
• You are not able to object when information is legitimately shared for safeguarding reasons.
• In appropriate circumstances it is a legal and professional requirement to share information for safeguarding reasons. This is to protect people from harm.
• The information will be shared with the local safeguarding service: West Essex Clinical Commissioning Group, Building 4, Spencer Close, The Plain, Epping CM16 6TN.
Right to access and correct
• You have the right to access your medical record and have any errors or mistakes corrected.

• We are not aware of any circumstances in which you will have the right to delete correct information from your medical record; although you are free to obtain your own legal advice if you believe there is no lawful purpose for which we hold the information and contact us if you hold a different view.
Retention period
GP medical records will be kept in line with the law and national guidance. Information on how long records are kept can be found at: https://digital.nhs.uk/article/1202/Records-Management-Code-of-Practice-for-Health-and-Social-Care-2016
or speak to the practice.
Right to complain
You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. If you wish to complain follow this link https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/ or call the helpline 0303 123 1113
Data we get from other organisations
We receive information about your health from other organisations who are involved in providing you with health and social care. For example, if you go to hospital for treatment or an operation the hospital will send us a letter to let us know what happens. This means your GP medical record is kept up-to date when you receive care from other parts of the health service.