How we use your personal information
This privacy 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. 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 holds 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 PREDICTION/Stratification
Risk stratification helps your GP to focus on possibly preventing ill health and if necessary they may be able to offer you additional services.
Risk stratification data tools are increasingly being used in the NHS to help determine if it is likely that a person will suffer a particular condition or need admitted to hospital. Anonymous information about you is collected from a number of sources and you are given a risk score. This information is then returned for use by the GP practice. 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.
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:
- Data Protection Regulations
- 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 (ie 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
- GP’s
- Independent Contractors such as dentists, opticians, pharmacists
- Ambulance Services
- Social Care Services
- Local Authorities
- Education Services
- Fire & Rescue, Police & Judicial Services
- Voluntary & Private Sector Providers
- Other ‘data processors’ which you will be informed of
If consent is required you will be informed before your data is shared.
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.
Mail to Patients
Occasionally a printing company to send letters to our patients. Data sent is encrypted and the company puts it in a format to print the letter, despatch via Royal Mail, and then deletes the information we send.
Access to personal information
You have a right 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 should be made in writing to the Practice Manager (if possible, but we cannot insist on written requests.) For information from the hospital you should write direct to them.
- We are required to respond to you within 30 days
- You will need to give adequate information (for example full name, address, date of birth and details of your request) so that your identity can be verified and your records located
Cookies
You can find the cookie notice for our website here: www.westburnmedicalpractice.scot.nhs.uk
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.
Notification
Data Protection regulations require 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 www.ico.org.uk
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:
Westburn Medical Practice
Complaints
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.
Should you have any concerns about how your information is managed by the Practice please contact the Practice Manager at the following address:
Westburn Medical Practice, Westburn Avenue, Falkirk, FK1 5SU
If you are still unhappy following a review by the Practice you can then complain to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO). www.ico.org.uk, [email protected], telephone: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745