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Privacy Notice

How we use your personal information

 

This fair processing notice explains why the Jeremy Field’s practice collects information about you and how that information may be used.

 

Any health care professional who provides you with care maintains records about your health and treatment. This may involve treatment you have received before from other practitioners (e.g. NHS Trust, GP Surgery, physiotherapists, etc.). These records help to provide you with the best possible care.

 

Private 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 practice holds about you may include the following information;

 

  • Details about you, such as your address and emergency contact details
  • Any previous contact the practice 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.

 

To ensure you receive the best possible care, your records are used to facilitate the care you receive. Information may be used within the practice for clinical audit to monitor the quality of the service provided. Sometimes your information may be requested to be used for research purposes – separate consent would always be obtained for this purpose.

 

We take strict measures to ensure that individual patients cannot be identified.   

 

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 Act 1998
  • Human Rights Act 1998
  • Common Law Duty of Confidentiality
  • Health and Social Care Act 2012
  • Information: To Share or Not to Share Review

 

Every staff member 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 physiotherapists, chiropractors, pharmacists
  • Private Sector Providers (Nuffield and Winfield Hospitals)
  • Police & Judicial Services
  • Other ‘data processors’ which you will be informed of
  • Private health insurers

 

You will be informed who your data will be shared with and in some cases asked for explicit consent for this to 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 Data Protection Act 1998 to request access to view or to obtain copies of what information the practice 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 Jeremy field – for information from the hospital you should write direct to them
  • There will be no charge for the information held about you, but there may be a charge for printed copy
  • 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, and details of your request) so that your identity can be verified and your records located.

 

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

 

The Data Protection Act 1998 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 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:

Jeremy Field

 

Objections / Complaints

Should you have any concerns about how your information is managed at the practice, please contact the Jeremy field. If you are still unhappy you can then complain to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) via their website (www.ico.gov.uk). casework@ico.org.uk, telephone: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745

 

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.