Privacy statement

How we use your personal information

This fair processing 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 (e.g. NHS Trust, GP surgery, walk-in clinic, etc.).

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 hold 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.

Medicines management reviews

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. This service is provided to practices within Great Yarmouth and Waveney CCG.

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:

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 (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 some of the following organisations:

  • NHS Trusts / Foundation Trusts
  • GPs
  • NHS Commissioning Support Units
  • Independent Contractors such as dentists, opticians, pharmacists
  • Private Sector Providers
  • Voluntary Sector Providers
  • Ambulance Trusts
  • Clinical Commissioning Groups
  • Social Care Services
  • Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC)
  • Local Authorities
  • Education Services
  • Fire and Rescue Services
  • Police and Judicial Services
  • Other ‘data processors’ which you will be informed of

You will be informed who your data will be shared with and in some cases asked for explicit consent for this 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 General Data Protection Regulations 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 must be made in writing to the data protection officer for the practice. For information from the hospital, you should write directly to them.
  • You have a right of access to a copy of all of the information held about you, free of charge.
  • 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 and details of your request) so that your identity can be verified and your records located.

Objections / Complaints

Should you have any concerns about how your information is managed at the practice, please contact the data protection officer for the surgery. If you are still unhappy following a review by the GP practice, you can then complain to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) via their website at ww.ico.org.uk.

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.

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 your 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. You can do this by completing our online change of personal details form.

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.

Who is the Data Controller?

The Data Controller, responsible for keeping your information secure and confidential is: Dr John Stammers, Dr Castle and Partners – Sole Bay Health Centre (ICO No: Z5653952).

Complaints

Should you have any concerns about how your information is managed by the practice, please contact the practice manager at the following address:

  • Dr Castle and Partners
    Sole Bay Health Centre
    Teal Close
    Reydon
    Southwold
    IP18 6GY

If you are still unhappy following a review by the practice, you can then complain to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO), who can be contacted via:

Healthy.io

ACR project for patients with diabetes (and/or other conditions)

The data is being processed for the purpose of delivery of a programme, sponsored by NHS Digital, to monitor urine for indications of chronic kidney disease (CKD) which is recommended to be undertaken annually for patients at risk of chronic kidney disease e.g., patients living with diabetes. The programme enables patients to test their kidney function from home. We will share your contact details with Healthy.io to enable them to contact you and send you a test kit. This will help identify patients at risk of kidney disease and help us agree any early interventions that can be put in place for the benefit of your care. Healthy.io will only use your data for the purposes of delivering their service to you. If you do not wish to receive a home test kit from Healthy.io we will continue to manage your care within the Practice. Healthy.io are required to hold data we send them in line with retention periods outlined in the Records Management code of Practice for Health and Social Care. Further information about this is available at: lp.healthy.io/minuteful_info.