The Computer System
A summary of your medical records will be held on computer - these are strictly confidential. GDPR requirements will be applied to your medical record to continue to ensure that your medical data record is kept safe and only accessed by healthcare professionals as defined in the 'privacy notices 'in the GDPR section in the downloads section of this website.
The Protection And Use Of Patient Information
We ask you for information about yourself so that you can receive proper care and treatment. We keep this information, together with details of your care, because it may be needed if we see you again.
We may use some of this information for other reasons; for example, to help us protect the health of the public generally and to see that the NHS runs efficiently, plans for the future, trains its staff, pays its bills and can account for its actions. Information may also be needed to help educate tomorrow's clinical staff and to carry out medical and other health research for the benefit of everyone.
Sometimes the law requires us to pass on information: for example, to notify a birth.
The NHS Central Register for England and Wales contains basic personal details of all patients registered with general practitioners. The register does not contain clinical information. You have a right of access to your health records.
Everyone working for the NHS has a legal duty to keep information about you confidential.
You may be receiving care from other people as well as the NHS. So that we can all work together for your benefit we may need to share some information about you.
We only ever use or pass on information about you if people have a genuine need for it in your and everyone's interests. Whenever we can we shall remove details which identify you.
Law strictly controls the sharing of some types of very sensitive personal information.
Anyone who receives information from us is also under a legal duty to keep that information confidential.
The main reasons for which your information may be needed
- Giving you healthcare and treatment
- Looking after the health of the general public
- Managing and planning the NHS. For example:
- Making sure that our services can meet patient needs in future
- Paying your doctor, nurse, dentist, or other staff, and the hospital, which treats you for the care they provide, eg post-payment verification visits by the health authority
- Auditing accounts
- Preparing statistics on NHS performance and activity (where steps will be taken to ensure that you cannot be identified)
- Investigating complaints and legal claims
- Helping staff to review the care they provide to make sure it is of the highest standard, eg significant event audits
- Training and educating staff (though you can choose whether or not to be involved personally)
- Research approved by the local research and ethics committee. (If anything to do with research would involve you personally, you would be contacted to see if you are willing to take part. You will not be identified in any published results without your agreement.)
- If you agree, your relatives, friends and carers will be kept up to date with the progress of your treatment.
If at any time you would like to know more about how we use your information you can speak to the person in charge of your care or to the practice manager.
Please see our Privacy policy page for more information.
