Privacy Notice

Handsworth Medical Practice


Background

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force on 25 May 2018. Being transparent and providing assessable information to patients about how we use your information is a key element of the Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR.

Under the terms of the GDPR, a Privacy Notice is required to explain to patients what personal data is held about them and how it is collected and processed.

Information provided by you

You provide us with personal data on your registration form when you register with the Practice, via online registration for prescription services, by email, via our Practice website and the AccuRx triage system and over the telephone.  This information includes name, address, date of birth, landline phone number, mobile phone number, email address, clinical and health information.

You may provide us with photographs of yourself if you submit medical requests for a clinician to review. These pictures are saved to your medical record.

We may also keep information contained in any correspondence or conversations you may have with us.

 

Information collected from other sources

By registering with the Practice, you consent to your medical history from your previous Practice(s) being sent to the Practice.  The provision of this information is essential in order that we can deliver personal care and medical treatment.

We often obtain information from hospitals, community clinics, pharmacies and other medical practitioners and services to whom you will already have submitted your personal data.

 
How we use your information
  
Handsworth Medical Practice manages patient information in accordance with existing laws and with guidance from organisations that govern the provision of healthcare in England such as the Department of Health and the General Medical Council.
 
We are committed to protecting your privacy and will only use information collected lawfully. 

As data controllers, GPs have fair processing responsibilities. In practice, this means ensuring that your personal confidential data (PCD) is handled clearly and transparently, and in a reasonably expected way.
 
The health care professionals who provide you with care maintain records about your health and any NHS treatment or care you have received (e.g. NHS Hospital Trust, GP Surgery, Walk-in clinic, etc.). These records help to provide you with the best possible healthcare.

NHS health records may be processed electronically, on paper or a mixture of both; a combination of working practices and technology are used to ensure that your information is kept confidential and secure. Records held by this GP practice may include the following information:
 

  • Details about you, such as address and next of kin
  • Any contact the practice has had with you, including appointments (emergency / scheduled), clinic visits, etc.\ Notes and reports about your health
  • Details about treatment and care received
  • Results of investigations, such as laboratory tests, x-rays, etc.
  • Relevant information from other health professionals, relatives or those who care for you

 
The Practice collects and holds data for the sole purpose of providing healthcare services to our patients and we will ensure that the information is kept confidential. However, we can disclose personal information if:
 

  • It is required by law
  • You provide consent – either implicitly or for the sake of your own care, or explicitly for other purposes
  • It is justified to be in the public interest

 
Some of this information will be held centrally and used for statistical purposes. Where we hold data centrally, we take strict and secure measures to ensure that individual patients cannot be identified.
 
Information may be used for clinical audit purposes to monitor the quality of service provided, and may be held centrally and used for statistical purposes. Where we do this we ensure that patient records cannot be identified.
 
Sometimes your information may be requested to be used for clinical research purposes – the practice will always endeavour to gain your consent before releasing the information.

With your written or verbal consent, we will share information about you with a carer.
 
Improvements in information technology are also making it possible for us to share data with other healthcare providers with the objective of providing you with better care. Patients can choose to withdraw their consent to their data being used in this way.

A patient can object to their personal information being shared with other health care providers but if this limits the treatment that you can receive then the doctor will explain this to you at the time.


Mobile Telephone
If you provide us with your mobile phone number, we may use this to send you appointment links, reminders about any appointments or other health screening information being carried out, etc. Please let us know if you do not wish to receive reminders, etc. on your mobile phone.


Telephone Calls
Telephone calls to and from the Practice are recorded for training and quality control purposes. The calls are stored securely. Calls are kept for up to a 3-year period, the calls are then deleted.


Practice Website
Our website uses cookies to optimise your experience. This information is only used to remember your details and is never passed to any third party (cookies must be enabled for this to work). You have the option to decline the use of cookies on your first visit to the website.
 
 
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. This service may be provided directly by the Practice or by members of the South Yorkshire – Integrated Care Board (SY-ICB) Medicines Management Team.

 

Confidential Patient Information

The NHS collects confidential patient information from all NHS organisations, trusts and local authorities, including our Practice.

Whenever you use a health or care service, such as attending Accident & Emergency or using Community Care services, important information about you is collected in a patient record for that service. Collecting this information helps to ensure you get the best possible care and treatment.

The information collected about you when you use these services can also be used and provided to other organisations for purposes beyond your individual care, for instance to help with:

  • improving the quality and standards of care provided
  • research into the development of new treatments
  • preventing illness and diseases
  • monitoring safety
  • planning services

This may only take place when there is a clear legal basis to use this information. All these uses help to provide better health and care for you, your family and future generations. Confidential patient information about your health and care is only used like this where allowed by law.

Most of the time, anonymised data is used for research and planning so that you cannot be identified in which case your confidential patient information isn’t needed.

You have a choice about whether you want your confidential patient information to be used in this way. If you are happy with this use of information you do not need to do anything. If you do choose to opt-out your confidential patient information will still be used to support your individual care.


To find out more or to register your choice to opt out, please visit NHS Data Matters 


On the webpage you will:

  • See what is meant by confidential patient information
  • Find examples of when confidential patient information is used for individual care and examples of when it is used for purposes beyond individual care
  • Find out more about the benefits of sharing data
  • Understand more about who uses the data
  • Find out how your data is protected
  • Be able to access the system to view, set or change your opt-out setting
  • Find the contact telephone number if you want to know any more or to set/change your opt-out by phone
  • See the situations where the opt-out will not apply

 

How do we maintain the confidentiality of your records?
 
We are committed to protecting your privacy and will only use information collected lawfully.

All our staff and contractors receive appropriate and regular training to ensure they are aware of their personal responsibilities and have legal and contractual obligations to uphold confidentiality, enforceable through disciplinary procedures. Only a limited number of authorised staff have access to personal information where it is appropriate to their role and is strictly on a need-to-know basis.
 
We maintain our duty of confidentiality to you at all times. 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), or where the law requires information to be passed on.

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, which includes the SY-ICB
  • Specialist Trusts
  • Independent Contractors such as dentists, opticians, pharmacists
  • Private Sector Providers
  • 111 and Out of Hours Service
  • Voluntary Sector Providers
  • Ambulance Trusts
  • Clinical Commissioning Groups
  • Social Care Services
  • Local Authorities
  • Education Services
  • Fire and Rescue Services
  • Hospitals
  • Police

 

Access to personal information
 
You have the right to access/view information the Practice holds about you, and to have it amended or removed should it be inaccurate.

If you would like to have access to your records, please contact the Practice and complete an ‘Access to Health Records’ form. You can also request access to your records if you register for SystmOnline or the NHS App. This information is usually provided free of charge. Any changes to this notice will be published on our website and on the Practice notice board.

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.
 

Who is the Data Controller?
The Data Controller, responsible for keeping your information secure and confidential is Handsworth Medical Practice. Our Data Controller is Dr Afzal Shaikh. Any changes to this notice will be published on our website and displayed in prominent notices in the surgery.

Responsible Individuals

Data Protection Officer – Caroline Million, C M Associates, email: caroline.million@outlook.com
Caldecott Guardians – Nicola Harrison and Dr Afzal Shaikh. Information Governance Lead – Dr Afzal Shaikh, Handsworth Medical Practice

Questions and queries

If you have any questions or queries which this privacy policy has not addressed, or if you have any concerns about how we use the personal information we hold, please write to the Practice Manager Nicola Harrison at Handsworth Medical Practice, 432 Handsworth Road, Sheffield, S13 9BZ

Complaints

If you have a complaint regarding the use of your personal information, we ask that you contact us in the first instance. Please write to the Practice Manager Nicola Harrison at Handsworth Medical Practice, 432 Handsworth Road, Sheffield, S13 9BZ. You can also email us, for the attention of the Practice Manager, on our Practice email: syicb-sheffield.handsworthmedicalpractice@nhs.net

Alternatively you can contact South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (SY-ICB), email: syicb-sheffield.icbcomplaints@nhs.net

 
Further information
Further information about the way in which the NHS uses personal information and your rights in that respect can be found in: