Privacy notice

• All patients who receive NHS care are registered on a national database.
• This database holds your name, address, date of birth and NHS Number but it does not hold information about the care you receive.
• The database is held by NHS Digital, a national organisation which has legal responsibilities to collect NHS data.
• More information can be found at: www.digital.nhs.uk or 0300 303 5678

• Your medical records will be searched by a computer programme so that we can identify patients who might be at high risk from certain diseases such as heart disease or unplanned admissions to hospital.
• This means we can offer patients additional care or support as early as possible.
• This process will involve linking information from your GP record with information from other health or social care services you have used.
• Information which identifies you will only be seen by this practice.

• Sometimes we need to share information so that other people, including healthcare staff, children or others with safeguarding needs, are protected from risk of harm.
• These circumstances are rare.
• We do not need your consent or agreement to do this.

We are required by law to provide you with the following information about how we handle your information.

• To give direct health or social care to individual patients.
• For example, when a patient agrees to a referral for direct care, such as to a hospital, relevant information about the patient will be shared with the other healthcare staff to enable them to give appropriate advice, investigations, treatments and/or care.
• To check and review the quality of care. (This is called audit and clinical governance).

These purposes are supported under the following sections of the GDPR:

• Article 6(1)(e) ‘…necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority…’; and
• Article 9(2)(h) ‘necessary for the purposes of preventative or occupational medicine for the assessment of the working capacity of the employee, medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems and services…”

Healthcare staff will also respect and comply with their obligations under the common law duty of confidence.

The data will be shared with:

• healthcare professionals and staff in this surgery;
• local hospitals;
• out of hours services;
• diagnostic and treatment centres;
• or other organisations involved in the provision of direct care to individual patients.

• You have the right to object to information being shared between those who are providing you with direct care.
• This may affect the care you receive – please speak to the practice.
• You are not able to object to your name, address and other demographic information being sent to NHS Digital.
• This is necessary if you wish to be registered to receive NHS care.
• You are not able to object when information is legitimately shared for safeguarding reasons.
• In appropriate circumstances it is a legal and professional requirement to share information for safeguarding reasons. This is to protect people from harm.
• The information will be shared with the local safeguarding service.

We receive information about your health from other organisations who are involved in providing you with health and social care. For example, if you go to hospital for treatment or an operation the hospital will send us a letter to let us know what happens. This means your GP medical record is kept up-to date when you receive care from other parts of the health service.

Medical Research

The Robert Darbishire Practice, New Bank Health Centre and The Whitswood Practice shares information from medical records:

• to support medical research when the law allows us to do so, for example to learn more about why people get ill and what treatments might work best
• we will also use your medical records to carry out research within the practice.

This is important because:

• the use of information from GP medical records is very useful in developing new treatments and medicines;
• medical researchers use information from medical records to help answer important questions about illnesses and disease so that improvements can be made to the care and treatment patients receive.

We share information with medical research organisations with your explicit consent or when the law allows.

You have the right to object to your identifiable information being used or shared for medical research purposes. Please speak to the practice if you wish to object.

Checking the quality of care – national clinical audits

The Robert Darbishire Practice, New Bank Health Centre and The Whitswood Practice contributes to national clinical audits so that healthcare can be checked and reviewed.

• Information from medical records can help doctors and other healthcare workers measure and check the quality of care which is provided to you.
• The results of the checks or audits can show where hospitals are doing well and where they need to improve.
• The results of the checks or audits are used to recommend improvements to patient care.
• Data are sent to NHS Digital a national body with legal responsibilities to collect data.
• The data will include information about you, such as your NHS Number and date of birth and information about your health which is recorded in coded form – for example the code for diabetes or high blood pressure.
• We will only share your information for national clinical audits or checking purposes when the law allows.
• For more information about national clinical audits see the Healthcare Quality Improvements Partnership website: www.www.hqip.org.uk or phone 020 7997 7370.

You have the right to object to your identifiable information being shared for national clinical audits. Please contact the practice if you wish to object.

We are required by law to provide you with the following information about how we share your information for medical research purposes.

Purpose of the processing

Medical research and to check the quality of care which is given to patients (this is called national clinical audit).

Lawful basis for processing

The following sections of the GDPR mean that we can use medical records for research and to check the quality of care (national clinical audits)

Article 6(1)(e) – ‘processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller’.

For medical research:

Article 9(2)(j) – ‘processing is necessary for scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes in accordance with Article 89(1) based on Union or Member States law which shall be proportionate to the aim pursued, respect the essence of the right to data protection and provide for suitable and specific measures to safeguard the fundamental rights and interests of the data subject’.

To check the quality of care (clinical audit):

Article 9(2)(h) – ‘processing is necessary for the purpose of preventative… medicine… the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems and services…’

Recipient or categories of recipients of the processed data

For medical research the data will be shared with research organisations.

For national clinical audits which check the quality of care the data will be shared with NHS Digital.

Rights to object and the national data opt-out

You have a right to object under the GDPR and the right to ‘opt-out’ under the national data opt-out model. The national data opt-out model provides an easy way for you to opt-out of:

• information that identifies you being used or shared for medical research purposes and quality checking or audit purposes.

To opt-out of your identifiable information being shared for medical research or to find out more about your opt-out choices please go to NHS Digital’s website: www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/

The law requires The Robert Darbishire Practice, New Bank Health Centre and the Whitswood Practice to share information from your medical records in certain circumstances. Information is shared so that the NHS or Public Health England can, for example:

• plan and manage services;
• check that the care being provided is safe;
• prevent infectious diseases from spreading.

We will share information with NHS Digital, the Care Quality Commission and local health protection team (or Public Health England) when the law requires us to do so. Please see below for more information.

We must also share your information if a court of law orders us to do so.

NHS Digital

• NHS Digital is a national body which has legal responsibilities to collect information about health and social care services.
• It collects information from across the NHS in England and provides reports on how the NHS is performing. These reports help to plan and improve services to patients.
• This practice must comply with the law and will send data to NHS Digital, for example, when it is told to do so by the Secretary of State for Health or NHS England under the Health and Social Care Act 2012.
• More information about NHS Digital and how it uses information can be found at https://digital.nhs.uk/home.

Care Quality Commission (CQC)

The CQC regulates health and social care services to ensure that safe care is provided.

The law says that we must report certain serious events to the CQC, for example, when patient safety has been put at risk.

For more information about the CQC see: www.cqc.org.uk

Public Health

• The law requires us to share data for public health reasons, for example to prevent the spread of infectious diseases or other diseases which threaten the health of the population.
• We will report the relevant information to local health protection team or Public Health England.

For more information about Public Health England and disease reporting see: www.gov.uk/notifiable-diseases-and-causative-organisms-how-to-report

We are required by law to provide you with the following information about how we handle your information and our legal obligations to share data.

Purpose of the processing

Compliance with legal obligations or court order.

Lawful basis for processing

The following sections of the GDPR mean that we can share information when the law tells us to.

Article 6(1)(c) – ‘processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject…’

Article 9(2)(h) – ‘processing is necessary for the purpose of preventative…medicine…the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems and services…’

Recipient or categories of recipients of the processed data

• The data will be shared with NHS Digital.
• The data will be shared with the Care Quality Commission.
• The data will be shared with our local health protection team or Public Health England.
• The data will be shared with the court if ordered.

Rights to object and the national data opt-out

There are very limited rights to object when the law requires information to be shared but government policy allows some rights of objection as set out below.

NHS Digital

• You will not be able to object to your data being shared with NHS Digital when it is legally required under the Health and Social Care Act 2012.
• The national data opt-out model provides you with an easy way of opting-out of identifiable data being used for health service planning and research purposes, including when it is shared by NHS Digital for these reasons. To opt-out or to find out more about your opt-out choices please go to NHS Digital’s website: nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/

Public health

Legally information must be shared under public health legislation. This means that you are unable to object.

Care Quality Commission

Legally information must be shared when the Care Quality Commission needs it for their regulatory functions. This means that you are unable to object.

Court order

Your information must be shared if it ordered by a court. This means that you are unable to object.

National screening programmes

• The NHS provides national screening programmes so that certain diseases can be detected at an early stage.
• These screening programmes include bowel cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, aortic aneurysms and a diabetic eye screening service.
• The law allows us to share your contact information with Public Health England so that you can be invited to the relevant screening programme.

More information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/topic/population-screening-programmes or speak to the practice.

We are required by law to provide you with the following information about how we share your information for medical research purposes.

Purpose of the processing

• The NHS provides several national health screening programmes to detect diseases or conditions early such as cervical and breast cancer, aortic aneurysm and diabetes.
• The information is shared so that the correct people are invited for screening. This means those who are most at risk can be offered treatment.

Lawful basis for processing

The following sections of the GDPR allow us to contact patients for screening.

Article 6(1)(e) – ‘processing is necessary…in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller…’’

Article 9(2)(h) – ‘processing is necessary for the purpose of preventative…medicine…the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems and services…’

Recipient or categories of recipients of the processed data

The data will be shared with local and national screening providers

Rights to object and the national data opt-out

For national screening programmes: you can opt out so that you no longer receive an invitation to a screening programme. Please visit www.gov.uk/opting-out-of-the-nhs-population-screening-programmes for more information.

• You have the right to access your medical record and have any errors or mistakes corrected. Please speak to a member of staff or look at our ‘subject access request’ policy on the practice website.
• We are not aware of any circumstances in which you will have the right to delete correct information from your medical record; although you are free to obtain your own legal advice if you believe there is no lawful purpose for which we hold the information and contact us if you hold a different view.

GP medical records will be kept in line with the law and national guidance. Information on how long records are kept can be found at: www.digital.nhs.uk/Records-Management-Code-of-Practice-for-Health-and-Social-Care-2016.

You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. If you wish to complain follow this link www.ico.org.uk/global/contact-us or call the helpline 0303 123 1113

Better Health MCR Ltd is one of many organisations working in the health and care system to improve care for patients and the public.

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 www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters. On this web page 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
• 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

You can also find out more about how patient information is used at:
www.hra.nhs.uk/information-about-patients (which covers health and care research); and
www.understandingpatientdata.org.uk/what-you-need-know (which covers how and why patient information is used, the safeguards and how decisions are made)

You can change your mind about your choice at any time.

Data being used or shared for purposes beyond individual care does not include your data being shared with insurance companies or used for marketing purposes and data would only be used in this way with your specific agreement.

Our organisation is compliant with the national data opt-out policy.

We use the NHS Account Messaging Service provided by NHS England to send you messages relating to your health and care. You need to be an NHS App user to receive these messages. Further information about the service can be found at the privacy notice for the NHS App managed by NHS England.