Your data, privacy and the Law
How we use your medical records in accordance with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
This practice handles medical records according to the laws on data protection and confidentiality.
- We share medical records with health professionals who are involved in providing you with care and treatment. This is on a need to know basis and event by event.
- Some of your data is automatically copied to the Shared Care Summary Record.
- We may share some of your data with our local out of hours / urgent or emergency care service.
- Data about you is used to manage national screening campaigns such as Flu, Cervical cytology and Diabetes prevention.
- Data about you, usually de-identified, is used to manage the NHS and make payments.
- We share information when the law requires us to do, for instance when we are inspected or reporting certain illnesses or safeguarding vulnerable people.
- Your data is used to check the quality of care provided by the NHS.
- We may also share medical records for medical research. For more information about how your records may contribute to medical research and how to opt out of participating, please visit nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters
Our Privacy Notice can be viewed here.
This practice is supporting vital health and care planning and research by sharing your data with NHS Digital. For more information about this see the GP Practice Privacy Notice for General Practice Data for Planning and Research
Freedom of Information
Information about the General Practioners and the practice required for disclosure under this act can be made available to the public. All requests for such information should be made to the Practice Manager.
Access to Records
In accordance with General Data Protection Regulations, patients may request to see their medical records. Such requests should be made through the Practice Manager. No information will be released without the patient consent unless we are legally obliged to do so.
Consent to Share
If you would like to give consent for a friend, carer or family member to discuss your health with us, please complete a Consent to Share Form.
Compliments, Concerns & Complaints
We make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends our practice.
However, we are aware that things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. If this is so, we would wish for the matter to be settled as quickly, and as amicably, as possible.
To pursue a complaint please contact the practice manager who will deal with your concerns appropriately. Further written information is available regarding the complaints procedure in our Compliments, Concerns and Complaints Leaflet. If you are complaining on behalf of a patient, we will need their written consent confirming that they wish the complaint to be investigated and that they are happy for someone else to deal with it. You can download a copy of this consent form here.
Violence Policy
The NHS operate a zero tolerance policy with regard to violence and abuse and the practice has the right to remove violent patients from the list with immediate effect in order to safeguard practice staff, patients and other persons. Violence in this context includes actual or threatened physical violence or verbal abuse which leads to fear for a person’s safety. In this situation we will notify the patient in writing of their removal from the list and record in the patient’s medical records the fact of the removal and the circumstances leading to it.
We will not tolerate racial or gender or religious prejudice within the Practice.
Firearms Licensing
If you apply to the Police for a Firearms License, your GP will be contacted by the Police who will request general medical information and ask the GP if they have “concerns” regarding the issuing of a firearms license. If the Police do not receive a response from the GP within 21 days, they will draw the inference that the GP has no concerns.
The Police do not offer a fee to the GP for the report, which they have no contractual obligation to complete without a fee.
GPs can decline to provide a report because they have a conscientious objection to the holding of firearms.
Our conscientious objectors are:- Dr McFadden, Dr Moore-Moffatt.
All other GPs in the Practice will complete the report at their own discretion for patients registered with them, providing they know the patient well enough and if the applicant is willing to pay the fee.
In this case the applicant will be contacted and a reply will be sent back to the Police informing them they will receive the report once we have received the fee from the applicant. This will ensure that the delay arising from requesting and receiving a fee from the applicant cannot be misconstrued as the GP not having any concerns about the applicant possessing a Firearm.