Fair Processing Notice

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 may hold about you may include the following  information;

• Details about you, such as address and next of kin
• 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 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 endeavour to gain your consent before releasing the  information.

Risk Stratification

Risk stratification tools are increasingly being used in the NHS to  help determine a person's risk of suffering a particular condition,  preventing an unplanned or (re)admission and identifying a need for  preventive intervention. Information about you is collected from a  number of sources including NHS Trusts and from this GP Practice. A risk  score is then arrived at through an analysis of your de-identified  information using software managed by the North West London Commissioning Support Unit as the data processor and is only provided back to your GP  or member of your care team as data controller in an identifiable form.  Risk stratification enables your GP to focus on the preventing ill  health and not just the treatment of sickness. If necessary your GP may  be able to offer you additional services.  

Please note that you have the right to opt out.

Should you have any concerns about how your information is managed at  the surgery please contact the Practice Manager to discuss how the  disclosure of your personal information can be limited.

Invoice Validation

If you have received treatment within the NHS, North West London Commissioning Support Unit may require access to your personal information in order to determine which Clinical Commissioning Group should pay for the treatment or procedure you have received.              

Information such as your name, address and date of treatment may be  passed on to enable the billing process. These details are held in a  secure environment and kept confidential. This information will only be  used to validate invoices, and will not be shared for any further Commissioning purposes.

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 the Data Protection  Act 1998 (which is overseen by the Information Commissioner's Office),  Human Rights Act, the Common Law Duty of Confidentiality, and the NHS  Codes of Confidentiality and Security.

Every member of staff who works for an NHS organisation has a legal  obligation to keep information about you confidential. Anyone who  receives information from an NHS organisation has a legal duty to keep  it confidential.

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
• Specialist Trusts
• Independent Contractors such as dentists, opticians, pharmacists
• Private Sector Providers
• Voluntary Sector Providers
• Ambulance Trusts
• Clinical Commissioning Groups
• Social Care Services
• Local Authorities
• Education Services
• Fire and Rescue Services
• Police
• Other 'data processors'
• Access to personal information

You have a right under the Data Protection Act 1998 to access/view  what information the surgery holds about you, and to have it amended or  removed should it be inaccurate. This is known as 'the right of subject  access'. If we do hold information about you we will:

• give you a description of it;
• tell you why we are holding it;
• tell you who it could be disclosed to; and
• let you have a copy of the information in an intelligible form.

If you would like to make a 'subject access request'. please contact the practice manager in writing.

If you would like further information about how we use your  information, or if you do not want us to use your information in this  way, please contact the Practice Manager.