Privacy Notice

This privacy notice lets you know what happens to any personal data that you give to us, or any that we may collect from or about you.

We understand the importance of keeping your personal information safe and secure. This privacy notice explains how we use any personal information we collect about you. If you have any questions or concerns about it, please contact us.

We collect information such as personal details; details in relation to your medical history and in respect of your visits to the practice; correspondence, test results and notes from other health professionals; and any other relevant information to enable us to deliver effective medical care.

We will only use your data in accordance with the data protection laws.

The law states we must have a legal bases for obtaining and using your personal information. We rely on the following legal basis:

• Contract: our contract with NHS England is to provide medical care to all of our patients, which includes you;
• Consent: we may also obtain your consent to use your personal information on occasions. Remember that you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.
• Protecting your vital interests: there may be times when you are not able to provide consent, and se we may need to use your personal information to provide medical care where necessary.
• Legal obligations: in certain limited situations, we are under a legal duty to disclose your personal information to other organisations.

The law also states that personal information about your health is so sensitive that it falls into a special category. In addition to the legal bases given above, we also rely on the following:

• Public interest: we may need to use your personal information for the public interest, such as when there is an outbreak of a serious disease and steps need to be taken to stop it spreading.
• Defending a claim: we may need to use your personal information to defend a legal claim made by you or a third party.

Primarily, it is used to provide your medical care.

If you provide us with your mobile phone number, we will use this to send you text reminders about your appointments or other health related information. It is without our legal duty as a public authority to keep our patients updated with important information. Where you have provided us with your email address, we will use this to send you information relating to your health and the services we provide. If you do not wish to receive communications by email, please let us know.

It is also utilised digitally in the various IT systems we use in the practice to help us provide good patient care. This includes systems like our electronic care record and our AI based notes transcribing tool.

Primarily, it is used to provide your medical care.

If you provide us with your mobile phone number, we will use this to send you text reminders about your appointments or other health related information. It is without our legal duty as a public authority to keep our patients updated with important information. Where you have provided us with your email address, we will use this to send you information relating to your health and the services we provide. If you do not wish to receive communications by email, please let us know.

It is also utilised digitally in the various IT systems we use in the practice to help us provide good patient care. This includes systems like our electronic care record and our AI based notes transcribing tool.

Yes, you do. If you do not want your data to be used in this way, then you can opt out. If you do opt out, then we will still use your personal information to provide your individual medical care.

There are two levels of opting out:

• Type 1 Opt-Out: This is an objection that prevents an individual's personal confidential information from being shared outside of their general practice except when it is being used for the purposes of their individual direct care, or in particular circumstances required by law, such as a public health screening, or an emergency like an outbreak of a pandemic disease. If patients wish to apply a Type 1 Opt-Out to their record, they should make their wishes known to the practice.
• National data opt-out (NDOO): The national data opt-out was introduced on 25 May 2018, enabling patients to opt-out from the use of their data for research or planning purposes. The national data opt-out replaces the previous ‘Type 2’ opt-out, Any patient that had a type 2 opt-out recorded on or before 11 October 2018 has had it automatically converted to a national data opt-out.

To find out more about the use of your personal information or to register your decision to opt out of data sharing, you need to go to NHS: Your Data Matters You can change your decision at any time.

We will only keep your information for as long as necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Notice. In any event, and in accordance with the Records Management Code of Practice - NHSX, your healthcare records will be retained for 10 years after death, or if a patient emigrates, for 10 years after the date of emigration.

You have a right to see the information we hold that relates to you, and to request a copy. You can have constant access to your own health record by downloading and using the NHS App, which we strongly recommend for all patients.

If you are unable to use the NHS App, then you can request copies of your records from us. Please go to our website and search for the Access to Records Policy which explains how you can request this, and what we will do. (Alternatively, you can call us or come into the practice and submit your request.) In most cases you are entitled to receive this information free of charge, but there may be charges applied in certain limited circumstances (which are explained in the “Patient Access to Patient Records Procedure”).

You have the right to have the personal information we hold about you corrected, removed (subject to certain limitations), or transferred to another person or organisation. Again, please contact our DPO if you would like to do any of these things.

There may be references to third parties in your records. The law states that we must remove any such references that would allow that third party to be identified before we release copies of your information. Third parties could include spouses/partners (both current and former); children; other family members; and unrelated individuals.

If you have any concerns or questions about the use of your personal information, in the first instance we would ask you to notify our DPO so it can be investigated via our website marked FAO of Ella-Bostock. If you are still not satisfied with what has happened, you have a right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. Full details of how to contact them can be found on their website.