Data Regulations

• 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 the phone number for general enquires at NHS Digital is 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.

• 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).

• 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.

• 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: West Essex Clinical Commissioning Group, Building 4, Spencer Close, The Plain, Epping CM16 6TN.

• You have the right to access your medical record and have any errors or mistakes corrected.
• 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.

or call the helpline 0303 123 1113

Addison House Surgery 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 the following medical research organisations with your explicit consent or when the law allows: e.g. RCGP Research

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

• 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: https://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.

Telephone: 01992 660272

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: there are two possible Article 9 conditions.

Article 9(2) (a) – ‘the data subject has given explicit consent…’

OR

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…’

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

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

Please contact the practice if you wish to opt-out.

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: digital.nhs.uk/

• You have the right to access your medical record and have any errors or mistakes corrected.
• 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.

ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/ 

or call the helpline 0303 123 1113

The law requires Addison House Surgery 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 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: digital.nhs.uk/home
• NHS Digital sometimes shares names and addresses of patients suspected of committing immigration offences with the Home Office. More information on this can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/information-requests-from-the-home-office-to-nhs-digital

• 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/

• 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/guidance/notifiable-diseases-and-causative-organisms-how-to-report

Telephone: 01992 660272

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…’

• 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.

NHS Digital

• You have the right to object to information being shared with NHS Digital for reasons other than your own direct care.
• This is called a ‘Type 1’ objection – you can ask your practice to apply this code to your record.
• Please note: The ‘Type 1’ objection, however, will no longer be available after 2020.
• This means 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 op-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: https://digital.nhs.uk/

NHS Digital sharing with the Home Office

• There is no right of objection to NHS Digital sharing names and addresses of patients who are suspected of having committed an immigration offence.

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.

• You have the right to access your medical record and have any errors or mistakes corrected.
• 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.

• 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: www.gov.uk/topic/population-screening-programmesor speak to the practice.

Telephone: 01992 660272

• 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.

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…’

See: www.gov.uk/government/publications/opting-out-of-the-nhs-population-screening-programmes

Or speak to the practice.

• You have the right to access your medical record and have any errors or mistakes corrected.
• 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.

Information on how long records can be kept can be found at:
digital.nhs.uk/article/1202/Records-Management-Code-of-Practice-for-Health-and-Social-Care-2016

Or speak to the practice.

Or call the helpline 0303 123 1113