< Back to policies & procedures

Privacy Notice and Policy

Your data, privacy and the Law: How we use your medical records 

  • 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 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 please read the notification on the Patient Notices wall in the reception area.

Practice privacy notice

Vel Surgery has a legal duty to explain how we use any personal information we collect about you, as a registered patient at the practice. Staffs at this practice maintain records about your health and the treatment you receive in electronic and paper format.  

What information do we collect about you?

We will collect information such as personal details, including name, address, next of kin, records of appointments, visits, telephone calls, your health records, treatment and medications, test results, X-rays, etc. and any other relevant information to enable us to deliver effective medical care.

How we will use your information

Your data is collected for the purpose of providing healthcare services; however, we can disclose this information if it is required by law, if you give consent or if it is justified in the public interest. The practice may be requested to support research; however, we will always gain your consent before sharing your information.

In accordance with the Health and Social Care Act 2012, the care data programme enabled patient data to be collected by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) for quality and safety purposes. In addition, it is possible for us to share your data with other healthcare providers in order to provide you with a high level of care.

Maintaining confidentiality and accessing your records

We are committed to maintaining confidentiality and protecting the information we hold about you. We adhere to the Data Protection

Act 1998 (DPA), the NHS Codes of Confidentiality and Security, as well as guidance issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). You have a right to the information we hold about you, and if you would like to access this information, you will need to complete a Subject Access Request (SAR). Please ask at reception for a SAR form and you will be given further information.

Risk stratification

Risk stratification is a mechanism used to identify and subsequently manage those patients deemed as being at high risk of requiring urgent or emergency care. Usually this includes patients with long-term conditions, e.g. cancer. Your information is collected by a number of sources; this information is processed electronically and given a risk score which is relayed to your GP who can then decide on any necessary actions to ensure that you receive the most appropriate care.

Invoice validation

Your information may be shared if you have received treatment to determine which Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is responsible for paying for your treatment. This information may include your name, address and treatment date. All of this information is held securely and confidentially; it will not be used for any other purpose or shared with any third parties.

Opt-outs

Should you wish to opt out of data collection, please contact a member of staff who will be able to explain how you can opt out and prevent the sharing of your information; this is done by registering a Type 1 opt-out, preventing your information from being shared outside this practice.

What to do if you have any questions

Should you have any questions about our privacy policy or the information we hold about you, you can:

Changes to our privacy policy 

We regularly review our privacy policy and any updates will be published on our website and on posters to reflect the changes. This policy is to be reviewed September 2022