Access to patient details

Privacy Policy

How we use your medical records:

  • This practice handles medical records according to the laws on data protection and confidentiality.[i]
  • We share medical records with health professionals who are involved in providing you with care and treatment. This is on a need to know and event by event basis.
  • Some of your data is automatically copied to the Shared Care Summary Record; a secure government database of patients’ basic medical information. It is used to reduce errors and avoid delays if a patient requires treatment outside of the surgery. It can only be accessed by authorised personnel involved in the patient’s direct care.
  • We share some of your data with local out of hours / urgent or emergency care services so that, in an emergency, you can receive the best care possible.
  • 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 check and manage the quality of care provided by the NHS.
  • We share information when the law requires us to do so, for instance; when we are inspected, reporting certain illnesses or safeguarding vulnerable people.
  • We may also share medical records for medical research to try and improve treatments and patient care.
  • We retain and destroy records in line with the guidance set by the Information Governance Alliance.[ii]

 

For more details on any of the above points, please read our Guide to Information Sharing or the specific privacy notices below:

Direct Care  ¦  Emergencies  ¦  Research  ¦  Safeguarding  ¦  Public Health  ¦  NHS Digital

Summary Care Record   ¦   Payments   ¦   Risk Stratification   ¦   Care Quality Commission

 

 

Data Protection Officer:

Liane Cotterill – North Durham CCG
0191 3898600

 

 


[i] These are:

  • the Data Protection Act;
  • the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR); and
  • the Common Law Duty of Confidentiality.

[ii] The retention and destruction schedules can be found here: https://digital.nhs.uk/article/1202/Records-Management-Code-of-Practice-for-Health-and-Social-Care-2016

Date published: 10th October, 2014
Date last updated: 17th October, 2018