As part of our “Enhanced Access” initiative, Devon Square Surgery patients will be able to book evening and weekend appointments, both here and at other local GP practices This will benefit you as a patient as it ensures that there are more appointments available to you at times that are more convenient out of the practice’s usual hours.
To ensure that the clinician has full access to a summary of your medical records, when you book your appointment the administrator will ask you to consent to sharing your medical records summary, which will ensure an effective and safe service. Your medical records summary will contain limited medical information to the clinician.
This sharing occurs by the medical records summary being securely emailed to the practice that you choose to visit and the sharing only occurs when you choose to book an appointment at another practice. You will be reminded of this when you book the appointment and your consent to share your medical records summary is taken is taken.
The clinician you visit will be required to gain your consent prior to accessing your medical records summary. We will be notified of the outcome of your appointment via secure email and your medical records will be updated accordingly. We will review this to ensure any follow up is actioned.
If you have any concerns about this, or object to the sharing of your medical record in this way, please speak to one of our reception team, who will be able to record your decision and change the settings for your record.
How Devon Square Surgery uses your information to provide you with healthcare
This practice keeps medical records confidential and complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
We hold your medical record so that we can provide you with safe care and treatment. We will also use your information so that this practice can check and review the quality of care we provide, this helps us to improve the service we provide to you.
We shall share relevant information from your medical record with other health or social care staff or organisations when they provide you with care. For example, your GP will share information when they refer you to a specialist in hospital or your GP will send details about your prescription to your chosen pharmacy.
Healthcare staff working in A&E and out of hours care will also have access to your information. For example, it is important that staff who are treating you in an emergency know if you have any allergies reactions. This will involve the use of your Summary care Record, for more information see: https://digital.nhs.uk/summary-care-records, or alternately speak to a member of staff at the practice.
You have the right to object to information being shared for your own care. Please speak to the practice if you wish to object.
You also have the right to have any mistakes or errors corrected.
How your information is shared so that this practice can meet legal requirements
The law requires Devon Square 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
- 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
- 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
Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- 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: https://www.cqc.org.uk/
Public Health
- 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: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/notifiable-diseases-and-causative-organisms-how-to-report.
We are required by law to provide you with the following information about how we handle your information and our legal obligations to share data.
| Data Controller contact details
| The Partners of: Devon Square Surgery 44 Devon Square Newton Abbot TQ12 2HH Tel: 01626 332182 |
| Data Protection Officer contact details
| Rebekah Lovewell info@deltservices.co.uk |
| Purpose of the processing
| Compliance with legal obligations or court order. |
| Lawful basis for processing
| The following sections of the GDPR mean that we can share information when the law tells us to.
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…’ |
| Recipient or categories of recipients of the processed data
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| Rights to object and the national data opt-out
| There are very limited rights to object when the law requires information to be shared but government policy allows some rights of objection as set out below.
NHS Digital
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: National data opt-out
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.
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| Right to access and correct | You have the right to access your medical record and have any errors or mistakes corrected. Please speak to a member of staff or look at our ‘subject access request’ policy on the practice website – www.devonsquare.co.uk 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.
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| Retention period
| GP medical records will be kept in line with the law and national guidance. Information on how long records are kept can be found in the Records Management Code of Practice 2021 at the link here – or speak to a member of staff at the practice.
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| Right to complain
| You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. If you wish to complain follow this link https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/ or call the helpline 0303 123 1113 |
