Care Quality Commission Policies and Procedures
Your information, what you need to know
This privacy notice explains why we collect information about you, how that information will be used, how we keep it safe and confidential and what your rights are in relation to this.
Why we collect information about you
Health care professionals who provide you with care are required by law to maintain records about your health and any treatment or care you have received. These records help to provide you with the best possible healthcare and help us to protect your safety.
We collect and hold data for the purpose of providing healthcare services to our patients and running our organisation which includes monitoring the quality of care that we provide. In carrying out this role we will collect information about you which helps us respond to your queries or secure specialist services. We will keep your information in written form and/or in digital form.
Our Commitment to Data Privacy and Confidentiality Issues
As a GP practice, all of our GPs, staff and associated practitioners are committed to protecting your privacy and will only process data in accordance with the Data Protection Legislation. This includes the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) now known as the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018, the Law Enforcement Directive (Directive (EU) 2016/680) (LED) and any applicable national Laws implementing them as amended from time to time. The legislation requires us to process personal data only if there is a legitimate basis for doing so and that any processing must be fair and lawful.
In addition, consideration will also be given to all applicable Law concerning privacy, confidentiality, the processing and sharing of personal data including the Human Rights Act 1998, the Health and Social Care Act 2012 as amended by the Health and Social Care (Safety and Quality) Act 2015, the common law duty of confidentiality and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations.
Data we collect about you
Records which this GP Practice will hold or share about you will include the following:
- Personal Data – means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.
- Special Categories of Personal Data – this term describes personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation.
- Confidential Patient Information – this term describes information or data relating to their health and other matters disclosed to another (e.g. patient to clinician) in circumstances where it is reasonable to expect that the information will be held in confidence. Including both information ‘given in confidence’ and ‘that which is owed a duty of confidence’.
Your right to opt out of data sharing and processing
You have a right to request that your personal and confidential information is not used beyond your own care and treatment and to have your objections considered’.
Right of Access to your information (Subject Access Request)
Under Data Protection Legislation everybody has the right have of access to, or request a copy of, information we hold that can identify them, this includes medical records. There are some safeguards regarding what patients will have access to and they may find information has been redacted or removed for the following reasons;
- It may be deemed to risk causing harm to the patient or others
- The information within the record may relate to third parties who are entitled to their confidentiality, or who have not given their permission for the information to be shared.
Patients do not need to give a reason to see their data. And requests can be made verbally or in writing. Although we may ask them to complete a form in order that we can ensure that they have the correct information required.
Where multiple copies of the same information is requested the surgery may charge a reasonable fee for the additional copies.
Patients will need to provide proof of identity to receive this information.
Data Protection Officer
Should you have any data protection questions or concerns, please contact our Data Protection Officer via the practice at: office@pixieandsera.com
Right to Complain
If you have concerns or are unhappy about any of our services, please contact the Practice Office.
For independent advice about data protection, privacy and data-sharing issues, you can contact:
The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Phone: 0303 123 1113 Website: https://ico.org.uk/: Contact Us
Compliments & Feedback
The practice is very grateful to receive compliments, suggestions for improving our service and positive comments from patients. These can be relayed in a variety of ways: through Doctify, or direct to a GP or member of staff. Thank you in advance for taking the time to provide feedback.
Alternatively, please complete our feedback form HERE
Complaints
If you have a complaint or suggestion, please contact our Practice Team on 0203 840 6007 or email office@pixieandsera.com
We will aim to acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days and investigate it as quickly as possible. Please give as much detail as you can. We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly in-house, often at the time they arise and with the person or persons concerned.
We take complaints seriously and aim to investigate complaints and report back to you within ten working days.
We will:
- Investigate what happened and whether something went wrong
- Apologise where this is appropriate
- Identify what we can do to make sure the problem does not happen again
Pixie and Sera operate a zero tolerance policy with regard to violence and abuse and the practice has the right to remove violent patients from the service with immediate effect in order to safeguard practice staff, patients and other persons.
Violence in this context includes actual or threatened physical violence or verbal abuse which leads to fear for a person’s safety. In this situation we will notify the patient in writing of their removal from the service and record in the patient’s medical records the fact of the removal and the circumstances leading to it.