1. We may record telephone calls to:

• Review and improve services
• Monitor and review quality of care
• Train, develop and manage staff and medical trainees
• Prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute allegations, complaints, claims and / or fraud relating to patients, other organisations or our staff
• Protect staff and patients

We do this in the interests of offering a good service to our service users, patient safety, being a good employer and to protect public funds.

2. How will call recordings be used:

• Quality monitoring: Written records only provide partial information. A call recording provides a more rounded view and allows us to better understand patient and staff experience and assess the processes applied. This can help us identify any improvement areas.
• Training and development: Listening to a sample number of calls allows managers to identify training needs. Call recordings may also be used as part of training for medical students, GP registrars and other clinical staff in training at the practice. This is part of their clinical skills development.
• Gaining a better understanding of our patients: Many calls are verbally resolved without the need to complete records. Listening to sample calls will help us better understand our patient and staff needs and gain a more informed view of organisations we signpost to.
• Complaints and disputes: Some calls are verbally resolved. Where information is entered onto an electronic system this becomes the established record. In the event of a complaint or dispute, a call recording (if possible), may provide additional information to help us investigate and resolve
• Employee safety and wellbeing: A recording may become a vital piece of evidence in the event of any threats being made to the organisation or an individual or in dealing with employment-related matters.

3. How your information is shared

Generally, call recordings are not shared. In certain circumstances, for example to comply with a court order or carry out a legislative requirement, we may share call recordings.

4. How long we keep your call recording

General call recordings will be retained for up to 36 months from the date of creation. The retention period is in line with the Records Management Code of Practice for Health and Social Care 2016.

5. Can I request a copy of my call record?

If the recording is still available, you can request a copy of your conversation by contacting the surgery. This information will be provided to you in accordance with the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998.

6. What we use your data for (including call recordings). Your data is processed to:

• Review and improve services
• Check and review quality of care
• Train, develop and manage staff and medical trainees
• Prevent, detect, investigate, and prosecute allegations, complaints, claims and / or fraud relating to patients, other organisations, or our staff
• Protect staff and patients

Your patient record is held securely and confidentially on the electronic system at your GP practice. If you require treatment in another NHS healthcare setting such as an Emergency Department or Minor Injury Unit, those treating you would be better able to give you appropriate care if some of the information from the GP practice were available to them.

This information can now be shared electronically via: The Summary Care Record, used nationally across England

The information will be used only by authorised health care professionals directly involved in your care. Your permission will be asked before the information is accessed, unless the clinician is unable to ask you and there is a clinical reason for access.

If you would like to opt out, please ask reception for our opt out form.

A parent or guardian can request to opt out children under 16 but ultimately it is the GP’s decision whether to create the records or not, because of their duty of care to the child. If you are the parent or guardian of a child under 16 and feel that they are able to understand, then you should make this information available to them.

Who Has Access?

Across all health care settings, including urgent care, community care and outpatient departments in England.

Information Source

GP record

Content

• Your current medications
• Any allergies you have
• Any bad reactions you have had to medicines
• Additional information (upon request to your GP)

For more information visit:

NHS Digital

This practice is committed to preserving, as far as is practical, the security of data used by our information systems. This means that we will take all reasonable actions to;

Maintain the Confidentiality of all data within the practice by:

• Ensuring that only authorised persons can gain access to our systems
• Not disclosing information to anyone who has no right to see it

Maintain the integrity of all data within the practice by:

• Taking care over input
• Ensuring that all changes are reported and monitored
• Checking that the correct record is on the screen before updating
• Reporting all apparent errors and ensuring that they are resolved

Maintain the availability of all data by:

• Ensuring that all equipment is protected from intruders
• Ensuring that backups are taken at regular, predetermined intervals
• Ensuring that contingency is provided for possible failure or equipment theft and that any such contingency plans are tested and kept up to date

Additionally we will take all reasonable measures to comply with our legal responsibilities under:

• The Data Protection Act (2018)
• The Health and Safety at Work Act (1992)
• The Access to Health Records Act (1990)

The following IT systems are in use at the practice:

• Referral Management (using NHS numbers in referrals)
• Electronic Appointment Booking (the facility to book routine appointments online and, similarly, to cancel appointments
• Online booking of repeat prescriptions
• Summary Care Record (uploading details of your current medication and allergies to the national “spine” so that these are available for doctors involved in your care elsewhere)
• GP to GP transfers (the electronic transfer of records from practice to practice when you re-register
• Patient Access to records (the facility to view your medical records online).

If you are not already registered for online access and would like to be please complete our online form.

If you would like access to your medical records enabled or would like to opt out of the local or national summary care record, please contact reception.

In order to provide the right level of care, we are required to hold personal information about you on our computer systems and in paper records to help us to look after your health needs, and your doctor is responsible for their accuracy and safe-keeping. Please help to keep your record up to date by informing us of any changes to your circumstances.

Confidentiality and Personal Information

Doctors and staff in the practice have access to your medical records to enable them to do their jobs. From time to time information may be shared with others involved in your care if it is necessary. Anyone with access to your record is properly trained in confidentiality issues and is governed by both legal and contractual duty to keep your details private.

All information about you is held securely and appropriate safeguards are in place to prevent accidental loss.

In some circumstances we may be required by law to release your details to statutory or other official bodies, for example if a court order is presented, or in the case of public health issues. In other circumstance you may be required to give written consent before information is released – such as for medical reports for insurance, solicitors etc.

To ensure your privacy, we will not disclose information over the telephone or fax unless we are sure that we are talking to you. Information will not be disclosed to family, friends or spouses unless we have prior written consent, and we do not, leave messages with others.

You have a right to see your records if you wish. Please ask at reception if you would like further details about our patient information leaflet. An appointment may be required. In some circumstances a fee may be payable.

You can be assured that anything you discuss with any member of the surgery staff, whether doctor, nurse or receptionist, will remain confidential. Even if you are under 16, nothing will be said to anyone, including parents, other family members, care workers or teachers, without your permission. The only reason why we might want to consider passing on confidential information without your permission would be to protect either you or someone else from serious harm. In this situation, we would always try to discuss this with you first.

If you have any worries or queries about confidentiality, please ask a member of staff.

If you would like to discuss matters of a confidential nature, either with our receptionists or a member of the dispensary team, we have a side room available in reception for this purpose.