Confidentiality & Medical Records
The practice complies with data protection and access to medical records legislation. Identifiable information about you will be shared with others in the following circumstances:
- To provide further medical treatment for you e.g. from district nurses and hospital services.
- To help you get other services e.g. from the social work department. This requires your consent.
- When we have a duty to others e.g. in child protection cases anonymised patient information will also be used at local and national level to help the Health Board and Government plan services e.g. for diabetic care.
If you do not wish anonymous information about you to be used in such a way, please let us know.
Reception and administration staff require access to your medical records in order to do their jobs. These members of staff are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the medical staff.
Complaints
We make every effort to give the best service possible to everyone who attends our practice.
However, we are aware that things can go wrong resulting in a patient feeling that they have a genuine cause for complaint. If this is so, we would wish for the matter to be settled as quickly, and as amicably, as possible.
To pursue a complaint please contact the practice manager who will deal with your concerns appropriately. Further written information is available regarding the complaints procedure from reception.
Violence Policy
The NHS operate a zero tolerance policy with regard to violence and abuse and the practice has the right to remove violent patients from the list 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 list and record in the patient’s medical records the fact of the removal and the circumstances leading to it.
Practice Privacy Notice
Campbeltown Medical Practice has a legal duty to explain how we use any personal information we collect about you, as a registered patient at the practice. Staff 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, treatments 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 direct patient care; 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 with medical research databases when the law allows.
Sometimes the NHS also uses relevant information about your health to help improve NHS services and public health in Scotland – for example, to find out how many people have a particular illness or disease. If so, information that identifies you (for example, to include it in a disease register), they must explain how and why your information will be used.
Processing your information in this way and obtaining your consent ensures that we comply with Articles 6(1)(c), 6(1)(e) and 9(2)(h) of the GDPR.
Maintaining confidentiality and accessing your records
We are committed to maintaining confidentiality and protecting the information we hold about you. We adhere to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the NHS Scotland Code of Practice, as well as guidance issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). You have a right to access 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 reception for a SAR form and you will be given further information. Furthermore, should you identify any inaccuracies; you have a right to have the inaccurate data corrected.
IT systems are secured by firewalls, secure networks, usernames/passwords.
User access to GP electronic and manual records is authorised by key personnel, reviewed regularly to ensure that access is commensurate with operational need. User access is revoked when staff leaves the organisation or change role. User access processes are audited monthly by practice management. Passwords are required to be changed regularly in line with the NHS Scotland password standard.
ACCESS TO MEDICAL RECORDS BY CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE & THEIR PARENTS
Legally, patients from the age of 12 years, who are judged by their GP to be able to make decisions on their own, must agree if the practice is to give out medical information to their parent/guardian.
Patients who fall into this age group and require tests after seeing a clinician, will be asked for their consent to share medical information with their parents/guardian an this will be recorded in their records.
Information regarding patients over the age of 14 can only be shared with a third party with written or verbal consent. This also applies to collection of Medical Certificates and Prescriptions.
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 patient with long-term conditions, e.g. cancer. Your information is collected by a number of sources, including Campbeltown Medical Practice; 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 health board 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
You have a right to object to your information being shared, 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 writing to NSS, preventing your information from being shared outside this practice.
Retention periods
In accordance with the Records Management NHS Codes of Practice (Scotland), your healthcare records will be retained for the duration of your life and for 3 years after your death.
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:
- Contact the practice’s data controller via email at campbeltown.practice@nhs.scot. GP practices are data controllers for the data the hold about their patients.
- Write to the data controller at Campbeltown Medical Practice, Stewart Road, Campbeltown, Argyll, PA28 6AT.
- Ask to speak to the practice manager, Katie Ferguson, or their deputy Catherine Cunningham.The Data Protection Officer (DPO) for Campbeltown Medical Practice is Katie Ferguson and she is based at Campbeltown Medical Practice.ComplaintsIn the unlikely event that you are unhappy with any element of our data-processing methods, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the ICO. For further details, visit ico.org.uk and select ‘Raising a Concern@.Changes to our privacy policyWe regularly review our privacy policy and any updates will be published on our website, Facebook and on posters to reflect the changes. This policy is to be reviewed 1st April 2019.