PRACTICE PRIVACY NOTICE
COVID-19
This notice describes how we may use your information to protect you and others during the Covid-19 outbreak. It supplements our main Privacy Notice which is available
The health and social care system is facing significant pressures due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Health and care information is essential to deliver care to individuals, to support health and social care services and to protect public health. Information will also be vital in researching, monitoring, tracking and managing the outbreak. In the current emergency it has become even more important to share health and care information across relevant organisations.
Existing law which allows confidential patient information to be used and shared appropriately and lawfully in a public health emergency is being used during this outbreak. Using this law the Secretary of State has required NHS Digital; NHS England and
Improvement; Arms Length Bodies (such as Public Health England); local authorities; health organisations and GPs to share confidential patient information to respond to the Covid-19 outbreak. Any information used or shared during the Covid-19 outbreak will be limited to the period of the outbreak unless there is another legal basis to use the data. Further information is available on gov.uk and some FAQs on this law are available
During this period of emergency, opt-outs will not generally apply to the data used to support the Covid-19 outbreak, due to the public interest in sharing information. This includes National Data Opt-outs. However in relation to the Summary Care Record, existing choices will be respected. Where data is used and shared under these laws your right to have personal data erased will also not apply. It may also take us longer to respond to Subject Access requests, Freedom of Information requests and new opt-out requests whilst we focus our efforts on responding to the outbreak.
In order to look after your health and care needs we may share your confidential patient information including health and care records with clinical and non clinical staff in other health and care providers, for example neighbouring GP practices, hospitals and NHS 111. We may also use the details we have to send public health messages to you, either by phone, text or email.
During this period of emergency we may offer you a consultation via telephone or video- conferencing. By accepting the invitation and entering the consultation you are consenting to this. Your personal/confidential patient information will be safeguarded in the same way it would with any other consultation.
We will also be required to share personal/confidential patient information with health and care organisations and other bodies engaged in disease surveillance for the purposes of protecting public health, providing healthcare services to the public and monitoring and managing the outbreak. Further information about how health and care data is being used and shared by other NHS and social care organisations in a variety of ways to support the Covid-19 response.
NHS England and Improvement and NHSX have developed a single, secure store to gather data from across the health and care system to inform the Covid-19 response. This includes data already collected by NHS England, NHS Improvement, Public Health England and NHS Digital. New data will include 999 call data, data about hospital occupancy and A&E capacity data as well as data provided by patients themselves. All the data held in the platform is subject to strict controls that meet the requirements of data protection legislation.
In such circumstances where you tell us you’re experiencing Covid-19 symptoms we may need to collect specific health data about you. Where we need to do so, we will not collect more information than we require and we will ensure that any information collected is treated with the appropriate safeguards.
We may amend this privacy notice at any time so please review it frequently. The date at the top of this page will be amended each time this notice is updated.
NHS Data
Information about you and the care you receive is shared, in a secure system, by healthcare staff to support your treatment and care.
It is important that the NHS can use this information to plan and improve services for all patients. The NHS would like to link information from all the different places where you receive care, such as your GP, hospital and community services, to help provide a full picture. This will allow the NHS to compare the care you received in one area against the care you received in another, so the NHS can see what has worked best.
General Practice Data for Planning and Research Data Collection (GPDPR)
The NHS needs data about the patients it treats to plan and deliver its services and to ensure that the care and treatment provided is safe and effective. The General Practice Data for Planning and Research data collection will help the NHS to improve health and care services for everyone by collecting patient data that can be used to do this. For example, patient data can help the NHS to:
- Monitor the long-term safety and effectiveness of care
- Plan how to deliver better health and care services
- Prevent the spread of infectious diseases
- Identify new treatments and medicines through health research
GP Practices already share patient data for these purposes but this new data collection will be more efficient and effective. This means that GPs can get on with looking after their patients and NHS Digital can provide controlled access to patient data to the NHS and other organisations who need to use it, to improve health and care for everyone. Contributing to research projects will benefit us all as better and safer treatments are introduced more quickly and effectively without compromising your privacy and confidentiality. NHS Digital has engaged with the British Medical Association (BMA), Royal College of GPs (RCGP) and the National Data Guardian (NDG) to ensure relevant safeguards are in place for patients and GP practices.
Type 1 Opt-out
Information about you and the care you receive is shared, in a secure system, by healthcare staff to support your treatment and care.
It is important that the NHS can use this information to plan and improve services for all patients. The NHS would like to link information from all the different places where you receive care, such as your GP, hospital and community services, to help provide a full picture. This will allow the NHS to compare the care you received in one area against the care you received in another, so the NHS can see what has worked best.
You have a choice. If you are happy for your information to be used in this way you do not have to do anything. If you do not want your personally identifiable patient data to be shared outside of your GP practice for purposes except your own care, you can complete a Type 1 form.
Type 1 Opt-outs may be discontinued in the future. If this happens then they may be turned into a National Data Opt-out. Your GP practice will tell you if this is going to happen and if you need to do anything.
This decision will not affect individual care and you can change your choice at any time, using this form.
National Data Opt-out:
This is used by the NHS, Local Authorities, University and Hospital Researchers, Medical Colleges and Pharmaceutical Companies researching new treatments. You can choose to opt-out of sharing your confidential patient information for research and planning. There may still be times when your confidential patient information is used; for example, during an epidemic where there might be a risk to you or to other people’s health. You can also still consent to take part in a specific research project.
Your confidential patient information will still be used for your individual care. Choosing to opt out will not affect your care and treatment. You will still be invited for screening services such as screening for bowel cancer. You do not need to do anything if you are happy about how your confidential patient information is used.
The national data opt-out choice cannot be set by the GP or other member of the practice staff and is not stored or implemented through the use of codes in the GP system. National data opt-outs are held by NHS Digital on a central repository on the Spine.
For more information or you do not want your confidential patient information to be used for research and planning, please see:
NHS Website - https://www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/manage-your-choice/
NHS App - by clicking on “Your Health”, and selecting “Choose if data from your health records is shared for research and planning”
NHS telephone - 0300 303 5678.
Further resources (including audio description and easy read)
Other Opt-outs:
Summary Care Record
An opt-out is available for those patients that do not want to have a Summary Care Record. This confidential patient information is shared for individual care and type 1 objections and the national data opt-out do not apply.
Cancer registry
The National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service, which is part of Public Health England, collects information about every cancer patient in England. If a patient does not opt-out of the cancer registry but does opt-out of the national data opt-out, the cancer registry will currently still be able to collect confidential patient information about them, but it will not share it beyond the registry.
National Congenital Anomalies and Rare Diseases Registration Service
This also has a separate opt-out. Data will not be shared from this registry if the patient has a national data opt-out
The Devon and Cornwall Care Record
Honiton Surgery is part of a new system that brings together patient data from a number of health and care systems and presents it as a single record.
The Devon and Cornwall Care Record enables frontline staff to see details held by GP practices, hospitals, hospices and other organisations across Devon and Cornwall, giving them a more complete view of a patient’s history.
For instance, imagine that you’ve attended A&E with an injury in the morning and been told to see your GP in the afternoon. Under the new system, the GP will be able to see what happened to you in A&E by the time they see you in the afternoon.
Having access to patients’ overall health and medical history will help health professionals identify problems more effectively and make quicker diagnoses.
They’ll be able to see what medication patients are taking, what they’ve taken in the past and if they have any allergies. As well as making treatment safer, this will provide patients with greater continuity of care.
The improved administration will save healthcare staff time chasing down information and spare patients the frustration of having to repeat themselves to various professionals throughout the system. It will also cut down on duplicate appointments and tests and reduce clinical errors. And, by using their time more efficiently, clinicians will be able to spend longer with patients.
You can find out more about the Devon and Cornwall Care Record at https://www.devonandcornwallcarerecord.nhs.uk/ and on our data privacy page.
Mobile Telephone
If you provide us with your mobile phone number we may use this to send you reminders about any appointments or other health screening information being carried out.
Our Website does use cookies to optimise your experience. The ‘Remember my details’ feature on our online prescription form uses first party cookies on your computer to store your information. This information is only used to remember your details and is never passed to any third party (cookies must be enabled for this to work).
Using this feature means that you agree to the use of cookies as required by the EU Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC. You have the option to decline the use of cookies on your first visit to the website.
Telephone Calls
All telephone calls to and from the practice will be recorded in order to check any instructions given to us, for training purposes, for crime prevention and to improve the quality of our services. A message will inform you of this each time you ring the practice. Please be aware that calls will also be recorded when anyone from the practice rings you.
The recordings are stored within our telephone system and are deleted after approximately 6 months.
Invoice Validation
If you have received treatment within the NHS your personal information may be shared within a strictly monitored, secure and confidential environment in order to determine which Clinical Commissioning Group should pay for the treatment or procedure you have received.
Information such as your name, address, GP practice and date of treatment may be passed on to enable the billing process - these details are held in a secure environment and kept confidential. This information will only be used to validate invoices and will not be shared for any further commissioning purposes.
The practice is registered as a data controller under the Data Protection Act 1998. The registration number is Z5632954 and can be viewed online in the public register on the ICO website
Honiton Surgery Privacy Notice
Privacy Notice How we use your information
Privacy Notice National screening programmes
Adult Practice Privacy Leaflet
Child Practice Privacy Leaflet
Website Privacy Policy
We are committed to protecting the privacy of all individuals using this website.
This policy explains how we use any personal information we collect from you through this website.
Collection of personal information
You can access most of the pages on our website without giving us your personal information. However, you may choose to provide us with your personal information on some pages of the website by completing an on-line form.
By submitting your personal information, you consent to our use of the information as set out in this privacy policy.
Use of personal information
We shall use any personal information you give to us, in accordance with this policy, and with any additional statements appearing on forms used for submitting your personal information. We shall not disclose your personal information to any third parties without obtaining your prior consent unless we are required by law to do so. In particular:
We shall use your personal information to administer, and may respond to, your request.
We shall securely store the information you supply together with any response we may provide.
If you contact us regarding the website we may use your details to reply to you. If you make a comment or complaint about other aspects of the service we may use your details to investigate your comments.
Website privacy
This website uses https to ensure data is encrypted in transmission. This encryption, known as TLS encryption protocol, allows us to protect your privacy. You can usually verify that the page is encrypted by seeing a small lock symbol in the upper left corner of your browser and the website address is prefixed with https://.
Social Media Policy
Honiton Surgery’s social media platforms are managed by our media and communication leads on behalf of the practice. Please note that we are unable to offer medical advice or diagnoses via social media. If you, a friend or family member are feeling unwell, please call either your GP surgery or NHS111 on If you require non – urgent advice you can complete an eConsult via our website www.honitonsurgery.nhs.uk.
Honiton Surgery uses the following social media platforms to communicate with patients, the public and the media:
Twitter @honitonsurgery
Facebook @Honitonsurgery
Availability
Our social media accounts are monitored during office hours: 08:00 – 18:30, Monday – Friday, excluding public holidays. Occasionally we may respond outside of these hours. Social media services may occasionally be unavailable and we accept no responsibility for lack of service due to social media service downtime
Content
By sharing other social media users’ content, our organisation does not endorse the information provided or others’ views of that organisation or individual. We aim to share information which adds to any debate or topic we are involved inor have an interest in. Our social media content will cover some or all of the following:
• Alerts about new content on our digital channels, for example, news, publications, videos on YouTube, blog posts or health campaigns
• Sharing content from organisations we follow, such as other NHS organisations, the emergency services, local health groups and public sector organisations
• Information on public health topics and campaigns
• Occasional live coverage of events
Talking with us online
The practice welcomes all patient feedback - positive or negative, but if you do have any concerns/complaints we ask you to write to us directly as per our complaints procedure which can be accessed via our website. Please be aware that posting anything on-line that may construed as slanderous, inflammatory or derogatory can be removed and reported.
We welcome feedback and ideas, however, we will not be able to reply individually to messages we receive via our social media profiles. We do read all comments to and about us on social media platforms to ensure any emerging themes or helpful suggestions are passed to relevant people in the organisation. When we reply to questions it may include us asking for an email address in order to give you a full response outside of the character limits on some social media services.
Data storage
All data obtained by us is held and used in compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018.
Cookie Policy
Please read our Cookie Policy.
Links
This website contains links to other sites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third parties that run any other websites. Please refer to their own privacy policies for more information.
Access to your personal information
You have a right under the Data Protection Act 2018 to ask us to provide you with the information we hold about you and to have any inaccuracies corrected. If you would like to access a copy of your information, please contact the Practice Manager using the following contact details in the heading above.
