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.

The GDPR is something all GP’s are working towards and you may see a few changes to the information you are given. In essence the GDPR ensures that Information Governance and Information Security are at the forefront of any decisions that we make, ensuring your data and information is secure at all times.

We want to reassure patients that we have always taken Data Protection and Confidentiality extremely seriously and will continue to do so.

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.

Your Data Matters to the NHS

Information about your health and care helps us to improve your individual care, speed up diagnosis, plan your local services and research new treatments. The NHS is committed to keeping patient information safe and always being clear about how it is used.

How your data is used

Information about your individual care such as treatment and diagnoses is collected about you whenever you use health and care services. It is also used to help us and other organisations for research and planning such as research into new treatments, deciding where to put GP clinics and planning for the number of doctors and nurses in your local hospital.  It is only used in this way when there is a clear legal basis to use the information to help improve health and care for you, your family and future generations.

Wherever possible we try to use data that does not identify you, but sometimes it is necessary to use your confidential patient information.

You have a choice

You do not need to do anything if you are happy about how your information is used. If you do not want your confidential patient information to be used for research and planning, you can choose to opt out securely online or through a telephone service. You can change your mind about your choice at any time.

Will choosing this opt-out affect your care and treatment?

No, choosing to opt out will not affect how information is used to support your care and treatment. You will still be invited for screening services, such as screenings for bowel cancer.

What do you need to do?

If you are happy for your confidential patient information to be used for research and planning, you do not need to do anything.

To find out more about the benefits of data sharing, how data is protected, or to make/change your opt-out choice visit www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters.

Download a copy of the patient leaflet

Please view our Fair Processing Notice here.

All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings (e.g. average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.

The average pay for GPs working in High Street Medical Centre in the last financial year was £66,805:00 before Tax and National Insurance. This is for 2 full time GPs, 3 part time GPs and 2 locum GP’s who worked in the practice for more than six months, and 1 part-time salaried GP.

Please view the NHS Digital Proposals: GP Data for Planning and Research Notice.

Mutual Rights and Responsibilities

You as a patient have rights and responsibilities, as do we as staff.

What you can expect from us:

• You will be treated with respect and courtesy at all times.
• We will deal with your problems confidentially.
• We will provide explanation and information about your illness, treatment and our services.
• You will receive quality care and health checks promoting healthy lifestyle and offering preventative advice.

What we expect from you:

• Be patient if we are very busy and running late.
• Treat doctors and staff with the courtesy and respect that you would expect to receive yourself, and do not verbally abuse the reception staff when they cannot give you the exact appointment you request.
• Inform us as soon as possible if you cannot keep an appointment.

Please note that the Practice reserves the right to remove from our list any patient who behaves in an inappropriate manner or is abusive or violent.

Please view our Practice Privacy Notice here.

There is a new Central NHS Computer System called the Summary Care Record (SCR). The Summary Care Record is meant to help emergency doctors and nurses help you when you contact them when the surgery is closed. Initially, it will contain just your medications and allergies.

Later on as the central NHS computer system develops, (known as the ‘Summary Care Record’ – SCR), other staff who work in the NHS will be able to access it along with information from hospitals, out of hours services, and specialists letters that may be added as well.

Your information will be extracted from practices such as ours and held on central NHS databases.

As with all new systems there are pros and cons to think about. When you speak to an emergency doctor you might overlook something that is important and if they have access to your medical record it might avoid mistakes or problems, although even then, you should be asked to give your consent each time a member of NHS Staff wishes to access your record, unless you are medically unable to do so.

On the other hand, you may have strong views about sharing your personal information and wish to keep your information at the level of this practice. Connecting for Health (CfH), the government agency responsible for the Summary Care Record have agreed with doctors’ leaders that new patients registering with this practice should be able to decide whether or not their information is uploaded to the Central NHS Computer System.

For existing patients it is different in that it is assumed that you want your record uploaded to the Central NHS Computer System unless you actively opt out.

For further information visit the Connecting for Health Website.

If you choose to opt out of the scheme, then you will need to complete a form and bring it along to the surgery.

Every member of our team wants to help you and is dedicated to providing the best possible service. Please remember this when you speak to us. We are able to help you better if you are kind and courteous. We will not accept any abuse here at High Street – this includes shouting and using offensive words. This is called Zero Tolerance and is a policy throughout the NHS that is sadly needed to protect our staff.