GDPR Privacy Notice

How Brecon Medical Group Practice Uses Your Information
to Provide you with Healthcare

The Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect on 25th May 2018, superseding the old Data Protection Act (1998).

Under the terms of the new GDPR, a privacy notice is required to explain to our patients what personal data is held about the and how it is collected and processed

This practice keeps medical records confidential and complies with the General Data Protection Regulation.

We hold your medical records so that we can provide you with safe care and treatment.

We will also use your information so that this practice can check and review the quality of the care we provide. This helps us to improve our services to you.

  • We will share relevant information from your medical record with other health or social care staff or organisations when they provide you with care. For example, your GP will share information when they refer you to a specialist in a hospital. Or your GP will send details about your prescription to your chosen pharmacy.
  • More information will be made available on how we share your information with organisations who are directly involved in your care.
  • Healthcare staff working in A&E and out of hours care will also have access to your information. For example, it is important that staff who are treating you in an emergency know if you have any allergic reactions. This will involve the use of your Individual Health Record. (Further information to follow)
  • You have the right to object to information being shared for your own care. Please speak to the practice if you wish to object. You also have the right to have any mistakes or errors corrected.

Registering for NHS Care

  • All patients who receive NHS care are registered on a national database.
  • This database holds your name, address, date of birth and NHS Number, but it does not hold information about the care you receive.
  • The database is held by NHS Wales Information Services, a national organisation which has legal responsibilities to collect NHS data.
  • More information can be found at: www.wales.nhs.uk/nwis. NHS Wales Informatics Service Tel: 029 20 500500

Identifying Patients who Might be at Risk of Certain Diseases

  • Your medical records will be searched by a computer programme so that we can identify patients who might be at high risk from certain diseases such as heart disease or unplanned admissions to hospital.
  • This means we can offer patients additional care or support as early as possible.
  • This process will involve linking information from your GP record with information from other health or social care services you have used.
  • Information which identifies you will only be seen by this practice.

Safeguarding

  • Sometimes we need to share information so that other people, including healthcare staff, children or others with safeguarding needs, are protected from risk of harm.
  • These circumstances are rare.
  • We do not need your consent or agreement to do this.
  • Our local policies are currently being updated.

We are required by law to provide you with the following information about how we handle your information:

Data Controller contact details Brecon Medical Group Practice
Ty Henry Vaughan
Bridge Street
Brecon
Powys
LD3 8AH
Data Protection Officer contact details To be confirmed by the Local Health Board

(Data Protection is the responsibility of the partners and day to day delegated to the Practice Management Team)

Purpose of the processing
  • To give direct health or social care to individual patients.
  • For example, when a patient agrees to a referral for direct care, such as to a hospital, relevant information about the patient will be shared with the other healthcare staff to enable them to give appropriate advice, investigations, treatments and/or care.
  • To check and review the quality of care. (This is called Audit and clinical governance).
Lawful basis for processing These purposes are supported under the following sections of the GDPR:

  • Article 6(1)(e) ‘…necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority…’; and
  • Article 9(2)(h) ‘necessary for the purposes of preventative or occupational medicine for the assessment of the working capacity of the employee, medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems and services…”

Healthcare staff will also respect and comply with their obligations under the common law duty of confidence.

Recipient or categories of recipients of the processed data The data will be shared with:

  • Healthcare professionals and staff in this surgery
  • Local community and general hospitals and private providers
  • Out of hours services
  • Diagnostic and treatment centres
  • Or other organisations involved in the provision of direct care to individual patients.
Rights to object
  • You have the right to object to information being shared between those who are providing you with direct care.
  • This may affect the care you receive – please speak to the practice.
  • You are not able to object to your name, address and other demographic information being sent to NHS Wales Information Services.
  • This is necessary if you wish to be registered to receive NHS care.
  • You are not able to object when information is legitimately shared for safeguarding reasons.
  • In appropriate circumstances it is a legal and professional requirement to share information for safeguarding reasons. This is to protect people from harm.
  • The information will be shared with the local safeguarding services; Powys Teaching Health Board, Powys People Direct (Social Services – Powys County Council).
Right to access and correct
  • You have the right to access your medical record and have any errors or mistakes corrected. There is a form available to assist with Subject Access Requests (SAR).
  • We are not aware of any circumstances in which you will have the right to delete correct information from your medical record; although you are free to obtain your own legal advice if you believe there is no lawful purpose for which we hold the information and contact us if you hold a different view.
Retention period We will keep your paper and electronic record as long as you are a patient at the practice. If you leave the practice, these records are then returned to the Shared Services Office in Carmarthen. The practice will retain information held on its clinical system relating to consultation, immunisations, medical history and prescribing, but this information will be archived

GP medical records will be kept in line with the law and national guidance. Information on how long records are kept can be found at: www.gprecord.wales.nhs.uk or speak to the practice.

Right to complain If you have a complaint regarding the use of your personal information, please write to the Practice Manager, Brecon Medical Group Practice, Ty Henry Vaughan, Bridge Street, Brecon, Powys LD3 8AH.

You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. If you wish to complain, follow this link ico.org.uk/global/contact-us, or call the helpline on 0303 123 1113.

Data we get from other organisations We receive information about your health from other organisations who are involved in providing you with health and social care. For example, if you go to hospital for treatment or an operation the hospital will send us a letter to let us know what happens. This means your GP medical record is kept up-to date when you receive care from other parts of the health service.

Telephone Recording Policy

Please note that all calls are recorded for training and security purposes at our main surgery in Brecon.

Request for records of telephone conversations can be made as a Subject Access Request (SAR).