(This Privacy Notice is to run alongside our standard Practice Privacy Notice)

Due to the unprecedented challenges that the NHS and we, Lister House Surgery face due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, there is a greater need for public bodies to require additional collection and sharing of personal data to protect against serious threats to public health.

In order to look after your healthcare needs in the most efficient way we, Lister House Surgery may therefore need to share your personal information, including medical records, with staff from other GP Practices including Practices within our Primary Care Network, as well as other health organisations (i.e. Clinical Commissioning Groups, Commissioning Support Units, Local authorities etc.) and bodies engaged in disease surveillance for the purposes of research, protecting public health, providing healthcare services to the public and monitoring and managing the Covid-19 outbreak and incidents of exposure.

The Secretary of State has served notice under Regulation 3(4) of the Health Service (Control of Patient Information) Regulations 2002 (COPI) to require organisations to process confidential patient information in the manner set out below for purposes set out in Regulation 3(1) of COPI.

Purpose of this Notice

The purpose of this Notice is to require organisations such as Lister House Surgery to process confidential patient information for the purposes set out in Regulation 3(1) of COPI to support the Secretary of State’s response to Covid-19 (Covid-19 Purpose). “Processing” for these purposes is defined in Regulation 3(2) and includes dissemination of confidential patient information to persons and organisations permitted to process confidential patient information under Regulation 3(3) of COPI. This Notice is necessary to require organisations such as Lister House Surgery to lawfully and efficiently process confidential patient information as set out in Regulation 3(2) of COPI for purposes defined in regulation 3(1), for the purposes of research, protecting public health, providing healthcare services to the public and monitoring and managing the Covid-19 outbreak and incidents of exposure.

Requirement to Process Confidential Patient Information

The Secretary of State has served notice to recipients under Regulation 3(4) that requires Lister House Surgery to process confidential patient information, including disseminating to a person or organisation permitted to process confidential patient information under Regulation 3(3) of COPI, renewed 27 January 2021 and September 2021.

Lister House Surgery is only required to process such confidential patient information:

• Where the confidential patient information to be processed is required for a Covid-19 Purpose and will be processed solely for that Covid-19 Purpose in accordance with Regulation 7 of COPI
• From 20^th March 2020 until 31 March 2022

Covid-19 Purpose

A Covid-19 Purpose includes but is not limited to the following:

• Understanding Covid-19 and risks to public health, trends in Covid-19 and such risks, and controlling and preventing the spread of Covid-19 and such risks
• Identifying and understanding information about patients or potential patients with or at risk of Covid-19, information about incidents of patient exposure to Covid-19 and the management of patients with or at risk of Covid-19 including: locating, contacting, screening, flagging and monitoring such patients and collecting information about and providing services in relation to testing, diagnosis, self-isolation, fitness to work, treatment, medical and social interventions and recovery from Covid-19
• Understanding information about patient access to health services and adult social care services and the need for wider care of patients and vulnerable groups as a direct or indirect result of Covid-19 and the availability and capacity of those services or that care
• Monitoring and managing the response to Covid-19 by health and social care bodies and the Government including providing information to the public about Covid-19 and its effectiveness and information about capacity, medicines, equipment, supplies, services and the workforce within the health services and adult social care services
• Delivering services to patients, clinicians, the health services and adult social care services workforce and the public about and in connection with Covid-19, including the provision of information, fit notes and the provision of health care and adult social care services
• Research and planning in relation to Covid-19

Recording of Processing

A record will be kept by Lister House Surgery of all data processed under this notice.

Sending Public Health Messages

Data protection and electronic communication laws will not stop Lister House Surgery from sending public health messages to you, either by phone, text or email as these messages are not direct marketing.

Digital Consultations

It may also be necessary, where the latest technology allows Lister House Surgery to do so, to use your information and health data to facilitate digital consultations and diagnoses and we will always do this with your security in mind.

Research and Pandemic Planning

The Secretary of State has directed NHS Digital to collect, process and analyse data in connection with COVID-19 to support the Secretary of State’s response to COVID-19 and support various COVID-19 purposes set out in the COVID-19 Public Health Directions 2020, 17 March 2020 (as amended) (COVID-19 Direction) and below. This enables NHS Digital to collect data and analyse and link the data for COVID-19 purposes with other data held by NHS Digital.

The purpose of the data collection is also to respond to the intense demand for General Practice data to be shared in support of vital planning and research for COVID-19 purposes, including under the general legal notice issued by the Secretary of State under Regulation 3(4) of the Health Service (Control of Patient Information) Regulations 2002 (COPI).

NHS Digital has therefore been requested by the joint co-chairs of the Joint GP IT Committee (JGPITC) (the BMA and RCGP) to provide a tactical solution during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic to meet this demand and to relieve the growing burden and responsibility on General Practices. On 15 April 2020 the BMA and RCGP therefore gave their support via JGPITC to NHS Digital’s proposal to use the General Practice Extraction Service (GPES) to deliver a data collection from General Practices, at scale and pace, as a tactical solution to support the COVID-19 response in the pandemic emergency period.

It is a requirement of the JGPITC that all requests by organisations to access and use this data will need to be made via the NHSX SPOC COVID-19 request process, that will triage and prioritise these requests and refer appropriate requests on to the NHS Digital Data Access Request Service (DARS).   NHS Digital will consult with representatives of the BMA and the RCGP on all requests for access to the data. An outline of the process for this agreed with the BMA and the RCGP is published here. Requests by organisations to access record level data from this collection will also be subject to Independent Group Advising on the Release of Data (IGARD) consideration. Data applicants will need to demonstrate they have a lawful basis to access the data for COVID-19 purposes.

Benefits of this sharing

Organisations, including the Government, health and social care organisations and researchers need access to this vital data for a range of COVID-19 purposes, to help plan, monitor and manage the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which will help save lives. COVID-19 purposes for which this data may be analysed and used may include:

• Understanding COVID-19 and risks to public health, trends in COVID-19 and such risks, and controlling and preventing the spread of COVID-19 and such risks
• Identifying and understanding information about patients or potential patients with, or at risk of COVID-19, information about incidents of patient exposure to COVID-19 and the management of patients with or at risk of COVID-19 including: locating, contacting, screening, flagging and monitoring such patients and collecting information about and providing services in relation to testing, diagnosis, self-isolation, fitness to work, treatment, medical and social interventions and recovery from COVID19
• Understanding information about patient access to health services and adult social care services as a direct or indirect result of COVID-19, and the availability and capacity of those services
  • Monitoring and managing the response to COVID-19 by health and social care bodies and the Government including providing information to the public about COVID-19 and its effectiveness and information about capacity, medicines, equipment, supplies, services and the workforce within the health services and adult social care services
• Delivering services to patients, clinicians, the health services and adult social care services workforce and the public about and in connection with COVID-19, including the provision of information, fit notes and the provision of health care and adult social care services; and
• Research and planning in relation to COVID-19

Data may be analysed and linked to other data held by NHS Digital or held by other organisations to which access to the data is granted for COVID-19 purposes, through the process described above.

Data will be collected nationally from all GP Practices by NHS Digital every fortnight. All requests to access this data will be triaged through the NHSX SPOC COVID-19 request process and assessed and fulfilled by NHS Digital through DARS. This will significantly reduce the burden on General Practice at a time when demand on resources is high, enabling General Practice to focus on delivering health care and support to patients. It will also reduce compliance burden and risk for General Practice associated with sharing data and complying with the terms of the general legal notice issued under COPI, which applies to General Practices.

Legal Basis for this collection

NHS Digital has been directed by the Secretary of State under section 254 of the 2012 Act under the COVID-19 Direction to establish and operate a system for the collection and analysis of the information specified for this service: GPES Data for Pandemic Planning and Research (COVID-19). A copy of the COVID-19 Direction is published on the NHS Digital website.

Details of the information to be collected can be found on the NHS Digital website – Specification of this DPN. Type 1 objections will be upheld in collecting this data from General Practices and therefore the data for those patients who have registered a Type 1 objection with their GP will not be collected. The Type 1 objection prevents an individual’s personal identifiable confidential information from being shared outside of their GP Practice except when it is being used for the purposes of their direct care. The National Data Opt-Out will not apply to the collection of the data, as this is a collection which is required by law.

This information is required by NHS Digital under section 259(1)(a) of the 2012 Act to comply with the COVID-19 Direction. In line with section 259(5) of the 2012 Act, all organisations in England that are within the scope of this Notice, as identified below under Health and Social Care Bodies within the scope of the collection, must comply with the requirement and provide information to NHS Digital in the form, manner and for the period specified in this Notice.   This Notice is issued in accordance with the procedure published as part of NHS Digital’s duty under section 259(8) of the 2012 Act.

In August 2020, the NHS announced that the seasonal national flu immunisation programme criteria for 2020 – 2021 will be expanded to include patients on the SPL. Therefore, to provide information that will support the identification of patients at moderate or high risk of complications from flu, a revision to the weekly extract of data has taken place. This, version three of the extract for the purpose of maintaining and updating the SPL, will continue until the expiry of the COVID-19 Direction. This is currently 31 March 2022 but will be reviewed in September 2021 and every six months thereafter. The frequency of the data collection may change in response to demand.

Data collection extracted on a weekly basis week commencing 13 April 2020	Revised weekly data collection. The first collection is due week commencing 28 September 2020
All patients with defined long-term medical conditions which pose a COVID-19 risk, identified as clinically extremely vulnerable to that risk and/or on certain drug treatments as below:	All patients with defined long-term medical conditions which pose a COVID-19 risk, identified as clinically extremely vulnerable/potentially clinically vulnerable to that risk and/or on certain drug treatments as below:
Medical Conditions that provide information on clinically vulnerable patients  Severe asthma and dust related lung disease with relevant treatment in the last 12 months (asthma treatment & prednisolone OR high dose cortiscosteroid safety card) COPD emphysema, and associated lung diseases with relevant treatment in the last 12 months (COPD drugs OR high dose high dose cortiscosteroid safety card Non-asthma and non-COPD respiratory disease Cancer(haem and others) Genetic, metabolic or autoimmune disease Immunosuppression drugs in the last 12 months Flu-like symptoms or respiratory tract infections from 1 November 2019 Transplants with severe Immunosuppression drug treatment in the last 12 months Pregnant in last 9 months	Medical Conditions that provide information on clinically vulnerable patients  Severe asthma and dust related lung disease with relevant treatment in the last 12 months (asthma treatment & prednisolone OR high dose cortiscosteroid safety card) COPD emphysema, and associated lung diseases with relevant treatment in the last 12 months (COPD drugs OR high dose high dose cortiscosteroid safety card Non-asthma and non-COPD respiratory disease Cancer(haem and others) Genetic, metabolic or autoimmune disease Immunosuppression drugs in the last 12 months Flu-like symptoms or respiratory tract infections from 1 November 2019 Transplants with severe Immunosuppression drug treatment in the last 12 months Pregnant in last 9 months No change
Patients designated separately as at risk from COVID-19 using high/medium/low risk SNOWED CT Codes, for example	Patients designated separately as at risk from COVID-19 using high/medium/low risk SNOWED CT Codes, for example No change
Patients with a COVID-19 activity code	Patients with a COVID-19 activity code  No change
	Clinically vulnerable patients (eligible for seasonal flu vaccination) Chronic Respiratory disease Unresolved asthma with recent asthma drug treatment (in the last 12 months) or has ever had an emergency hospital admission due to asthma Chronic heart disease Unresolved chronic kidney disease stage3,4 and 5 Unresolved diabetes mellitus Unresolved immunosuppression diagnosis Immunosuppression procedure in the last 12 months Chronic Liver disease Chronic neurological disease Pregnant in the last 9 months (different cluster to clinically extremely vulnerable group) In patients aged 16 and over : BMI of 40+ in the last 12 months In patients aged 16 and over : Latest BMI in the last 3 years was 40+ Learning disability (including Down’s) Has a “requires flu vaccination” code Identified as a healthcare worker in the last 12 months Household contact of an immunocompromised individual Other Potentially clinically Vulnerable patients Unresolved hypertension Pulmonary hypertension Dementia Systemic lupus Discoid and non-systemic lupus Psoriasis Rheumatoid arthritis and associated disorders
	Additional Data items for Patients from the above groups  Latest ethnic category code (all groups) Earliest code indicating that the patient has died (all groups) Latest smoking status (all groups) Blood pressure from the last 2 years (all groups) In patients aged 16 and over: all BMI and weight in last 5 years plus height (all groups) IFCC-HbA1c in the last 2 years (for diabetic patients in the flu group only) Latest COPD resolved and admission codes (for COPD Patients in the clinically extreme vulnerable group only) ACE inhibitors, ARBs and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the last 12 months (all groups) Latest asthma emergency admission codes (for asthma patients in flu group only) Asthma-related drug treatments in the last 12 months (for asthma patients in the flu group only)

The Secretary of State has directed NHS Digital to collect, process and analyse data in connection with COVID-19 to support the Secretary of State’s response to COVID-19 and support various COVID-19 purposes set out in the COVID-19 Public Health Directions 2020, 17 March 2020 (COVID-19 Direction) (as amended) (COVID-19) Direction) and below. This enables NHS Digital to collect data and analyse and link the data for COVID-19 purposes with other data held by NHS Digital. The rationale for changing the data extraction is that the initial data collection was based on an existing specification for flu vaccination eligibility. This data extraction was then refined in order to more accurately reflect the patients who are clinically extremely vulnerable to COVID-19 and also to minimise the data we are collecting. A further refinement of the data extraction has taken place leading to the inclusion of new data being extracted. This will provide information to inform vaccination programmes. This General Practice Extraction

Service (GPES) data will be extracted weekly and be used to assist in producing a weekly update of the SPL. The objective of this collection is on an ongoing basis to identify patients registered at General Practices who may be:

• clinically extremely vulnerable if they contract COVID-19
• at moderate or high risk of complications from flu or COVID-19.

The data collected will be analysed and linked with other data NHS Digital or other organisations hold to identify:

• a list of clinically extremely vulnerable patients who will be advised to take shielding measures to protect themselves. Advice given to these patients has been published by Public Health England and is available here: www.gov.uk/what-do-we-mean-by-extremely-vulnerable
• a list of patients at moderate or high risk of complications from flu to inform the flu call/recall vaccination programme.

Further information on the flu programme can be found here: www.england.nhs.uk/Letter_AnnualFlu

The extract may also be used for future direct care purposes relating to the COVID-19 outbreak. The methodology NHS Digital has used to produce the SPL is explained in detail and is published on the NHS Digital SPL website page here: www.digital.nhs.uk/shielded-patient-list. Patients added to the SPL will be contacted by post, email (and/or SMS message where this is necessary) by the NHS on behalf of the Chief Medical Officer, Chris Whitty, to:

• advise of the measures they can take to reduce their risk of contracting the virus and sign-post them to the Extremely Vulnerable Persons service operated by gov.uk at www.gov.uk/coronavirus-extremely-vulnerable
• offer a flu vaccination or to contact non-responders who remain unvaccinated (as per NHS England specifications for the service). The SPL will also be used to inform GPs of their individual patients on the SPL, by flagging those patient records on GP patient record systems. The SPL will be shared with a variety of other organisations involved in the care and support of those patients and for planning, commissioning and research purposes associated with COVID-19. Full details of those with whom information has been shared can be found on the NHS Digital SPL website here: www.digital.nhs.uk/distribution.

Requests by organisations to access record level data from this collection will be subject to Independent Group Advising on the Release of Data (IGARD) consideration. Data applicants will need to demonstrate they have a lawful basis to access the data for COVID-19 purposes.

Benefits of the collection

Organisations, including Government, health and social care organisations need to access this vital data for a range of COVID-19 purposes, to help plan, monitor and manage the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which will help save lives. COVID-19 purposes for which this data may be analysed and used may include:

• Understanding COVID-19 and risks to public health, trends in COVID-19 and such risks, and controlling and preventing the spread of COVID-19 and such risks
• Identifying and understanding information about patients or potential patients with, or at risk of COVID-19, information about incidents of patient exposure to COVID-19 and the management of patients with or at risk of COVID-19 including: locating, contacting, screening, flagging and monitoring such patients and collecting information about and providing services in relation to testing, diagnosis, self-isolation, fitness to work, treatment, medical and social interventions and recovery from COVID19.

Data will be analysed and linked to other data held by NHS Digital or held by other organisations to which access to the data is granted for COVID-19 purposes, through the process described above. Data will be collected nationally from all General Practices by NHS Digital every week. All requests to access this data will be through Data Access Request Service (DARS). This will significantly reduce the burden on General Practice at a time when demand on resources is high, enabling General Practice to focus on delivering health care and support to patients. It will also reduce compliance burden and risk for General Practice associated with sharing data and complying with the terms of the general legal notice issued under the National Health Service (Control of Patient Information Regulations) 2002 (COPI), which applies to General Practices Patients facing the greatest risk if they contract COVID-19 and/or are in the moderate to high risk of complications from flu:

• will be identified and known to health organisations
• will have a greater awareness of the recommended preventative shielding measures
• will be able to follow clear advice
• will be able to ask for help and support, including social care support and essential food supplies, through the Extremely Vulnerable Persons service operated by gov.uk.

It will enable the SPL to be updated weekly to identify new patients and changes to patients on the List and will enable support provisions to be more dynamic and responsive to both social and clinical need.

It will also enable vital planning, commissioning, and research to be carried out for COVID-19 purposes. If patients facing the greatest risk follow advice, it is hoped that this will contribute to the delay and mitigation of the spread of COVID-19 and save lives.

Visitors to The Practice

We have an obligation to protect our staff and employees’ health, so it is reasonable for staff at Lister House Surgery to ask any visitors to our practice to tell us if they have visited a particular country, or are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. This must only be in pre-approved circumstances and we would also ask all patients to consider government advice on the NHS 111 website and not attend the practice.

Where it is necessary for us to collect information and specific health data about visitors to our practice, we will not collect more information than we need, and we will ensure that any information collected is treated with the appropriate safeguards.

Review and Expiry of this Notice

This notice will be reviewed on or before 30 September 2021 and may be extended by The Secretary of State. If no further notice is sent to Lister House Surgery by The Secretary of State, this notice will expire on 31 March 2022.

We are committed to protecting your privacy. You can access our website without giving us any information about yourself. But sometimes we do need information to provide services that you request, and this statement of privacy explains data collection and use in those situations.

In general, you can visit our web site without telling us who you are and without revealing any information about yourself. However there may be occasions when you choose to give us personal information, for example, when you choose to contact us or request information from us. We will ask you when we need information that personally identifies you or allows us to contact you.

We collect the personal data that you may volunteer while using our services. We do not collect information about our visitors from other sources, such as public records or bodies, or private organisations. We do not collect or use personal data for any purpose other than that indicated below:

• To send you confirmation of requests that you have made to us
• To send you information when you request it.

We intend to protect the quality and integrity of your personally identifiable information and we have implemented appropriate technical and organisational measures to do so. We ensure that your personal data will not be disclosed to State institutions and authorities except if required by law or other regulation.

Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should be aware that we don’t have any control over the other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting these sites.

The practice fully supports the NHS Zero Tolerance Policy. The aim of this policy is to tackle the increasing problem of violence against staff working in the NHS and ensures that doctors and their staff have a right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused.

We understand that ill patients do not always act in a reasonable manner and will take this into consideration when trying to deal with a misunderstanding or complaint. We ask you to treat your doctors and their staff courteously and act reasonably.

All incidents will be followed up and you will be sent a formal warning after a second incident or removed from the practice list after a third incident if your behaviour has been unreasonable.

However, aggressive behaviour, be it violent or verbal abusive, will not be tolerated and may result in you being removed from the Practice list and, in extreme cases, the Police will be contacted if an incident is taking place and the patient is posing a threat to staff or other patients.

Removal from the Practice List

A good patient-doctor relationship, based on mutual respect and trust, is the cornerstone of good patient care. The removal of patients from our list is an exceptional and rare event and is a last resort in an impaired patient-practice relationship.

When trust has irretrievably broken down, it is in the patient’s interest, just as much as that of The Surgery, that they should find a new practice. An exception to this is on immediate removal on the grounds of violence e.g. when the Police are involved.

Removing other members of the household

In rare cases, however, because of the possible need to visit patients at home it may be necessary to terminate responsibility for other members of the family or the entire household.

The prospect of visiting patients where a relative who is no longer a patient of the practice by virtue of their unacceptable behaviour resides, or being regularly confronted by the removed patient, may make it too difficult for the practice to continue to look after the whole family. This is particularly likely where the patient has been removed because of violence or threatening behaviour and keeping the other family members could put doctors or their staff at risk.

Patient’s Rights

We are committed to giving you the best possible service. This will be achieved by working together. Help us to help you. You have a right to, and the practice will try to ensure that:

• You will be treated with courtesy and respect
• You will be treated as a partner in the care and attention that you receive
• All aspects of your visit will be dealt with in privacy and confidence
• You will be seen by a doctor of your choice subject to availability
• In an emergency, out of normal opening hours, if you telephone the practice you will be given the number to receive assistance, which will require no more than one further call
• You can bring someone with you, however you may be asked to be seen on your own during the consultation
• Repeat prescriptions will normally be available for collection within two working days of your request
• Information about our services on offer will be made available to you by way of posters, notice boards and newsletters
• You have the right to see your medical records or have a copy subject to certain laws.

Patient’s Responsibilities

With these rights come responsibilities and for patients we would respectfully request that you:

• Treat practice staff and doctors with the same consideration and courtesy that you would like yourself. Remember that they are trying to help you
• Please ensure that you order your repeat medication in plenty of time allowing 48 working hours.
• Please ensure that you have a basic first aid kit at home and initiate minor illness and self-care for you and your family.
• Please attend any specialist appointments that have been arranged for you or cancel them if your condition has resolved or you no longer wish to attend
• Please follow up any test or investigations done for you with the person who has requested the investigation
• Attend appointments on time and check in with Reception
• Patients who are more than 20 minutes late for their appointment may not be seen.
• If you are unable to make your appointment or no longer need it, please give the practice adequate notice that you wish to cancel. Appointments are heavily in demand and missed appointments waste time and delay more urgent patients receiving the treatment they need
• An appointment is for one person only. Where another family member needs to be seen or discussed, another appointment should be made
• Patients should make every effort to present at the surgery to ensure the best use of nursing and medical time. Home visits should be medically justifiable and not requested for social convenience
• Please inform us when you move home, change your name or telephone number, so that we can keep our records correct and up to date
• Read the practice leaflets and other information that we give you. They are there to help you use our services. If you do not understand their content please tell us
• Let us have your views. Your ideas and suggestions whether complimentary or critical are important in helping us to provide a first class, safe, friendly service in pleasant surroundings.

NHS Constitution

The NHS Constitution establishes the principles and values of the NHS in England. For more information see these websites:

• UK – The NHS Constitution for England
• NHS Choices – NHS Constitution

How we use your information

At Lister House Surgery we’re committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.

This policy explains when and why we collect personal information about people who visit our website, how we use it, the conditions under which we may disclose it to others and how we keep it secure.

Any questions relating to this policy and our privacy practices should be sent to:
Lister House,
473/5 Dunstable Road,
Luton,
Bedfordshire,
LU4 8DG

Telephone: 01582 578989

Our Commitment to Data Privacy

We are committed to protecting your privacy and will only process personal confidential data in accordance with the General Data Protection Act (GDPR).

Lister House Surgery is the Data Controller under the terms of the General Data Protection Act. We are therefore legally responsible for ensuring that all personal information that we process i.e. hold, obtain, record, use or share about you, is done in compliance with the GDPR.

Everyone working for the NHS has a legal duty to keep information about you confidential. All of our staff receive appropriate training to ensure they are aware of their personal responsibilities and have contractual obligations to uphold confidentiality, enforceable through disciplinary procedures.

Our Legal Basis for Processing

We will only use and process your personal data for:

• Performing a contract or service between us;
• If it is necessary for our legitimate interests and only if your interests and rights do not override ours.

We will not use your personal data for an unrelated purpose without informing you and the legal basis that we intend to rely on for processing it.

Information we hold about you

Information you give us

You may provide us with personal information through your use of this website. This may include:

‘Identifiable’ personal data that can be used to directly or indirectly identify the person. This can include but is not limited to name, address and email address.

‘Special categories’ personal data (sensitive personal data) relating to racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs and data concerning health or medical conditions.

Information we collect about you.

We may automatically collect the following information about your visit. This information will not identify you, it relates to:

‘Google Analytics’ collects technical information, including your browser type and version, time zone setting, operating system and platform and the pages you visits.

‘Cookies’ are stored whilst you are using this site. We use cookies to recognise your computer when you visit our website to improve the website’s usability. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org.

How will your information be used

Your personal information will only be used for the purpose of which it was originally given by the individual. For example any information you provide via an online request through the website will only be processed for that request and will not be used for any other reason.

Your information will never be used for marketing or profiling without your explicit consent.

Your Rights

You have certain legal rights, including a right to have your information processed fairly and lawfully and a right to access any personal confidential data we hold about you.

Right to be informed

You have the right to be informed about the collection and use of your data.

You also have the right to be notified of a data security breach concerning your personal data.

Right of access

You have the right to access any of your personal data that is being processed together with supplementary information. If we do hold information about you we will:

• Give you a description of it;
• Tell you why we are holding it;
• Tell you who it could be disclosed to; and
• Let you have a copy of the information in a plain readable format.

Right to be forgotten

You have the right to have your personal data erased. This right is not guaranteed and applies only in certain circumstances.

Right to restrict

You have the right to request the restriction of your personal data from being processed. This will restrict any ongoing processing but not erase any data we hold.

Right to rectification

You have the right to have inaccurate personal data rectified or completed if it is incomplete.

Right to object

You have the right to object to data processing of the information we hold about you, where we are relying on a legitimate interest to do so and you think that your rights and interests outweigh our own and you wish us to stop.

Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling

The website does not make any automated decisions or profiling with your personal data.

How to make a request

Requests must be made in writing to:
Lister House,
473/5 Dunstable Road,
Luton,
Bedfordshire,
LU4 8DG

The information we will require when you make a request is your name, address, contact telephone number and date of birth and a description of the request.

We will respond within a reasonable period and no later than one calendar month.

Data Retention

Personal data processed for any purpose via this website shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose.

Third Parties

We do not share or sell your personal information to any third parties outside the NHS.

We would not share information that identifies you unless we have a fair and lawful basis such as:

• You have given us permission;
• To protect children and vulnerable adults;
• When a formal court order has been served upon us;

and/or

• When we are lawfully required to report certain information to the appropriate authorities e.g. to prevent fraud or a serious crime;
• Emergency Planning reasons such as for protecting the health and safety of others;
• When permission is given by the Secretary of State or the Health Research Authority on the advice of the Confidentiality Advisory Group to process confidential information without the explicit consent of individuals

Processing outside the UK

Your personal information will not be sent outside the United Kingdom.

Other organisations that support the website

The practice uses the services of the additional data processors, who will provide additional expertise to support the work of the Practice.

We have entered into contracts with other organisations to provide some services for us or on our behalf.

These organisations are known as “data processors”.

These organisations are subject to the same legal rules and conditions for keeping personal confidential data and secure and are underpinned by a contract with us.

Before awarding any contract, we ensure that organisations will look after your information to the same high standards that we do. Those organisations can only use your information for the service we have contracted them for and cannot use it for any other purpose. 

Complaints

We try to meet the highest standards when collecting and using personal information. For this reason, we take any complaints we receive about this very seriously. We encourage people to bring concerns to our attention if they think that our collection or use of information is unfair, misleading or inappropriate.

To make a complaint or bring concerns to our attention, please contact us in writing:
Lister House,
473/5 Dunstable Road,
Luton,
Bedfordshire,
LU4 8DG

The information we will require when you make a complaint will be:

• Your name, address and contact telephone number and those of the person that you may be complaining for; including their date of birth and NHS Number.
• A summary of what has happened, giving dates where possible.
• A list of things that you are complaining about.
• What you would like to happen as a result of your complaint

Contact

If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your data please do not hesitate to contact us at:

Lister House,
473/5 Dunstable Road,
Luton,
Bedfordshire,
LU4 8DG

Telephone: 01582 578989

 

Monitoring and Review

We regularly review and, where necessary, update this notice at least annually.

If we plan to use personal data for a new purpose, we update our privacy information and communicate the changes to individuals before starting any new processing.

About your Summary Care Record

Your Summary Care Record contains important information about any medicines you are taking, any allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines that you have previously experienced.

Allowing authorised healthcare staff to have access to this information will improve decision making by doctors and other healthcare professionals and has prevented mistakes being made when patients are being cared for in an emergency or when their GP practice is closed.

Your Summary Care Record also includes your name, address, date of birth and your unique NHS Number to help identify you correctly.

You may want to add other details about your care to your Summary Care Record. This will only happen if both you and your GP agree to do this. You should discuss your wishes with your GP practice.

Healthcare staff will have access to this information, so that they can provide safer care, whenever or wherever you need it, anywhere in England.

FAQs

Who can see my Summary Care Record?

Healthcare staff who have access to your Summary Care Record:

• need to be directly involved in caring for you
• need to have an NHS Smartcard with a chip and passcode
• will only see the information they need to do their job and
• will have their details recorded every time they look at your record

Healthcare staff will ask for your permission every time they need to look at your Summary Care Record. If they cannot ask you (for example if you are unconscious or otherwise unable to communicate), healthcare staff may look at your record without asking you, because they consider that this is in your best interest.

If they have to do this, this decision will be recorded and checked to ensure that the access was appropriate.

What are my choices?

You can choose to have a Summary Care Record or you can choose to opt out.

If you choose to have a Summary Care Record and are registered with a GP practice, you do not need to do anything as a Summary Care Record is created for you.

SCRs improve care, but if you don’t want to have one you can opt out by filling in an opt-out form. You may want to seek advice from a member of staff at the practice before considering doing this.

If you are unsure if you have already opted out, you should talk to the staff at your GP practice. You can change your mind at any time by simply informing your GP practice and either filling in an opt-out form or asking your GP practice to create a Summary Care Record for you.

Children and the Summary Care Record

If you are the parent or guardian of a child under 16, you should make this information available to them and support the child to come to a decision as to whether to have a Summary Care Record or not.

If you believe that your child should opt-out of having a Summary Care Record, we strongly recommend that you discuss this with your child’s GP. This will allow your child’s GP to highlight the consequences of opting-out, prior to you finalising your decision.

Where can I get more information?

For more information about Summary Care Records you can:

• talk to the staff at your GP practice
• phone the Health and Social Care Information Centre on 0300 303 5678
• Read the Summary Care Record patient information

We welcome all comments on the services provided by the Practice.

We are continually looking to turn patients’ feedback into real improvements in the services we provide. We use it to focus on the things that matter most to our patients, carers and their families.

We would like to hear from you if you have a suggestion on how we can do things better to improve our patients’ experiences. We’d also like to hear from you if you are pleased with the service you’ve received.

We’ll let the staff involved know and share the good practice across our teams.

You may write to us or contact us by phone or fax. Details can be found on our Contact Us page.

Our Complaints and Comments Leaflet can be found here

• Complaints Procedure
• Being Open Policy
• Duty of Candour

Improving the health and quality of life for all individuals in the communities we serve, delivering an invaluable service to our clients and patients, providing a positive and safe experience for all our patient care.

• Statement of Purpose
• Patient Dignity Policy

New contractual requirements came into force from 1 April 2014 requiring that GP Practices should make available a statement of intent in relation to the following IT developments:

• Summary Care Record (SCR)
• GP to GP Record Transfers
• Patient Online Access to Their GP Record
• Data for commissioning and other secondary care purposes

The same contractual obligations require that we have a statement of intent regarding these developments in place and publicised by 30 September 2014.

Please find below details of the practices stance with regards to these points.

Summary Care Record (SCR)

NHS England require practices to enable successful automated uploads of any changes to patient’s summary information, at least on a daily basis, to the summary care record (SCR) or have published plans in place to achieve this by 31st of March 2015.

Having your Summary Care Record (SCR) available will help anyone treating you without your full medical record. They will have access to information about any medication you may be taking and any drugs that you have a recorded allergy or sensitivity to.

Of course, if you do not want your medical records to be available in this way then you will need to let us know so that we can update your record. You can do this via the opt out form.

The practice confirms that your SCR is automatically updated on at least a daily basis to ensure that your information is as up to date as it can possibly be.

GP to GP Record Transfers

NHS England require practices to utilise the GP2GP facility for the transfer of patient records between practices, when a patient registers or de-registers (not for temporary registration).

It is very important that you are registered with a doctor at all times. If you leave your GP and register with a new GP, your medical records will be removed from your previous doctor and forwarded on to your new GP via NHS England. It can take your paper records up to two weeks to reach your new surgery.

With GP to GP record transfers your electronic record is transferred to your new practice much sooner.

The practice confirms that GP to GP transfers are already active and we send and receive patient records via this system.

Patient Online Access to Their GP Record

NHS England require practices to promote and offer the facility to enable patients online access to appointments, prescriptions, allergies and adverse reactions or have published plans in place to achieve this by 31st of March 2015.

We currently offer the facility for booking and cancelling appointments and also for ordering your repeat prescriptions and viewing a summary of your medical records on-line. If you do not already have a user name and password for this system – please register your interest with our reception staff.

Data for commissioning and other secondary care purposes

It is already a requirement of the Health and Social Care Act that practices must meet the reasonable data requirements of commissioners and other health and social care organisations through appropriate and safe data sharing for secondary uses, as specified in the technical specification for care data.

At our practice we have specific arrangements in place to allow patients to “opt out” of care.data which allows for the removal of data from the practice. Please see the page about care data on our website

The Practice confirm these arrangements are in place and that we undertake annual training and audits to ensure that all our data is handled correctly and safely via the Information Governance Toolkit.

What is non-NHS work and why is there a fee?

The National Health Service provides most health care to most people free of charge, but there are exceptions: prescription charges have existed since 1951 and there are a number of other services for which fees are charged.

Sometimes the charge is because the service is not covered by the NHS, for example, providing copies of health records or producing medical reports for insurance companies, solicitors or employers.

The Government’s contract with GPs covers medical services to NHS patients but not non-NHS work. It is important to understand that many GPs are not employed by the NHS; they are self-employed and they have to cover their costs – staff, buildings, heating, lighting, etc. – in the same way as any small business.

In recent years, however, more and more organisations have been involving doctors in a whole range of non-medical work. Sometimes the only reason that GPs are asked is because they are in a position of trust in the community, or because an insurance company or employer wants to ensure that information provided to them is true and accurate.

Examples of non-NHS services for which GPs can charge their own NHS patients are:

• accident/sickness certificates for insurance purposes
• school fee and holiday insurance certificates
• reports for health clubs to certify that patients are fit to exercise
• private prescriptions for travel purposes

Examples of non-NHS services for which GPs can charge other institutions are:

• life assurance and income protection reports for insurance companies
• reports for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in connection with
• disability living allowance and attendance allowance
• medical reports for local authorities in connection with adoption and fostering
• copies of records for solicitors

Do GPs have to do non-NHS work for their patients?

With certain limited exceptions, for example a GP confirming that one of their patients is not fit for jury service, GPs do not have to carry out non-NHS work on behalf of their patients. Whilst GPs will always attempt to assist their patients with the completion of forms, they are not required to do such non-NHS work.

Is it true that the BMA sets fees for non-NHS work?

The British Medical Association (BMA) suggest fees that GPs may charge their patients for non-NHS work (i.e. work not covered under their contract with the NHS) in order to help GPs set their own professional fees. However, the fees suggested by them are intended for guidance only; they are not recommendations and a doctor is not obliged to charge the rates they suggest.

Why does it sometimes take my GP a long time to complete my form?

Time spent completing forms and preparing reports takes the GP away from the medical care of his or her patients. Most GPs have a very heavy workload and paperwork takes up an increasing amount of their time. Our GPs do non-NHS work out of NHS time at evenings or weekends so that NHS patient care does suffer.

I only need the doctor’s signature – what is the problem?

When a doctor signs a certificate or completes a report, it is a condition of remaining on the Medical Register that they only sign what they know to be true. In order to complete even the simplest of forms, therefore, the doctor might have to check the patient’s ENTIRE medical record. Carelessness or an inaccurate report can have serious consequences for the doctor with the General Medical Council (the doctors’ regulatory body) or even the Police.

If you are a new patient we may not have your medical records so the doctor must wait for these before completing the form.

What will I be charged?

It is recommended that GPs tell patients in advance if they will be charged, and what the fee will be. It is up to individual doctors to decide how much they will charge. The surgery has a list of fees based on these suggested fees which is available on request.

What can I do to help?

• Not all documents need a signature by a doctor, for example passport applications. You can ask another person in a position of trust to sign such documents free of charge. Read the information that comes with these types of forms carefully before requesting your GP to complete them.
• If you have several forms requiring completion, present them all at once and ask your GP if he or she is prepared to complete them at the same time to speed up the process.
• Do not expect your GP to process forms overnight: urgent requests may mean that a doctor has to make special arrangements to process the form quickly, and this may cost more.