As part of the University Medical Centre we abide by strict GDPR principles. This service keeps data on you relating to who you are, where you live, possibly your family, your problems and any previous diagnosis that you make us aware of.
We will have data for the reasons you seek help, your appointments, where you are seen and when you are seen, and who by, referrals to specialists and other healthcare providers, treatments provided and outcomes of treatments, any history of previous episodes within our service, as well as notes made by professionals within our service who are appropriately involved in your treatment of care.
We would like to assure you that the content of your therapy sessions will be handled confidentially in line with NHS standards for information handling and that all notes are stored securely. Any statistical data acquired from our routine outcome measures is anonymised to protect your confidentiality. However, your therapist has a duty of care for your personal safety and the safety of others and this may require them to discuss your details with other professionals or agencies.
If your health needs require care from others elsewhere outside of this service, we will exchange whatever information about you that is necessary for them to provide that care.
When you make contact with healthcare providers outside our service but within the NHS it is usual for them to send us information relating to that encounter.
Your consent to this sharing of data, within the service and with other providers outside our service is assumed and is allowed by the law.
People who have access to your information will only normally have access to that which they need to fulfil their roles, for instance administration staff will normally take your name, address, contact details and GP Practice information to refer you into the service. Further information will then be gathered in your first assessment appointment.
You have the right to object to sharing your data in these circumstances, but we have an overriding responsibility to do what is in your best interests. Please see below.
We are required by articles in the General Data Protection Regulations to provide you with the following 9 subsections.
| 1) Data Controller contact details | University Medical Centre, Giles Lane, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7PB |
| 2) Data Protection Officer contact details | Dr Michael Norman University Medical Centre, Giles Lane, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7PB |
| 3) Purpose of the processing | Direct Care is care delivered to the individual alone, most of which is provided in the surgery. After a patient agrees to a referral for direct care elsewhere, such as a referral to a specialist in a hospital, necessary and relevant information about the patient, their circumstances and their problem will need to be shared with the other healthcare workers, such as specialist, therapists, technicians etc. The information that is shared is to enable the other healthcare workers to provide the most appropriate advice, investigations, treatments, therapies and or care. |
| 4) Lawful basis for processing | The processing of personal data in the delivery of direct care and for providers’ administrative purposes in this surgery and in support of direct care elsewhere is supported under the following Article 6 and 9 conditions 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…’. – 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…” We will also recognize your rights established under UK case law collectively known as the “Common Law Duty of Confidentiality”* |
| 5) Recipient or categories of recipients of the processed data | The data will be shared with Health and care professionals and support staff in this surgery and at hospitals, diagnostic and treatment centres who contribute to your personal care. [if possible list actual named sites such as local hospital)(s) name] |
| 6) Rights to object | You have the right to object to some or all the information being processed under Article 21. Please contact the Data Controller or the practice. You should be aware that this is a right to raise an objection, that is not the same as having an absolute right to have your wishes granted in every circumstance |
| 7) Right to access and correct | You have the right to access the data that is being shared and have any inaccuracies corrected. There is no right to have accurate medical records deleted except when ordered by a court of Law. |
| 8) Retention period | The data will be retained in line with the law and national guidance. https://digital.nhs.uk/article/1202/ Records-Management-Code-of-Practice- for-Health-and-Social-Care-2016 or speak to the practice. |
| 9) Right to Complain | You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, you can use this link https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/ or calling their helpline Tel: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745 (national rate) There are National Offices for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, (see ICO website) |
* “Common Law Duty of Confidentiality”, common law is not written out in one document like an Act of Parliament. It is a form of law based on previous court cases decided by judges; hence, it is also referred to as ‘judge-made’ or case law. The law is applied by reference to those previous cases, so common law is also said to be based on precedent.
The general position is that if information is given in circumstances where it is expected that a duty of confidence applies, that information cannot normally be disclosed without the information provider’s consent.
In practice, this means that all patient information, whether held on paper, computer, visually or audio recorded, or held in the memory of the professional, must not normally be disclosed without the consent of the patient. It is irrelevant how old the patient is or what the state of their mental health is; the duty still applies.
Three circumstances making disclosure of confidential information lawful are:
- where the individual to whom the information relates has consented;
- where disclosure is in the public interest; and
- where there is a legal duty to do so, for example a court order.
Contact us:
T: 01227 469 338
E: [email protected]
