Confidentiality Policy

The University Medical Centre aims to ensure the highest standard of medical care for our patients. To do this, we keep records about you, your health and the care we provide or plan to provide to you.

This notice does not provide exhaustive details of all aspects of the collection and use of personal information by the University Medical Centre.

How We Use Your Information

In order to provide for your care, we need to collect and keep information about you and your health on our records. Your records are used to:

• Provide a basis for all health decisions made by care professionals with and for you.
• Make sure your care is safe and effective.
• Work effectively with others providing you with care.

We also may use, or share, your information for the following purposes:

• Looking after the health of the general public
• Making sure that our services can meet patient needs in the future
• Auditing accounts
• Preparing statistics on NHS performance and activity (where steps will be taken to ensure you cannot be identified)
• Investigating concerns, complaints or legal claims
• Helping staff to review the care they provide to make sure it is of the highest standards
• Training and educating staff

Disclosure of Information to Other Health and Social Professionals

We may need to share some of your information with other health and social care professionals in order to provide you with the treatment and services you need.

Computer System

The practice operates a clinical computer system called EMIS. It lets NHS staff record information securely.  This information can then be shared with other clinicians, so that everyone caring for you is fully informed about your medical history, including allergies and medication.

To provide 24 hour safe care, unless you have asked us not to do so, we will make information available to trusted organisations listed below. Wherever possible, their staff will ask your consent before your information is viewed.

We may need to share your information with the following organisations:

• Other NHS Hospitals
• Relevant GP practices
• Dentists, Opticians and Pharmacies
• Private Sector Providers (private hospitals, care homes, hospices, contractors providing services to the NHS)
• Voluntary Sector Providers who are directly involved in your care
• Ambulance Trusts
• Health & Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC)
• Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG)
• NHS111
• NHS Walk in Centres
• NHS England

We may also share your information, with your consent and subject to strict sharing protocols about how it will be used, with

• Local Authority departments, including social care and health (formerly social services), education and housing and public health
• Police and Fire Services

Shared Care Records

To support your care and improve the sharing of relevant information to our partner organisations when they are involved in your care, we will share information to other systems. The general principle is that information is passed to these systems, unless you request this does not happen, but that system users should ask for your consent before viewing your record.  They may have a restricted view depending on their role.

How We Keep Your information Confidential and Secure

We are committed to protecting your privacy and will only use information collected lawfully in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the NHS Codes of Confidentiality and Security. Everyone working in, or for the NHS must use personal information in a secure and confidential way.

We will only ever use or pass on your information if there is a genuine need to do so. We will not disclose information about you to third parties without your permission unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as when the law requires.

At all times your information is kept secure. We use encryption for sending electronic information and if we are sending your information to outside parties, ie solicitors, in the post we use the recorded delivery service.

To protect your confidentiality, we will not normally disclose any medical information about you over the telephone or by fax unless we are sure that we are talking to you. This means that we will not disclose information to your family, friends and colleagues about any medical matters at all, unless we know that we have your consent to do so.

Anyone who receives information from us is also under a legal duty to keep it confidential and secure.

All persons in the practice sign a confidentiality agreement that makes clear their duties in relation to personal health information and the consequences of breaching that duty.

Please be aware that your information will be accessed by non-clinical practice staff in order to perform tasks enabling the functioning of the practice. These are, but not limited to:

• Typing referral letters to hospital consultants or allied health professionals
• Opening letters from hospitals and consultants
• Scanning clinical letters and any other documents not available in electronic format
• Photocopying or printing documents
• Handling, printing, photocopying and postage of medico legal and life assurance reports and associated documents