We are making sure that whether you are visiting a GP, attending hospital, or being seen in the community or at home by a care professional, that everyone knows the care you need and how you want to be treated.

You can choose whether to share your information and who can see it. If you, do not want to share, please tell your health or care organisation providing care to you.

You can talk to your health and care professional about sharing your information but here are some of the benefits:
• You only need to tell your history once.
• You avoid unnecessary appointments
and tests.
• You can be more involved in decisions
about your care.

We also share information (without your personal details) to help plan and improve local health services for the people of North West London.

How we use your information

 
This privacy notice explains why the GP Practice collects information about you, and how that information may be used.
The health care professionals who provide you with care maintain records about your health and any treatment or care you have received previously (e.g. NHS Trust, GP Surgery, Walk-in clinic, etc.). These records help to provide you with the best possible healthcare.
NHS health records may be electronic, on paper or a mixture of both, and we use a combination of working practices and technology to ensure that your information is kept confidential and secure. Records which this GP Practice may hold about you may include the following information;
 Details about you, such as address and next of kin
 Any contact the surgery has had with you, such as appointments, clinic visits, emergency appointments, etc.
 Notes and reports about your health
 Details about your treatment and care
 Results of investigations, such as laboratory tests, x-rays, etc.
 Relevant information from other health professionals, relatives or those who care for you
To ensure you receive the best possible care, your records are used to facilitate the care you receive. Information held about you may be used to help protect the health of the public and to help us manage the NHS. Information may be used for clinical audit to monitor the quality of the service provided.
Some of this information will be held centrally and used for statistical purposes. Where we do this, we take strict measures to ensure that individual patients cannot be identified.
Sometimes your information may be requested to be used for research purposes – the surgery will always endeavour to gain your consent before releasing the information.

 
Patient Segmentation and Risk Stratification
Patient Segmentation and Risk stratification tools are increasingly being used in the NHS to help determine a person’s risk of suffering a particular condition, preventing an unplanned or (re)admission and identifying a need for preventive intervention. Information about you is collected from a number of sources including NHS Trusts and from this GP Practice. A risk score is then arrived at through an analysis of your de-identified information using software managed by the Brent CCG as the data processor and is only provided back to your GP or member of your care team as data controller in an identifiable form. Patient Segmentation and Risk stratification enables your GP to focus on the preventing ill health and not just the treatment of sickness. If necessary your GP may be able to offer you additional services.
Please note that you have the right to opt out.
Should you have any concerns about how your information is managed at the surgery please contact the Practice Manager to discuss how the disclosure of your personal information can be limited.
How do we maintain the confidentiality of your records?
We are committed to protecting your privacy and will only use information collected lawfully in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 (which is overseen by the Information Commissioner’s Office), Human Rights Act, the Common Law Duty of Confidentiality, and the NHS Codes of Confidentiality and Security.
Every member of staff who works for an NHS organisation has a legal obligation to keep information about you confidential. Anyone who receives information from an NHS organisation has a legal duty to keep it confidential.
We maintain our duty of confidentiality to you at all times. We will only ever use or pass on information about you if others involved in your care have a genuine need for it. We will not disclose your information to any third party without your permission unless there are exceptional circumstances (i.e. life or death situations), or where the law requires information to be passed on.
Who are our partner organisations?
We may also have to share your information, subject to strict agreements on how it will be used, with the following organisations;
 NHS Trusts
 Specialist Trusts
 Independent Contractors such as dentists, opticians, pharmacists
 Private Sector Providers
 Voluntary Sector Providers
 Ambulance Trusts
 Clinical Commissioning Groups
 Social Care Services
 Local Authorities
 Education Services
 Fire and Rescue Services
 Police
 Other ‘data processors’

 
Access to personal information
You have a right under the Data Protection Act 1998 to access/view what information the surgery holds about you, and to have it amended or removed should it be inaccurate. This is known as ‘the right of subject access’. 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 an intelligible form.
If you would like to make a ‘subject access request’. Please contact the practice manager in writing.
If you would like further information about how we use your information, or if you do not want us to use your information in this way, please contact the Practice Manager.

 
YOUR RIGHT TO WITHDRAW CONSENT
At any time you have the right to refuse/ withdraw consent to information sharing. The possible consequences will be fully explained to you and could include delays in receiving care.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the information we hold on you or the use of your information, please contact us at the practice.
For independent advice about data protection, privacy and data-sharing issues, you
can contact the Information Commissioner at: Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Phone: 08456 30 60 60 or 01625 54 57 45 Fax: 01625 524 510
Website: www.ico.gov.uk