How we use your information
As data controllers, GPs have fair processing responsibilities under the Data Protection Act 1998. This means ensuring that your personal data are handled in ways that are transparent and that you would reasonably expect. The Health and Social Care Act 2012 changes the way that confidential data are processed it is important that you are made aware of these changes, understand that you can object to certain uses, and how to do so.
The health care professionals who provide you with care maintain records about your health and treatment. These records may be electronic, paper, or both and various measures are employed to ensure the security of your records. The information contained in the records is used for your direct care and kept confidential. However, we may be required to disclose your personal information if it is required by law, is justified in the public interest, or you consent for the use for other purposes.
Other reasons why your data may be disclosed are for use for statistical purposes where the information will not be able to identify you, or for research purposes for which your consent will be requested. Under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 the Health and Social Care Information Centre can request personal confidential information from your GP practice without asking for your consent first.
On some occasions it may be necessary to undertake clinical audits of records to ensure that the best possible care has been provided to you or to prevent the spread of infectious disease, wherever possible this will be done in anonymised form.
Your data may also be shared with other healthcare professionals who provide you with care through local integrated care services. Your permission to share your data between the services will be requested, although refusing permission may impact your care. If this is the case your doctor will be able to explain how this could affect your care.
Your GP is encouraged to use a process called Risk Stratification to identify patients who may require additional care due to long term conditions. The information is used to help support patient care and prevent unnecessary hospital admissions.
If you do not want your data used for these purposes you may object by contacting the practice who will explain how you can prevent your data being used in this way.
We are committed to protecting your privacy and will only use data collected lawfully in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, Human Rights Act, the Common Law Duty of Confidentiality, and the NHS Codes of Confidentiality and Security. The only staff who have access to your data are those with a legitimate reason to do so, and is controlled by multiple levels of security.
The Data Protection Act 1998 gives you the right to view or access information that the GP Practice holds about you. This is known as ‘the right of subject access’. Under this right you are entitled to have a description of the information, explanation of why it is held, who it could be disclosed to, and you are entitled to a copy of the information. If you would like to make a ‘subject access request’, please contact the practice manager in writing.
Call recording (added September 2021)
Calls to and from the surgery are recorded and processed in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation 2016 and the Data Protection Act 2018, calls are recorded for monitoring, training and dispute resolution purposes.
The purpose of call recording is to provide an exact record of the call which will:
- Protect the interests of both parties;
- Help improve Practice performance and best practice;
- Help protect Practice staff from abusive or nuisance calls;
- Establish the facts in the event of a complaint either by a patient or a member of staff and so assist in resolving it;
- Establish the facts and assist in the resolution of any medico-legal claims made against the practice or it clinicians;
- A call recording may also be used as evidence in the event that an employee’s telephone conduct is deemed unacceptable. In this situation the recording will be made available to the employee’s manager, to be investigated as per the Practice Disciplinary Policy
For further information please contact the surgery.
If you would like further information about how your information is used by the GP Practice, please contact the practice manager, or view the Fair Processing Notice on the practice notice board or the practice website.
The practice is registered as a data controller under the Data Protection Act 1998 – the registration number is and can be viewed online in the public register at www.ICO.gov.uk
Please click on the link below to view our amended privacy notice on information sharing under Covid-19.
GDPR Privacy Notice April 2024
GP PPG Privacy Notice September 2023
COVID19 Privacy Notice September 2023
To view our registration details click here
Sherwood Medical Partnership shared your demographic data (including name, age, gender, date of birth, NHS number and address) with Patients Know Best (PKB) so PKB could create a dormant patient account for each person registered at this practice. The data in these accounts will not be accessed or processed unless you choose to activate your PKB account. Activating the account will create a patient held record which you can choose to share with health and care teams. This data sharing was done through article 6 (1)(e) and 9(2)(h) of UK GPDR 2018.
PKB are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which regulates data protection in the UK, and their registration number is Z2704931. PKB cannot see your demographic data or any health information in your PKB account, including your patient held record. Your information is kept encrypted on secure servers and can only be seen by yourself, health care teams chosen by you or those with a lawful basis.
PKB will retain your data for 8 years after either the date your dormant account was created or the date you last accessed your activated account; whichever date is more recent. You can email [email protected] if you wish your PKB information to be deleted before that point, this does not mean that your GP record held by Sherwood Medical Partnership will be deleted.
Summary Care Records
A new way of caring for you in an emergency, others can see it if they care for you too – it is your right to choose whether to have or not to have a Summary Care Record. You may have already received letters asking if you wish to have this created.
A Summary Care Record is electronic, meaning that other Healthcare staff involved in directly caring for you are able to see it. They will only see the information they need to do their job and their details will be recorded.
If you decide to have a Summary Care Record it will contain important information about any medicines you are taking, any allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines you have had.
Giving healthcare staff access to this information can prevent mistakes being made when caring for you in an emergency, when your GP practice is closed or when you are away from home in another part of England.
Your Summary Care Record will also include 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 you ask for the information to be included. You should discuss your wishes with the healthcare staff treating you.
Summary Care Records for patients at this practice will begin on 29th August 2012, with letters having been sent out from the beginning of the year. The completed forms for those who have opted out have been returned to the practice and coded appropriately on the computer system. A Summary Care Record will be created automatically for you unless you have completed an opt-out form.
Children will automatically have a Summary Care Record made for them. If you do not want your child to have a Summary Care Record you will need to fill out an opt-out form on behalf of your child and return it to your child’s GP practice. In some circumstances your GP may feel it is in your child’s best interests to have a Summary Care Record. For example, if your child has a serious allergy that healthcare staff treating your child should know about.
You can change your mind at any time. Please speak to a receptionist.
If you choose after we have made your Summary Care Record that you do not want it – please speak to a receptionist.
If you do not want a Summary Care Record an opt-out form is available at reception, or you can download one at www.nhscarerecords.nhs.uk/options. Once you have completed the opt-out form please return it to reception.
If you require any further information please ask a receptionist.
For more information about Summary Care Records and your choices phone the Summary Care Record Information line on: 0300 123 3020.
GPGPR (NHS Digital (NHSD) extract of GP data for Research purposes)
The current NHS Digital (NHSD) extract of GP data for Research purposes (known as the GPDPR) has been delayed due to NHSD wishing to review the way in which this data will be collected, to conduct more public involvement and information about the plans and change the way in which patients can opt out of the extract of their GP data.
Currently the only way to opt out is to complete a Type 1 opt out form and return this to the practice by the 1st September. However, this extract will not be taken until the NHSD have changed the way it will take the data and respect the patient’s choice for using their data. NHSD are introducing the following changes to the opt out process which will mean that patients will be able to change their opt-out status at any time::-
- Patients do not need to register a Type 1 opt-out by 1st September to ensure their GP data will not be uploaded.
- NHS Digital will create the technical means to allow GP data that has previously been uploaded to the system via the GPDPR collection to be deleted when someone registers a Type 1 opt-out.
- The plan to retire Type 1 opt-outs will be deferred for at least 12 months while we get the new arrangements up and running and will not be implemented without consultation with the RCGP, the BMA and the National Data Guardian.
This means that you can opt out at any time in the future and NHSD will delete data that they already have taken for research purposes, the deadline of the 01/09/2020 has been delayed until a new system of opt out is developed. Hopefully, this will be a simple centralised approach via the NHS app or NHS website to avoid paper form and administration work for your GP.
We will update you when we know more about the NHSD plans to change how you can control who has access to your data.
This practice is supporting vital health and care planning and research by sharing your data with NHS Digital. For more information about this see the GP Practice Privacy Notice at:
From the 10th of November, we will be involved in the Notts Care Record, a system designed to automatically enable sharing of patient information between health organisations in Nottinghamshire.
Please see the information sheets for more in depth information and FAQs.
NHS Care Record A4 Poster Digital
NHS Care Record A4 Poster Digital 2023.pdf