Confidentiality

We ask you for information so that you can receive proper care and treatment. We keep this information, together with details of your care, because it may be needed if we see you again.

We may use some of this information for other reasons, for example:

  • To help us protect the health of the public generally
  • To see that the NHS runs efficiently, plans for the future, trains its staff, pays its bills and can account for its actions
  • To help educate tomorrow’s clinical staff and to carry out medical and other health research for the benefit of everyone

Other ways we use your information:

  • Sometimes the law requires us to pass on information (for example, to notify a birth)
  • The NHS Central Register for England and Wales contains basic personal details of all patients registered with a general practitioner
  • The Register does not contain clinical information
  • You have a right of access to your health records

Everyone working for the NHS has a legal duty to keep information about you confidential.

You may be receiving care from other people as well as the NHS. So that we can all work together for your benefit, we may need to share some information about you. We only ever use or pass on information about you if people have a genuine need for it and it is in yours and everyone’s interests. Whenever we can we shall remove details which identify you. The sharing of some types of very sensitive personal information is strictly controlled by law.

Patients have the right to authorise or refuse the right of disclosure of information to third parties.

Anyone who receives information from us is under a legal duty to keep it confidential. If you would like access to any information held about yourself, please write to the practice manager.