How we use your information

On this page:

How we use and protect your information
Your choices about how your data is used
- Type 1 opt-out (this practice)
- National data opt-out
Summary Care Record
Speaking to us on behalf of someone else
Sharing your record so other services can care for you
- Sharing with other services that use SystmOne
- When local teams can see your GP record
Contact us

How we use and protect your information

This page explains how we use and protect information about you, the choices you can make about research and planning, and when other services may see your GP record.

The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 set out how organisations, including GP practices, must handle personal information. They set strict rules on how information about your health and care can and cannot be used.

We keep a written record of how we process personal information. This covers why we use your information, who we share it with and how long we keep it. You can read the detail in our privacy notice (PDF).

You can send us requests online through Accurx. To find out how Accurx keeps your information secure, please read Accurx security information for patients.

Your choices about how your data is used

Information about your health and care is used to support your individual care. It can also be used to plan local services and research new treatments. The choices below are only about research and planning. They do not stop information being used for your individual care. You can choose whether your confidential patient information is used for purposes other than your individual care, such as research and planning.

There are two ways to opt out, and you can use either or both.

Type 1 opt-out (this practice)

A type 1 opt-out stops your confidential patient information from leaving this practice for purposes other than your individual care, such as research and planning. To register or withdraw a type 1 opt-out, download the Type 1 opt-out form and return it to us by post, by email or at reception.

National data opt-out

A national data opt-out applies more widely. It lets you choose whether health and care organisations in England can use your confidential patient information for research and planning. You can make or change your choice at any time:

online at nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters
by phone on 0300 303 5678, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, excluding bank holidays

The NHS website also explains other ways to make or change your choice, including how to make a national data opt-out choice on behalf of someone else. That is different from asking the practice to discuss another patient’s care, which is explained below.

Summary Care Record

This is separate from the research and planning choices above. A Summary Care Record is used so that other health and care staff can treat you when they cannot see your full GP record.

Your Summary Care Record is a short electronic summary of your GP record. It contains information about the medicines you take, any allergies you have and any bad reactions you have had to medicines. It may also include some additional information from your GP record.

It helps staff to treat you, for example in an emergency or when the surgery is closed. Only registered health and care staff involved in your care can see it. They will ask your permission before they look at it, unless it is an emergency and you are unable to give permission.

Everyone registered with a GP practice has a Summary Care Record unless they have chosen not to have one. You do not have to have one. If you would like to opt out, or to limit your record to core information only, please tell the practice or complete the SCR patient preference form and return it to us. You can change your mind at any time.

Find out more about Summary Care Records on the NHS England Digital website

Speaking to us on behalf of someone else

This section is about what the practice can say to another person. It is not the same as making a national data opt-out choice on someone else’s behalf.

We cannot give test results or any other information about a patient to another person unless the patient has given us written consent to share their medical information with that person. We also cannot phone a patient because someone else has asked us to. We must respect the privacy of all our patients.

The next two sections are about sharing your record so that other services can care for you. This is different from the research and planning opt-outs above.

Our clinical system is SystmOne, which is supplied by TPP. If you are registered with another organisation that uses SystmOne, and that organisation has agreed to share your record with us, our clinicians can see your care history from that organisation. This gives them a more complete view of your medical history, so that they can make informed decisions about your care.

Your GP record at this surgery is shared with other services that use SystmOne. You do not have to allow your other (non-GP) records to be shared into or out of the surgery. If you have previously declined to share your record with a particular service, we will not be able to see that information.

Posters in the surgery explain how this works, and our leaflets explain how to opt out. You can also ask us for more details. You can change your mind at any time by writing to the surgery.

When local teams can see your GP record

If you receive care from one of the organisations listed below, they can see your GP medical record with your explicit permission. This helps them to care for you.

Community Nursing Team: the nurses and other health professionals who work in the community and visit patients at home.
OneCall and Echo: the teams who coordinate urgent care and end-of-life care in the community.
St Wilfrid’s Hospice: the team who provide tailored end-of-life care in the community and at the hospice in Chichester.
GP Enhanced Access: the clinics that provide additional GP appointments.

For more information, please see our GP record sharing poster (PDF).

If you do not want these organisations to be able to see your GP medical record, please print and complete our record sharing dissent form (PDF) and return it to reception.