What is a Summary Care Record?

Your Summary Care Record is a short summary of your GP medical records. It tells other health and care staff who care for you about the medicines you take and your allergies.

Some patients, including many with long term health conditions, have previously agreed to have additional information shared as part of their Summary Care Record. This additional information includes information about significant medical history (past and present), reasons for medications, care plan information and immunisations.

During the coronavirus pandemic period, your Summary Care Record will automatically have additional information included from your GP record unless you have previously told the NHS that you did not want this information to be shared.

Who Can View Your Record?

Staff will ask your permission to view your SCR (except in an emergency where you are unconscious, for example) and only staff with the right levels of security clearance can access the system, so your information is secure.

Do you Have to Have a Summary Care Record?

The purpose of SCR is to improve the care that you receive, however, if you don’t want to have an SCR you have the option to opt-out. If this is your preference please inform your GP or fill in an SCR opt-out form and return it to your GP practice.

For more detailed information click the link here

https://digital.nhs.uk/services/summary-care-records-scr/summary-care-records-scr-information-for-patients.

All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings (e.g. average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice. The average pay for GPs working in Shaftesbury Medical Centre in the last financial year was £50,568 before tax and national insurance. This is for 5 full-time GP’s and 6 part-time GP’s and 2 locums who worked in the practice for more than six months.

How we Use Your Information to Provide you With Healthcare

This practice keeps medical records confidential and complies with the General Data Protection Regulation.

We hold your medical record so that we can provide you with safe care and treatment.

We will also use your information so that this practice can check and review the quality of the care we provide. This helps us to improve our services to you.

We will share relevant information from your medical record with other health or social care staff or organisations when they provide you with care. For example, when they refer you to a specialist in a hospital. Or your prescription to your chosen pharmacy.

Healthcare staff working in A&E and out of hours care will also have access to your information. For example, it is important that staff who are treating you in an emergency know if you have any allergic reactions. This will involve the use of your Summary Care Record or locally Leeds Care record. For more information see our privacy notice on our practice website.

You have the right to object to information being shared for your own care. Please speak to the practice if you wish to object. You also have the right to have any factual mistakes or errors corrected.

Other Important Information About How Your Information is Used to Provide you With Healthcare

Registering for NHS Care

All patients who receive NHS care are registered on a national database.

This database holds your name, address, date of birth and NHS Number but it does not hold information about the care you receive.

The database is held by NHS Digital a national organisation that has legal responsibilities to collect NHS data.

Identifying Patients Who Might be at Risk of Certain Diseases

Your medical records will be searched by a computer programme so that we can identify patients who might be at high risk from certain diseases such as heart disease or unplanned admissions to the hospital.

This means we can offer patients additional care or support as early as possible.

This process will involve linking information from your GP record with information from other health or social care services you have used.

The information that identifies you will only be seen by this practice.

Safeguarding

Sometimes we need to share information so that other people, including healthcare staff, children or others with safeguarding needs, are protected from the risk of harm.

These circumstances are rare.

We do not need your consent or agreement to do this.

Your medical records will be searched by a computer programme so that we can identify patients who might be at high risk from certain diseases such as heart disease or unplanned admissions to the hospital.

This means we can offer patients additional care or support as early as possible.

This process will involve linking information from your GP record with information from other health or social care services you have used.

The information which identifies you will only be seen by this practice.

How Your Information is Used for Medical Research and to Measure the Quality of Care

Medical Research

We share information from medical records:

To support medical research when the law allows us to do so, for example, to learn more about why people get ill and what treatments might work best;

We will also at times use your medical records to carry out research within the practice.

If we share information with medical research organisations we would do this with your explicit consent or when the law allows. You have the right to object to your identifiable information being used or shared for medical research purposes. Please speak to the practice if you wish to object.

Checking the Quality of Care – National Clinical Audits

We contribute to national clinical audits so that healthcare can be checked and reviewed.

Information from medical records can help doctors and other healthcare workers measure and check the quality of care which is provided to you.

The results of the checks or audits can show where hospitals are doing well and where they need to improve.

The results of the checks or audits are used to recommend improvements to patient care.

Data is sent to NHS Digital a national body with legal responsibilities to collect data.

The data will include information about you, such as your NHS Number and date of birth and information about your health which is recorded in coded form – for example, the code for diabetes or high blood pressure.

We will only share your information for national clinical audits or checking purposes when the law allows.

You have the right to object to your identifiable information being shared for national clinical audits. Please contact the practice if you wish to object.

How Your Information is Shared so That This Practice Can Meet Legal Requirements

The law requires practices to share information from your medical records in certain circumstances. Information is shared so that the NHS or Public Health England can, for example:

Plan and manage services;

Check that the care being provided is safe;

Prevent infectious diseases from spreading.

We will share information with NHS Digital, the Care Quality Commission and the local health protection team (or Public Health England) when the law requires us to do so.

National Screening Programmes

The NHS provides national screening programmes so that certain diseases can be detected at an early stage.

These screening programmes include bowel cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, aortic aneurysms and a diabetic eye screening service.

The law allows us to share your contact information with Public Health England so that you can be invited to the relevant screening programme.

Access to Health Records

You have a legal right to apply for access to health information held about you.

A health record contains information about your mental and physical health recorded by a healthcare professional as part of your care.

If you want to see your health record please submit a written request to a member of our reception team,  a verbal request is acceptable if a written request is not possible. You will need to specify what information you require and why. You will need proof of ID.

Your GP will decide whether your request can be approved. We can refuse your request if, for example, we believe that releasing the information may cause serious harm to your physical or mental health or that of another person.

Confidentiality

The practice complies with data protection and access to medical records legislation. Identifiable information about you will be shared with others in the following circumstances:

To provide further medical treatment for you e.g. from district nurses and hospital services.

To help you get other services e.g. from the social work department. This requires your consent.

When we have a duty to others e.g. in child protection cases anonymised patient information will also be used at the local and national level to help the Health Board and Government plan services e.g. for diabetic care.

If you do not wish anonymous information about you to be used in such a way, please let us know.

Reception and administration staff require access to your medical records in order to do their jobs. These members of staff are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the medical staff.

Chaperones are available to both male and female patients. Please discuss this with your doctor. Our chaperones are all fully trained to perform their duties.

All patients have a named GP who is responsible for their care. There is no need for you to see your named GP you should continue to see the GP of your choice. We allocate all patients to a GP based on the letter of their surname.

The NHS operate a zero-tolerance policy with regard to violence and abuse and the practice has the right to remove violent patients from the list with immediate effect in order to safeguard practice staff, patients and other persons. Violence in this context includes actual or threatened physical violence or verbal abuse which leads to fear for a person’s safety.

All staff in this Practice have the right to do their work in an environment free from violent, threatening or abusive behaviour and everything will be done to protect this right. If you do not respect the rights of our staff we may choose to inform the police and make arrangements for you to be removed from our medical list.