How we use your Personal Information
The NHS in Lincolnshire asks for personal information so that we can help you receive proper care, treatment and support.
Information about you, your medical treatment, and family background may be recorded, either on paper or in computer files, as part of providing you with health services.
We keep records of:
- Your name, date of birth and address and NHS number
- Why you, or someone on your behalf contacted us, and when
- The type of service, support, or treatment you were offered or received
- Family information relevant to your healthcare
How we use your information:
Your health professional may need to make notes about any diagnosis, test results, treatments including drugs, prescriptions, and other information that you may provide, or is relevant to your care or treatment.
This will help if you need further treatment, or if you need to be seen by another health professional. They in turn may add their own notes.
Secretaries, receptionists, and other clerical staff need access to some of your records in order to perform administrative tasks, eg booking appointments and communicating with you and other parts of the NHS. This will not usually be clinical information.
Where appropriate we will share information with other agencies involved in your care or treatment. This will be done in consultation and agreement with yourself, or a relative if you are too ill. In certain circumstances we are required by law to report information to appropriate authorities. eg. to monitor diseases such as cancer.
All information about you is used on a “need to know basis”.
The Health Service
In order to manage the NHS, some restricted information concerning treatments, drugs prescribed, numbers of patients seen, etc. is needed, and hospitals and general practices must provide this statistical information to Central Government. This helps with planning services.
This information has personal details such as your name and address removed wherever possible.
Teaching
Some medical information is needed to teach student health professionals.
Medical Research
Researchers require access to medical statistics, and can greatly improve our understanding of health, and how to treat patients more effectively.
Some medical research may require your direct involvement. In all circumstances your permission will be sought and all researchers must seek approval from an ethics committee.
Generally, researchers only need information about groups of people.
In some cases, they need individual records, but wherever we can we will provide these in an ‘anonymised’ form (so individuals cannot be identified).
Rarely, it may not be practicable (or possible) to contact individuals for their consent, in which case the researchers must make their case before a Confidentiality Committee to show that there is enough benefit to the public at large to justify this.
How we protect your information
We take very seriously the sensitivity of personal information in the NHS. All staff and contractors are trained to respect their duty of confidentiality to you, as part of their professional codes of conduct.
We keep paper and electronic records securely to prevent unauthorised access or misuse. We are registered under the 1998 Data Protection Act and abide by their statutory requirements.
Accessing your Health Records
We are required by law to allow you access to your medical records. All requests to view your medical records should be made in writing. We are allowed by law to charge a basic fee to cover our administration and costs. If you want to find out more or have any concerns, please contact a health professional involved in your care.
Contact
If you would like further information or would like to make any comments about how personal information is used, please consult a current health professional involved in your care.
or Ian Hammerton practice manager
PALS: Patient Advice Liaison Services,
P.O.Box 711, LINCOLN. LN5 7WF Telephone: 0845 602 4384
E-mail: [email protected]
