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General Information GENERAL INFORMATION DRUGS & ALCOHOL DEPRESSION & ANXIETY CANCER DEMENTIA CARDIAC CARERS RESPIRATORY SIGHT TESTS DIABETES HEARING TESTS LIFESTYLE MISCELLANEOUS TELEPHONE SCREENING DRUGS & ALCOHOL Alcoholics Anonymous https://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/ Narcotics Anonymous http://ukna.org/ Open Road http ://openroad.org.uk / Young People’s Drug and Alcohol service www.childrenssociety.org.uk BACK TO TOP CANCER Information and Advice Please see the following website for further information and guidance https://castlepointandrochfordccg.nhs.uk/your-services/cancer Helen Rollason Cancer Charity http://www.helenrollason.org.uk/ Macmillan cancer support https://www.macmillan.org.uk / Cancer Research UK http:// www.cancerresearchuk.org Sue Ryder www.sueryder.org Prostate Cancer UK https :// prostatecanceruk.org Breast Cancer Care https:// www.breastcancercare.org.uk Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation https://www.roycastle.org/ Bowel Cancer UK https://www.bowelcanceruk.org.uk / Support groups (search on postcode for local services). https:// www.nhs.uk/Service-Search/Information-and-support-for-cancer/LocationSearch/320 https:// www.macmillan.org.uk/in-your-area/choose-location.html BACK TO TOP CAR DIAC British Heart Foundation (all areas of heart disease) https :// www.bhf.org.uk Heart UK (high cholesterol) https ://heartuk.org.uk / Heart Research UK Helping Hearts (congenital heart disease) https://www.heartresearch.org.uk/chd Cardiomyopathy UK (heart failure) http://www.cardiomyopathy.org / Pumping Marvellous (heart failure) http://pumpingmarvellous.org/ British Society for Heart Failure (heart failure) http://www.bsh.org.uk / Arrhythmia Alliance (heart rhythm problems) http:// www.heartrhythmalliance.org/afa/uk Blood Pressure UK http:// www.bloodpressureuk.org Blood Pressure association http://www.bpassoc.org.uk / Take Heart (patient support group) http://www.takeheartsouthend.org / Support group for patients with rhythm problems and/or an implantable cardiac device: Essex Heartbeat http://www.essexheartbeat.org / BACK TO TOP RESPIRATORY Asthma UK https://www.asthma.org.uk / British Lung Foundation (all lung disease) https://www.blf.org.uk / Cystic Fibrosis Trust https://www.cysticfibrosis.org.uk / Living Well with COPD http://www.livingwellwithcopd.com / Breathe Easy patient support group https://www.blf.org.uk/support-for-you/breathe-easy (search on postcode for local services). Also provide singing classes, exercise classes and pulmonary fibrosis support groups. BACK TO TOP BACK TO TOP DIABETES Diabetes UK https://www.diabetes.org.uk / Diabetes.co.uk https:// www.diabetes.co.uk/index.html Patient support groups (search on postcode for local services). https:// www.diabetes.org.uk/how_we_help/local_support_groups https:// www.nhs.uk/Service-Search/Information-and-support-for-diabetes/LocationSearch/333 BACK TO TOP DEPRESSION & ANXIETY Services for depression and anxiety and contact details https ://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/mental-health-helplines / Therapy for You (South Essex) https://www.therapyforyou.co.uk/about NHS Choice Moodzone https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression / MIND (search on postcode for local services) https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/local-minds/ South East and Central Essex MIND https://www.seandcessexmind.org.uk/ DEMENTIA Healthwatch Essex Dementia Handbook https://www.healthwatchessex.org.uk/what-we-do/topics/dementia-project/dementia-handbook/ Age UK https:// www.ageuk.org.uk Dementia UK https:// www.dementiauk.org NHS Choices Dementia guide https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dementia/help-and-support / Alzheimer's Society https://www.alzheimers.org.uk / Alzheimer's Navigators essex@alzheimers.org.uk Tel: 01245 260911 BACK TO TOP BACK TO TOP CARERS Community Agents Essex (supporting older people and informal carers) https://www.communityagentsessex.org.uk/ Citizens advice https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/looking-after-people/carers-help-and-support/ Carers UK https://www.carersuk.org / The Money Advice Service https:// www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/support-services-available-to-carers Carers Trust https://carers.org / Age UK https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/care/helping-a-loved-one / Mind https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/helping-someone-else/carers-friends-family-coping-support/#. Wnh4b6hl_IU MENCAP (learning disabilities) https://www.mencap.org.uk / SIGHT TESTS Everybody should have a sight test every two years, or more often if recommended by an optometrist. During your sight test the optometrist will check what you can see close up and in the distance usually using special charts of symbols or letters. This will enable them to understand whether you need glasses or a change of prescription. They will ask you about your eyesight, lifestyle, health and any previous eye problems you or family members may have had. Make sure you take a list of any medication you take, along with your glasses if you use them, or a previous glasses prescription. For those who are unable to answer questions, there are other ways of testing sight. This is useful for young children or those with learning difficulties or special educational needs. As well as providing an overall eye health check, a sight test might detect signs of underlying general health conditions, such as diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. The optometrist will tell you if they find any problems with your eyes and if there is something which needs further medical checks, they will write to your doctor or the eye hospital for you. They will provide you with a written statement of your results which includes your glasses prescription if you need one. They will also tell you how often you should go for a sight test. You qualify for a free NHS-funded sight test if: you’re aged under 16 you’re aged 16, 17 or 18 and are in full-time education you’re aged 60 or over you’re registered as partially sighted (sight impaired) or blind (severely sight impaired) you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes or glaucoma you’re 40 or over, and your mother, father, brother, sister, son or daughter has been diagnosed with glaucoma you’ve been advised by an ophthalmologist (eye doctor) that you’re at risk of glaucoma you’re a prisoner on leave from prison you’re eligible for an NHS complex lens voucher – your optometrist (optician) can advise you about your entitlement You’re also entitled to a free NHS sight test if you: receive Income Support receive Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (not Contribution-based) receive Pension Credit Guarantee Credit receive Income-based Employment and Support Allowance are awarded Universal Credit are entitled to, or named on, a valid NHS tax credit exemption certificate you are named on a valid NHS certificate for full help with health costs (HC2) When you go for your sight test, tell your ophthalmic practitioner that you’re entitled to a free NHS sight test. They will give you a form called GOS1 to fill in and sign. Mobile sight test If you qualify for a free NHS sight test, you may be entitled to NHS-funded mobile services where the ophthalmic practitioner comes to visit you: at home – if you’re unable to leave home unaccompanied because of physical or mental illness or disability at a residential or care home – if you normally live there and you’re unable to leave the home unaccompanied because of physical or mental illness or disability at a day centre – if you would have difficulty getting a sight test from an optometrist at their practice because of physical or mental illness or disability, or because you have difficulty communicating your health needs without help Call 111 to find out who provides mobile sight tests in your area. If you don’t qualify for a free NHS sight test, you will have to pay for a private sight test. The cost of private sight tests varies, so it’s advisable to shop around. BACK TO TOP BACK TO TOP HEARING TESTS There are a variety of ways you can have your hearing tested. Do it yourself If you think you may have a hearing loss but are not sure you can undertake a quick hearing test over the phone or online. These may be useful to give an early indication, but are not a substitute for a full hearing test. It is not advisable to buy a hearing aid on the basis of an online test so if you still think you are having hearing difficulties please contact your GP. Action on Hearing Loss over-the-phone hearing check – 0844 800 3838 (local rate call). This service is completely automated (you won’t have to speak to anyone) and anonymous. Or you can do a free online hearing check at Action on Hearing Loss, the British Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists (BSHAA), or Boots Hearing Care. Face to face Some GPs and private hearing aid dispensers offer to do a short hearing test. These tests are usually free, take about 15 minutes, and can indicate if you have a hearing problem. If a short hearing test suggests you have a hearing problem, the next step is to have a full hearing assessment. A full hearing test appointment lasts up to an hour, and can be carried out by your GP surgery, hospital clinic, or by a private hearing aid dispenser. Most GPs don’t have the equipment to do a full hearing test in the surgery, but they can examine your ears to check for obvious problems, like a build-up of earwax, and treat the cause if necessary. Your GP can also give you a referral to an NHS hospital specialist to have your ears and hearing thoroughly checked and an NHS hearing aid fitted. At the NHS hospital clinic In the clinic, you’ll be seen by an audiologist (and possibly by an ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor first, if your GP has requested it). Before the audiologist tests your hearing, you will be asked some questions about your hearing and they will look in your ears. You’ll then have a hearing test lasting about 20 minutes. During the hearing test, you’ll sit in a soundproof booth or room with headphones on while the audiologist presents a series of sounds. When you hear a sound, you signal to the audiologist, normally by pressing a button or raising your hand. Private testing You might choose to go directly to a private hearing aid dispenser instead of having your hearing tested on the NHS. Just as with the NHS route, a hearing aid dispenser will assess you with a full hearing test lasting up to an hour before deciding if you would benefit from wearing hearing aids. You don’t need a referral from your GP. Some local hearing aid dispensers offer free testing, so it’s worth asking before you make an appointment. The Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) keeps a list of qualified private hearing aid dispensers. You can use the HCPC’s online register to check if the hearing aid dispenser you’re about to use is registered. Home testing If you are housebound, or have difficulty getting to the audiology department, discuss this with your GP. They can write to the NHS audiology department and request for an audiologist to come to your home if needed. If you get your hearing aid privately you can find a hearing aid dispenser who will do a home visit through the BSHAA website. Some offer free home testing, so ask before you make an appointment. BACK TO TOP LIFESTYLE Smoking cessation services Smokefree www.nhs.uk/smokefree Southend Stop Smoking Service http://www.southend.gov.uk/info/200445/healthier_lifestyles/473/stop_smoking NHS Choices (search for smoking cessation service on postcode) https://www.nhs.uk/Service-Search/Smoking-cessation-clinic/LocationSearch/636 Weight and Exercise My Weight Matters online programme (ACE) http://acelifestyle.org/weight-management ACE Lifestyle Southend (weight, exercise, smoking) http://acelifestyle.org/southend-lifestyle Health and fitness apps: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/nhs-health-check/Pages/tools-and-technology-that-can-help.aspx https://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-matters-magazine/activity/7-free-fitness-apps Couch to 5K (exercise programme) https :// www.nhs.uk/LiveWell/c25k/Pages/couch-to-5k.aspx Change 4 Life (healthy lifestyle advice) https:// www.nhs.uk/change4life Walking for Health (search on postcode) https:// www.walkingforhealth.org.uk/walkfinder Parkrun www.parkrun.org.uk Seated exercise programme https:// www.nhs.uk/Livewell/fitness/Pages/sitting-exercises-for-older-people.aspx Seated exercise programme https://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-matters-magazine/activity/chair-based-exercises BACK TO TOP MISCELLANEOUS SERVICES Bereavement CRUSE Bereavement care https:// www.cruse.org.uk/home Bereavement support at Fair Haven hospice https://www.havenshospices.org.uk/home Sexual health Essex Sexual Health Service (not Southend) https://www.essexsexualhealthservice.org.uk / NHS Choices [search on postcode for local services providing sexual health and contraception services (includes pharmacies)] https:// www.nhs.uk/Service-Search/Sexual-health-services/LocationSearch/1847 Dental services Search for an NHS dentist https://www.nhs.uk/Service-Search/Dentist/LocationSearch/3 Call NHS England's Customer Contact Centre on 0300 311 2233 if cannot find dentist accepting NHS patients. NHS 111 can provide details of emergency dental services. Miscellaneous information sources/services ECL - support to live independently for people with learning, physical, sensory or mental health needs) https://www.ecl.org/ Essex Age UK (expert advice, help at home, toe nail cutting, information on clubs and activities) https://www.ageuk.org.uk/essex/ Clubs and groups directory https://www.ageuk.org.uk/essex/activities-and-events/clubs-and-groups/ Healthwatch Essex Guide to Health and Wellbeing for young people http://www.carechoices.co.uk/region/Essex Turn2us (national charity helping people in financial hardship) https://www.turn2us.org.uk / Gamblers Anonymous https://www.gamblersanonymous.org.uk / Relate (relationship support) https ://www.relate.org.uk / Family Lives (parenting) https ://www.familylives.org.uk / BEAT (eating disorders) https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk / Refuge (domestic violence) https://www.refuge.org.uk / BBC Health - Wide range of health subjects. http://www.bbc.co.uk/health British Liver Trust- Liver disease information http://www.britishlivertrust.org.uk/ USEFUL CONTACT TELEPHONE NUMBERS Community Nurses 01702 343599 Health Visitor 01702 762020 (ext 210) Basildon Hospital 01268 524900 Southend Hospital 01702 435555 Ante-Natal Appointments 01702 221200 Rayleigh Centre (Mental Health) 01268 366650 Olive Tree Centre (Counselling) 07817 106295 Social Services 01268 565999 Emergency Social Services 01245 434083 NHS (Prescription Prepayment Advice) 0845 850 0030 Open Adult Counselling Service 07963 279272 Therapy for You 01268 739128 BACK TO TOP SCREENING Information on NHS Screening Programmes can be found at the following sites: NHS screening - NHS (www.nhs.uk) Population screening programmes: detailed information - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

News and Updates Do you have a joint or muscle problem? Please use the FREE getUBetter app designed and written by your local clinicians in South East Essex . It offers local tips, advice, and exercises tailored to you and your stage of recovery. Instant access Easy to use Safe and effective Your healthcare professionals cannot be with you 24/7, but getUBetter can. Why is self-care important? Most musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries and conditions can be treated at home and get better without the need for a specialist appointment. getUBetter gives you the knowledge, skills, and confidence you need to improve your MSK health and lifestyle. What is getUBetter? getUBetter is a safe and effective way to help you self-manage your injury or condition at home, work, and on the move. The app covers a range of musculoskeletal injuries and conditions… Back Back & Leg Neck Shoulder Elbow Hip Knee Ankle Sprains and strains - leg Upper Limb Tendinopathy Lower Limb Tendinopathy …and is designed to help you trust your recovery, live and work well. Who is getUBetter for? Anyone 18 or over who needs help with a joint or muscle problem. What will I get? Instant and 24/7 access to a personalised programme Easy-to-follow self-progression exercises Daily tips and local guidance from day one Advice on where to seek help when needed Access to local treatments and services What are the next steps? Follow the link to access your local health service, then select your GP practice, as well as the condition you’d like support with. Enter your email. Download the getUBetter app and sign up using the same email address. Follow the instructions in the app to access your local support pathway. Log in and follow your programme regularly to improve your MSK health. If you need further help getting started, watch our videos (GetUBetter get started, GetUBetter How it works) or get in touch with one of our team: contact@getubetter.com The app is not suitable for: Under 18-year-olds People with worsening neurological symptoms like numbness, weakness, or problems with bowel or bladder. People diagnosed with an infection, rheumatological problems, neurological issues, cancer, kidney, fracture, and pelvic organ pain. People that are requiring an ongoing close medical attention. People with very severe, worsening symptoms Pregnancy-related problems getUBetter Checkout the new Online Consultation website The Benfleet Primary Care Network Use this link to access the latest information from the Benfleet PCN Benfleet PCN Financial support for long term conditions Essex Wellbeing Service We support people in the community and at work with a range of health, wellbeing and day-to-day needs. Essex Wellbeing Service Leaflet Winter asthma care for your child As we continue with our Children's Health Matters series, this week we're focusing on a condition that many families contend with, especially in the colder months—asthma. Asthma symptoms can become more pronounced during winter, making it crucial to manage your child's condition effectively. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW Children's Winetr Asthma Care "Living Well" Website A key part of the local health and care agenda is to support people in our communities to improve their long-term health and wellbeing to enable them to live, work and thrive. NHS Castle Point and Rochford, in partnership with Essex County Council, is offering local residents free access to "The Sound Doctor" - a library of patient education videos to support those with long term health conditions to live their lives to the full. To access the videos, please visit http://www.livewellcampaign.co.uk/sounddr Try the new NHS App If you’re a patient at our practice you can now use the new NHS App, a simple and secure way to access a range of NHS services on your smartphone or tablet. You can use the NHS App to check your symptoms and get instant advice, book appointments, order repeat prescriptions, view your GP medical record and more. For more information go to www.nhs.uk/nhsapp ' (You might also need to review existing website content to make sure it covers the different options patients have to connect with online services.) Patient Participation Group We have a Patient Participation Group [PPG] to engage with the Surgery and be a forum to discuss how we might ensure that the services we provide will meet the needs of our patients. If you are interested in joining this Group, please contact our Practice Manager, Jill Lewis on 01268 753591 for more information. WIFI Wi-Fi is available on site for the use of our visitor via third party provider as part of the NHS initiative. The Practice has no access to data held or control over Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi and password provided where terms and conditions apply. See attached Policy WiFi Policy

Details of Online Services Try the NHS App If you’re a patient at our practice, you can use the NHS App to access a range of NHS services on your smartphone or tablet. It doesn’t replace existing services. You can still contact us in the usual ways. But, once you have verified your identity in the app, you will have easy, 24/7 access to a growing range of health services and information. You can: order repeat prescriptions access NHS 111 online find NHS services view your health records book appointments and much more… If you have any problems using the NHS App, you can select ‘help’ in the top right-hand corner of the app or visit nhs.uk/helpmeapp . nhs.uk/helpmeapp Online Services SystmOnline You can order repeat prescriptions and book or cancel some appointments on line via our website. First you must register for this service. Ask at reception for a printout of your ‘User Name’ and ‘Password’ and the sheet will direct you to the website where you can now logon to SystmOnline. A brief overview of the services: (You will need to bring some identification with you, and this must be done in person as a password will be issued to you) SystmOnline makes appointment booking and medication requesting easy - any time. Manage your appointments online. Booking your next appointment over the internet is easy. And you can do it any time without waiting for surgery phone lines to open. So, whether it’s the middle of the night, your lunch break at work, or even if you’re away on holiday, you can login and secure yourself an appointment within seconds. Forgotten the time of your next appointment? Login to SystmOnline and see it! Your appointment no longer needed? Login to SystmOnline and cancel it. Manage your medication online If you find it hard to get in to the practice to order your next repeat prescription, SystmOnline could make your life easier. Simply login to SystmOnline and view a list of the medication you have been prescribed. Select the prescription you need and click the ‘Request Medication’ button. All you have to do then is go and collect your prescription as normal two days later. Security The SystmOnline service has been developed, tested and accredited by a government body called NHS Connecting for Health. All personal information used by SystmOnline is secure and protected. It is only available to staff at your practice who have the appropriate security controls, i.e. those managing appointments, repeat prescribing and patient registration. You will not be able to access your complete medical record online. The only health related information you can access from the internet is your repeat prescription list and times of future appointments. Nevertheless we still regard this as confidential information so we want to safeguard you by asking that everyone who registers for SystmOnline brings along some form of identification before we issue your username and password. If you are housebound please write to us or ask someone else to drop in a signed authorisation and we will send your username and password to you by post marked ‘Private and Confidential’. Ask a Question? Through the Systmonline website you will be able to send a question to the practice. Please only use this if you are happy for us to answer the question by email – and remember to leave your email address! The question will be passed to the most appropriate person in the practice for a reply but could take up to a week for reply so please only use this for non-urgent queries. SystmOnline

Information and Advice for New Patients INFORMATION FOR NEW PATIENTS, POLICIES, DATA PROTECTION & COMPLAINTS NEW PATIENTS & POLICIES FAIR PROCESSING & PRIVACY CONSENT & OBJECTIONS COMPLAINTS PRIVACY Registration for New Patients This enables patients to register directly with our practice by clicking on the following link. NHS Register New Patients Practice Boundary Our catchment is the SS7 postcode area bounded by Canvey Way and Rayleigh Spur Road (A130) to the West, A127 to the North, Southend Borough to the East and Benfleet Creek to the South. To Register To register with us, please visit our Reception desk, if possible bringing with you your NHS Medical card. (If you do not have this, you will be given a Registration form to complete). You will also be asked to complete a questionnaire, and will need to book for a Registration Examination with one of our Nurses, for each new patient aged 5 and over, before the Registration process can be fully completed. All patients have now been allocated a named accountable GP who will have overall responsibility for the care and support that our surgery provides to them. Your Named Accountable GP is Dr Carlos Volkmar and should be advised to you on initial registration with us. We DO NOT tolerate violent or abusive language or actions towards staff or premises. Any such person will be asked to leave the premises (with the assistance of the Police if necessary) and may also be removed from the Doctors' list Please help us to keep our records up to date by telling the receptionist promptly if you change your name, address, phone number or any other information you feel we should be aware of. Policies & Protocols PATIENT PRIVACY NOTICE HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION This fair processing notice explains why the GP practice collects information about you and how that information may be used. The health care professionals who provide you with care maintain records about your health and any treatment or care you have received previously (e.g. NHS Trust, GP Surgery, Walk-in clinic, etc.). These records help to provide you with the best possible healthcare. NHS health records may be electronic, on paper or a mixture of both, and we use a combination of working practices and technology to ensure that your information is kept confidential and secure. Records which this GP Practice hold about you may include the following information; • Details about you, such as your address, carer, legal representative, emergency contact details • Any contact the surgery has had with you, such as appointments, clinic visits, emergency appointments, etc. • Notes and reports about your health • Details about your treatment and care • Results of investigations such as laboratory tests, x-rays etc • Relevant information from other health professionals, relatives or those who care for you To ensure you receive the best possible care, your records are used to facilitate the care you receive. Information held about you may be used to help protect the health of the public and to help us manage the NHS. Information may be used within the GP practice for clinical audit to monitor the quality of the service provided. Some of this information will be held centrally and used for statistical purposes. Where we do this, we take strict measures to ensure that individual patients cannot be identified. Sometimes your information may be requested to be used for research purposes – the surgery will always gain your consent before releasing the information for this purpose. BACK TO TOP REGISTRATION FORM NEW PATIENT REGISTRATION QUESTIONNAIRE PRACTICE FAIR PROCESSING & PRIVACY NOTICE Your Information, Your Rights Being transparent and providing accessible information to patients about how we will use your personal information is a key element of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the EU General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). The following notice reminds you of your rights in respect of the above legislation and how your GP Practice will use your information for lawful purposes in order to deliver your care and the effective management of the local NHS system. This notice reflects how we use information for: The management of patient records; Communication concerning your clinical, social and supported care; Ensuring the quality of your care and the best clinical outcomes are achieved through clinical audit and retrospective review; Participation in health and social care research; and The management and clinical planning of services to ensure that appropriate care is in place for our patients today and in the future. Data Controller As your registered GP practice, we are the data controller for any personal data that we hold about you. What information do we collect and use? All personal data must be processed fairly and lawfully, whether received directly from you or from a third party in relation to your care. We will collect the following types of information from you directly, or about you from a third party (provider organisation) engaged in the delivery of your care: ‘Personal data’ meaning any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified from the data. This includes, but is not limited to name, date of birth, full postcode, address, next of kin and [NHS number/HCN number/ CHI number]; ‘Special category / sensitive data’ such as medical history including details of appointments and contact with you, medication, emergency appointments and admissions, clinical notes, treatments, results of investigations, supportive care arrangements, social care status, race, ethnic origin, genetics and sexual orientation. How the NHS and care services use your information Your healthcare records contain information about your health and any treatment or care you have received previously (e.g., from an acute hospital, GP surgery, community care provider, mental health care provider, walk-in centre, social services). These records may be electronic, a paper record or a mixture of both. We use a combination of technologies and working practices to ensure that we keep your information secure and confidential. High Road Family Doctors is one of many practices working in the health and care system to improve care for patients and the public. Whenever you use a health or care service, such as attending Accident & Emergency or using Community Care services, important information about you is collected in a patient record for that service. Collecting this information helps to ensure you get the best possible care and treatment. The information collected about you when you use these services can also be used and provided to other organisations for purposes beyond your individual care, for instance to help with: improving the quality and standards of care provided research into the development of new treatments preventing illness and diseases monitoring safety planning services This may only take place when there is a clear legal basis to use this information. All these uses help to provide better health and care for you, your family and future generations. Confidential patient information about your health and care is only used like this where allowed by law. National Data Opt-Out Most of the time, anonymised data is used for research and planning so that you cannot be identified in which case your confidential patient information isn’t needed. You have a choice about whether you want your confidential patient information to be used in this way. If you are happy with this use of information you do not need to do anything. If you do choose to opt out your confidential patient information will still be used to support your individual care. To find out more or to register your choice to opt out, please visit www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters . On this web page you will: See what is meant by confidential patient information Find examples of when confidential patient information is used for individual care and examples of when it is used for purposes beyond individual care Find out more about the benefits of sharing data Understand more about who uses the data Find out how your data is protected Be able to access the system to view, set or change your opt-out setting Find the contact telephone number if you want to know any more or to set/change your opt-out by phone See the situations where the opt-out will not apply You can also find out more about how patient information is used at: https://www.hra.nhs.uk/information-about-patients/ (which covers health and care research); and https://understandingpatientdata.org.uk/what-you-need-know (which covers how and why patient information is used, the safeguards and how decisions are made) You can change your mind about your choice at any time. Data being used or shared for purposes beyond individual care does not include your data being shared with insurance companies or used for marketing purposes and data would only be used in this way with your specific agreement. Health and care organisations have until 2020 to put systems and processes in place so they can be compliant with the national data opt-out and apply your choice to any confidential patient information they use or share for purposes beyond your individual care. Our organisation is currently compliant with the national data opt-out policy. Why do we collect this information? The NHS Act 2006 and the Health and Social Care Act 2012 invests statutory functions on GP Practices to promote and provide the health service in England, improve quality of services, reduce inequalities, conduct research, review performance of services and deliver education and training. To do this we will need to process your information in accordance with current data protection legislation to: Protect your vital interests; Pursue our legitimate interests as a provider of medical care, particularly where the individual is a child or a vulnerable adult; Perform tasks in the public’s interest; Deliver preventative medicine, medical diagnosis, medical research; and Manage the health and social care system and services. Who will we share your information with? In order to deliver and coordinate your health and social care, we may share information with the following organisations: Local GP Practices, as part of a Primary Care Network (PCN), in order to deliver extended primary care services NHS Secondary Care, i.e. Hospitals 111 and Out of Hours Service Local Social Services and Community Care services Voluntary Support Organisations commissioned to provide services by [Mid & South Integrated Cared System] Your information will only be shared if it is appropriate for the provision of your care or required to satisfy our statutory function and legal obligations. Your information will not be transferred outside of the European Union. Whilst we might share your information with the above organisations, we may also receive information from them to ensure that your medical records are kept up to date and so that your GP can provide the appropriate care. In addition, we receive data from NHS Digital (as directed by the Department of Health) such as the uptake of flu vaccinations and disease prevalence in order to assist us to improve “out of hospital care”. My Care Record Your GP, hospital, community health, mental health and social care teams may all hold records about your care separately. Often, only health and care professionals within the same organisation can see this information. This means it can be difficult for them to work together to deliver the best care. My Care Record is an approach to improving care by joining up health and care information. Wherever possible, health and care professionals will be able to access your records from other services when it is needed for your care. This will make it easier and faster for them to make the best decisions. For example, a doctor treating you in hospital or a nurse working in the community could view the information they need from your GP record. Several different secure computer systems are used across the region. These allow health and care professionals to digitally access your records held by other services. In some areas systems are already in place, in other areas more work is underway to invest in the technology needed. The approach also provides an agreement between all the health and care organisations involved. This means they commit to sharing information in a secure way to help improve your care. The My Care Record approach is in line with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which provides the legal basis to share information between health and care services when it is needed to deliver care. All your information will be held securely. You can object to your record being shared between services. To do this, speak to the person delivering care to you at each organisation such as your GP, specialist or social worker. It is important to understand that not allowing access to your information may affect the quality of the care you receive. In many situations it is necessary to share information between services to deliver care. However, it may be possible to request that specific or sensitive information is not made available. There may also be some situations where information still needs to be made available. For example, if there is a serious concern about an individual’s safety. Please see the My Care Record website www.mycarerecord.org.uk for more information. More information about the areas where your information may be used can be found on the My Care Record website My Care Record: Privacy Notice Primary Care Networks Many people are living with long term conditions such as diabetes and heart disease or suffer with mental health issues and may need to access their local health services more often. To meet these needs, GP practices are working together with community, mental health, social care, pharmacy, hospital, and voluntary services in their local areas in groups of practices known as primary care networks (PCNs). PCNs build on existing primary care services and enable greater provision of proactive, personalised, coordinated and more integrated health and social care for people close to home. Clinicians describe this as a change from reactively providing appointments to proactively caring for the people and communities they serve. We are part of the Benfleet PCN (Primary Care Network) which is a network of GPs practices established to provide integrated services to the local population. Members of the network are: Dr. Khan & Partners St. Georges Medical Practice The Hollies Essex Way Surgery High Road Family Doctors PA Patel Benfleet Surgery By operating as a network, we as the PCN are responsible for delivering the following services working collaboratively with other providers: Social Prescribing; Covid Vaccination Programme; First Contact Physiotherapy; First Contact Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner Where necessary and relevant to support your direct care, we will share your confidential patient information with members of our network and with our collaborative organisations to support safe, efficient and effective care and treatment. If you are not happy for your health data to be shared with the organisations detailed above if you wish to access PCN services, then you can object to this. To do so you should contact your registered Practice so they can discuss the potential impact this could have on your care and treatment. Data Processors Data processors act on behalf of the Practice, as a data controller and under our authority. In doing so, they serve our interests rather than their own. A processor can be a company or other legal entity (such as an incorporated partnership, incorporated association or public authority), or an individual, for example a consultant. The following is a list of processors that the practice has engaged, and a description of the work they carry out on our behalf: The Phoenix Partnership (TPP) SystmOne (GP clinical system) – The practice uses a computer system to record and store patient’s clinical information, this is provided by TPP. All information recorded within the system is held on TPP servers, accessible to the practice over the secure Health and Social Care Network (HSCN). All data processed by TPP is used and stored within the UK. Mid & South Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) Information Governance (IG) [& Data Protection Officer (DPO)] Services – The IG service supports the practice with GDPR and Data Protection compliance, including advice and assistance with breaches of legislation, data subjects’ rights and other data protection issues raised by patient’s or public, as well as helping with completion of the Data Security & Protection Toolkit, and data protection impact assessments. [The DPO service provides a named experienced IG professional within the team to act on behalf of the practice as their Data Protection Officer, to assist monitoring internal compliance, inform and advise on your data protection obligations, provide advice regarding Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) and act as a contact point for data subjects and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).] Arden & GEM Commissioning Support Unit (CSU) Primary Care Enabling Services (IT) – The IT service includes access to the secure network (including HSCN) and cyber security, including electronic storage of information on hosted servers. Business Intelligence (BI) – The BI function within the CSU, receives pseudonymised patient data, combines this with other pseudonymised data sets provided by the ICB (including hospital, community, mental health and ambulance data), then supports practices with analysis of that information, in order for the practice to better target services to their population. This includes population health management and risk stratification (more detail on these programmes of work is available below). NHS Digital Data Services for Commissioners Regional Office (DSCRO) – Hosted within Arden & GEM CSU, but contracted to work for NHS Digital, the DSCRO receives clear patient identifiable information and applies a key to scramble this information, this is called pseudonymisation and renders the data essentially anonymous although still linkable across other datasets pseudonymised using the same key. This data is then shared with the CSU BI Team for linkage and analysis. NHSmail – Provides the practice with a secure email service, common across much of the NHS. This includes access to Microsoft Teams and other software. Surgery Connect (X-on) Telephone System Call recording will be used for all calls and information stored for 12 months. You have the right to object to data processors handling your personal information, though bear in mind that this is not an absolute right, the practices legitimate grounds can override objections raised. Please raise any issues with the practice manager who will arrange for a discussion and consideration of any objections. Further information on this right is available here: https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/the-right-to-object-to-the-use-of-your-data/ How do we maintain the confidentiality of your records? We are committed to protecting your privacy and will only use information that has been collected lawfully. Every member of staff who works for an NHS organisation has a legal obligation to keep information about you confidential. We maintain our duty of confidentiality by conducting annual training and awareness, ensuring access to personal data is limited to the appropriate staff and information is only shared with organisations and individuals that have a legitimate and legal basis for access. Information is not held for longer than is necessary. We will hold your information in accordance with the Records Management Code of Practice for Health and Social Care 2016. BACK TO TOP BACK TO TOP Consent and Objections Do I need to give my consent? The GDPR sets a high standard for consent. Consent means offering people genuine choice and control over how their data is used. When consent is used properly, it helps you build trust and enhance your reputation. However, consent is only one potential lawful basis for processing information. Therefore, your GP practice may not need to seek your explicit consent for every instance of processing and sharing your information, on the condition that the processing is carried out in accordance with this notice. Your GP Practice will contact you if they are required to share your information for any other purpose which is not mentioned within this notice. Your consent will be documented within your electronic patient record. What will happen if I withhold my consent or raise an objection? You have the right to write to withdraw your consent to any time for any particular instance of processing, provided consent is the legal basis for the processing. Please contact your GP Practice for further information and to raise your objection. Population Health Management Population Health Management (PHM) – is helping us understand our current, and predict our future, health and care needs so we can take action in tailoring better care and support with individuals, design more joined up and sustainable health and care services and make better use of public resources. We use historical and current patient level data to understand what factors are driving poor outcomes in different population groups, we then design new proactive models of care which will improve health and wellbeing. This could be by stopping people becoming unwell in the first place, or, where this isn’t possible, improving the way the system works together to support them. This only uses pseudonymised data i.e. where information that identifies you has been removed and replaced with a pseudonym. This will only ever be reidentified if we discover that you may benefit from a particular health intervention, in which case only the relevant staff within your practice or health/care provider will be able to see your personal information in order to offer this service to you. In order to carry out this data linkage, your pseudonymised data will be passed to Arden & GEM Commissioning Support Unit, part of NHS England, who will link this to other local and national data sources to be able to carry out appropriate analyses. PHM is a partnership approach across the NHS and other public services, the outputs of the PHM programme will be shared across these organisations. All have a role to play in addressing the interdependent issues that affect people’s health and wellbeing. Type of Information Used Different types of commissioning data are legally allowed to be used by different organisations within, or contracted to, the NHS. Information put into the population health management tools used by the ICB include: Age Gender GP Practice, Community and Hospital attendances and admissions Medications prescribed Medical conditions (in code form) and other things that affect your health. Legal Basis Statutory requirement for NHS Digital to collect identifiable information. Section 251 of the National Health Service Act 2006 and its current Regulations, the Health Service (Control of Patient Information) Regulations 2002 allows the Secretary of State for Health to make regulations to set aside the common law duty of confidence for defined medical purposes. In practice, this means the person responsible for the information can disclose confidential patient information without consent to an applicant without being in breach of the common law duty of confidence, if the requirements of the regulations are met. The person responsible for the information must still comply with all other relevant legal obligations such as the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Human Rights Act 1998. A Section 251 approval (CAG 2-03(a)/2013) from the Secretary of State, through the Confidentiality Advisory Group of the Health Research Authority, enables the use of pseudonymised information about patients included in the datasets. There is no requirement for a legal basis for use of the aggregated information which is available to the ICB as this does not identify individuals. Data Processing Activities The practice processes this data internally. Data is also processed by Arden & GEM Commissioning Support Unit and Mid and South Essex ICB. Opt-out details You have a choice about whether you want your confidential patient information to be used in this way. If you are happy with this use of information you do not need to do anything. If you do not wish your data to be included in the PHM service (even though it is in a format which does not directly identify you) you can choose to opt-out. In this case, because pseudonymised data is being used, the National Data Opt-Out does not apply. Instead, please inform the practice who will apply an opt-out code to your record to ensure that your information is not included in the programme. Sub-licensing Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) are partnerships that bring together providers and commissioners of NHS services across a geographical area with local authorities and other local partners to collectively plan health and care services to meet the needs of their population. The central aim of the ICS is to integrate care across different organisations and settings, joining up hospital and community-based services, physical and mental health, and health and social care. All parts of England are now covered by one of 42 ICSs. The new Health and Care act 2022 established 42 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) across England as statutory bodies and abolished the 106 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). The ICB will take on the NHS commissioning functions of the former CCGs as well as some of NHS England’s commissioning functions. It will also be accountable for NHS spend and performance within the system. The Board of the ICB will, as a minimum, include a chair, the CEO and representatives from NHS providers, general practice and local authorities. In order to assure a smooth transition to the new commissioning landscape, the ICB need to be able to share data with providers and local authorities within their ICS so they are fully able to contribute to commissioning decisions. The ICS Sub-License approach will allow the ICB to share data they receive from NHS Digital via their commissioning agreements with members of their ICS. This will be limited to pseudonymised commissioning data without the provider unique local patient id included. Re-identification - This is permitted but the ICB will be responsible for determining which users will have this ability. They must be a health or social care professional with a legitimate (direct care) relationship to the patient. It is important to note that direct care relies on the “implied consent” legal basis. Therefore, the patient must be aware of this relationship through clear communication. Type of Information Used Different types of commissioning data are legally allowed to be used by different organisations within, or contracted to, the NHS. Information put into the population health management tools used by the ICB include: Age Gender GP Practice, Community and Hospital attendances and admissions Medications prescribed Medical conditions (in code form) and other things that affect your health. Legal Basis Statutory requirement for NHS Digital to collect identifiable information. A Section 251 approval (CAG 2-03(a)/2013) from the Secretary of State, through the Confidentiality Advisory Group of the Health Research Authority, enables the use of pseudonymised information about patients included in the datasets. The legal basis for sharing the data with ICS members is: Article 6 (1) (e) – processing is necessary for the performance of a task in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller and Article 9 (2) (h) – processing is necessary for the purposes of preventive or occupational medicine, for the assessment of the working capacity of the employee, medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems Data Processing Activities The ICB processes this data internally. Data is also processed by Arden & GEM Commissioning Support Unit. The ICS Partners currently involved in the Sub-Licensing process are: Essex County Council Southend City Council Thurrock Council Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust East of England Ambulance Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust North East London NHS Foundation Trust Provide CiC The ICS Partners will become Data Controllers in their own right for the data received under the sub-licensing, however certain rules will apply to this: Onward sharing of the data by ICS members is not permitted. Data must be segregated from other datasets and additional linkage is not permitted. Opt-out details You have a choice about whether you want your confidential patient information to be used in this way. If you are happy with this use of information you do not need to do anything. If you do not wish your data to be included (even though it is in a format which does not directly identify you) you can choose to opt-out. In this case, because pseudonymised data is being used, the National Data Opt-Out does not apply. Instead, please inform your GP practice who will apply an opt-out code to your record to ensure that your information is not included in the programme. Health Risk Screening / Risk Stratification Health Risk Screening or Risk stratification is a process GPs use to help them to identify and support patients with long-term conditions and to help prevent un-planned hospital admissions or reduce the risk of certain diseases developing such as type 2 diabetes. This is called risk stratification for case-finding. The ICB also uses risk stratified data to understand the health needs of the local population to plan and commission the right services. This is called risk stratification for commissioning. Risk stratification tools use historic information about patients, such as age, gender, diagnoses and patterns of hospital attendance and admission collected by NHS Digital from NHS hospitals and community care services. This is linked to data collected in GP practices and analysed to produce a risk score. There is currently s251 support in place for the ICB to be able to receive data with the NHS Number as an identifier from both NHS Digital and the GP Practice to enable this work to take place. The Data is sent directly into a risk stratification tool from NHS Digital /GP Practices to enable the data to be linked and processed as described above. Once the data is within the tool ICB staff only have access to anonymised or aggregated data. GPs can identify individual patients from the risk stratified data when it is necessary discuss the outcome and consider preventative care. Your GP will use computer-based algorithms or calculations to identify their registered patients who are at most risk, with support from the local Commissioning Support Unit and/or a third-party accredited Risk Stratification provider. The risk stratification contracts are arranged by Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board in accordance with the current Section 251 Agreement. Neither the CSU nor your local Integrated Cared Board (ICB) will at any time have access to your personal or confidential data. They will only act on behalf of your GP to organise the risk stratification service with appropriate contractual technical and security measures in place. Your GP will routinely conduct the risk stratification process outside of your GP appointment. This process is conducted electronically and without human intervention. The resulting report is then reviewed by a multidisciplinary team of staff within the Practice. This may result in contact being made with you if alterations to the provision of your care are identified. Type of Information Used Different types of commissioning data are legally allowed to be used by different organisations within, or contracted to, the NHS. Information put into the population health management tools used by the ICB include: Age Gender GP Practice, Community and Hospital attendances and admissions Medications prescribed Medical conditions (in code form) and other things that affect your health. Legal Basis Statutory requirement for NHS Digital to collect identifiable information. A Section 251 approval (CAG 2-03(a)/2013) from the Secretary of State, through the Confidentiality Advisory Group of the Health Research Authority, enables the use of pseudonymised information about patients included in the datasets. Data Processing Activities The practice processes this data internally. Data is also processed by Arden & GEM Commissioning Support Unit and Prescribing Services Ltd on behalf of the practice. Opt-out details You have a choice about whether you want your confidential patient information to be used in this way. If you are happy with this use of information you do not need to do anything. If you do not wish your data to be included in the risk stratification service (even though it is in a format which does not directly identify you) you can choose to opt-out. In this case, because pseudonymised data is being used, the National Data Opt-Out does not apply. Instead, please inform your GP practice who will apply an opt-out code to your record to ensure that your information is not included in the programme. As mentioned above, you have the right to object to your information being used in this way. However, you should be aware that your objection may have a negative impact on the timely and proactive provision of your direct care. Please contact the Practice Manager to discuss how disclosure of your personal data can be limited. Sharing of Electronic Patient Records within the NHS Electronic patient records are kept in most places where you receive healthcare. Our local electronic systems (such as SystmOne, EMIS and Eclipse) enables your record to be shared with organisations involved in your direct care, such as: GP practices Community services such as district nurses, rehabilitation services, telehealth and out of hospital services. Child health services that undertake routine treatment or health screening Urgent care organisations, minor injury units or out of hours services Community hospitals Palliative care hospitals Care Homes Mental Health Trusts Hospitals Social Care organisations Pharmacies In addition, NHS England have implemented the Summary Care Record which contains information including medication you are taking and any bad reactions to medication that you have had in the past. In most cases, particularly for patients with complex conditions and care arrangements, the shared electronic health record plays a vital role in delivering the best care and a coordinated response, considering all aspects of a person’s physical and mental health. Many patients are understandably not able to provide a full account of their care or may not be able to do so. The shared record means patients do not have to repeat their medical history at every care setting. Your record will be automatically setup to be shared with the organisations listed above, however you have the right to ask your GP to disable this function or restrict access to specific elements of your record. This will mean that the information recorded by your GP will not be visible at any other care setting. You can also reinstate your consent at any time by giving your permission to override your previous dissent. Your Right of Access to Your Records The Data Protection Act and General Data Protection Regulations allows you to find out what information is held about you including information held within your medical records, either in electronic or physical format. This is known as the “right of subject access”. If you would like to have access to all or part of your records, you can make a request in writing to the organisation that you believe holds your information. This can be your GP, or a provider that is or has delivered your treatment and care. You should however be aware that some details within your health records may be exempt from disclosure, however this will in the interests of your wellbeing or to protect the identity of a third party. If you would like access to your GP record please submit your request in writing to: The Practice Manager High Road Family Doctors, h ighroad.surgery1@nhs.net Right of Rectification and Erasure Following a Subject Access Request, or in other circumstances, should you notice anything in your records that you consider to be incorrect, please get in touch with the practice manager (details above) to discuss how this could be reviewed and potentially rectified. In most circumstances, information would not be able to be removed, as decisions may have been taken with that information in mind, but a note can be added to records to indicate alternative situations. Data Protection Officer A Data Protection Officer (DPO) is a role appointed within by public bodies, to ensure that her organisation processes the personal data of its staff, customers, providers or any other individuals (also referred to as data subjects) in compliance with the applicable data protection rules. The practices Data Protection Officer (DPO) is Jane Marley, Head of IG at the ICB. To contact the DPO, please use the following email address: MSEGP.DPO@nhs.net BACK TO TOP BACK TO TOP Complaints In the event that your feel your GP Practice has not complied with the current data protection legislation, either in responding to your request or in our general processing of your personal information, you should raise your concerns in the first instance in writing to the Practice Manager at: High Road Family Doctors Highroad.surgery1@nhs.net 01268 753591 Information Commissioners Office The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) is the national authority overseeing Data Protection and Freedom of Information in the UK. You are able to raise complaints and concerns directly with them, and information on how to do so is available here: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/ Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman The Ombudsman is independent of government and the NHS. The service is confidential and free of charge. There are time limits for taking a complaint to the Ombudsman although this can be waived if there is good reason to do so. If you have questions about whether the Ombudsman will be able to help you, or about how to make a complaint, you can contact: helpline on 0345 015 4033, email phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk or fax 0300 061 400. Further information about the ombudsman is available at http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/ You can write to the Ombudsman at: The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Millbank Tower, Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP BACK TO TOP Privacy Information What is a privacy notice? A privacy notice helps your doctor’s surgery tell you how it uses information it has about you, like your name, address, date of birth and all of the notes the doctor or nurse makes about you in your healthcare record. Why do we need one? You doctor’s surgery needs a privacy notice to make sure it meets the legal requirements which are written in a new document called the General Data Protection Regulation (Or GDPR for short). What is GDPR? GDPR is a document that helps your doctor’s surgery keep the information about you secure. It was introduced on the 25th May 2018, making sure that your doctor, nurse and any other staff at the practice follow the rules and keeps your information safe. How do you know about our privacy notice? At your surgery, we have posters in our waiting room and leaflets to give to children and adults and we also have lots of information about privacy on our website, telling you how we use the information we have about you. What information do we collect about you? Don’t worry; we only collect the information we need to help us keep you healthy – such as your name, address, information about your parents or guardians, records of appointments, visits, telephone calls, your health record, treatment and medicines, test results, X-rays and any other information to enable us to care for you. How do we use your information? Your information is taken to help us provide your care. But we might need to share this information with other medical teams, such as hospitals, if you need to be seen by a special doctor or sent for an X-ray. Your doctor’s surgery may be asked to help with exciting medical research; but don’t worry, we will ask you, or your parents or adults with parental responsibility, if it’s okay to share your information. How do we keep your information private? Well, your doctor’s surgery knows that it is very important to protect the information we have about you. We make sure we follow rules that are written in the GDPR and other important rule books. What if I’ve got a long-term medical problem? If you have a long-term medical problem then we know it is important to make sure your information is shared with other healthcare workers to help them help you, making sure you get the care you need when you need it! Don’t want to share? All of our patients, no matter what their age, can say that they don’t want to share their information. If you are under 16 this is something which your parents or adults with parental responsibility will have to decide. They can get more information from a member of staff at the surgery, who can also explain what this means to you. How do I access my records? Remember we told you about the GDPR? Well, if you want to see what is written about you, you have a right to access the information we hold about you, but you will need to complete a Subject Access Request (SAR). Your parents or adults with parental responsibility will do this on your behalf if you are under 16. But if are over 12, you may be classed as being competent and you may be able to do this yourself. Please write in to the Practice Manager to request this and you will be given further information on how this process works, (or ask your parents or adults with parental responsibility to do so). What do I do if I have a question? If you have any questions, ask a member of the surgery team or your parents or adults with parental responsibility. You can: Contact the practice’s data controller via email at Highroad.surgery1@nhs.net GP Practices are data controllers for the data they hold about their patients. Write to the data controller at High Road Family Doctors, 119 High Road, Benfleet, Essex. SS7 5LN Ask to speak to the practice manager Jill Lewis The Data Protection Officer (DPO) for our practice is Jill Lewis What to do if you are not happy about how we manage your information We really want to make sure you are happy, but we understand that sometimes things can go wrong. If you or your parents or adults with parental responsibility are unhappy with any part of our data processing methods, you can complain. For more information, visit ico.org.uk and select ‘Raising a concern’. We always make sure the information we give you is up to date. Any updates will be published on our website, in our newsletter and leaflets, and on our posters. This policy will be reviewed annually. BACK TO TOP BACK TO TOP

Details about Our Team OUR TEAM Here to Look After You THE PRACTICE TEAM Doctors Dr Rizwan Khan Part time Dr Sanjeet Chana Part time Dr Ana Gonclaves Part time Dr Sunil Gupta Part time Dr Peter Long Part time Dr Charlotte Rose Part time Dr Rebecca Turner Part time Dr Maria Wing Part time --------------------------------------------------------------- Nurse Prescriber Heather Cannon Part time Practice Nurse Pauline Doherty Part time Healthcare Assistant Alison Cluness Full Tme They each provide a full range of nursing skills and undertake the care of conditions such as: high blood pressure, Asthma, COPD and Diabetes jointly with the Doctor, and provide help and advice on a wide range of medical problems. Training: Heather Cannon is qualified as a Nurse Mentor for student nurses who are placed at the Surgery from time to time. Patient consent will be requested if a student is present during any consultation. Receptionists (Part time) Beverly, Gail, Hayley, Janice and Dani will try to meet all your needs, but they are not medical staff and are not responsible for busy times when the Doctor is running late. They will always try to book appointments to suit the patient, but we regret that this is not always possible. When they give information, or ask for medical details, their actions are strictly as guided by the Doctor and Practice Manager. Practice Manager (Full time) Jill Lewis looks after the day to day administration of the Practice. Opening times: Consultations are by appointment only. Visit or phone the Surgery and the Receptionists will be happy to help. Appointments can always be booked in advance and whilst we will always try to accommodate your request, there may be occasions when the clinician you wish to see is not available. We have available each day appointments for the “urgent” matters that cannot wait until a routine appointment is available. Some appointments can be booked on-line, please see below. The Surgery is open as follows: Monday 8.00 – 1.00pm 2.00 – 6.30pm Tuesday 8.00 – 1.00pm 2.00 – 6.30pm Wednesday 8.00 – 1.00pm 2.00 – 6.30pm Thursday 8.00 – 1.00pm Friday 8.00 – 1.00pm 2.00 – 6.30pm (Telephone is available weekdays 8am – 6.30pm, after 1pm Thursdays this is for medical emergencies only) DNA’s We do understand that on rare occasions a patient may not be able to attend an appointment. If you are unable to attend, or no longer need a pre-booked appointment, please contact us in advance so that the appointment can be given to someone else who may need it urgently. Failing to attend wastes a considerable amount of NHS cost and our time. Persistent offenders will be written to and as a last resort may be asked to find a new GP for continually wasting time and NHS expense. Emergencies Out of hours (6.30pm – 8.00am and weekends and Bank Holidays) phone 111 Weekend appointments As a member of Benfleet Primary Care Network our patients now have access to weekend appointments at either Rushbottom Lane Surgery or The Hollies (Hadleigh) Appointments must be pre-booked via our Surgery. Patients are responsible for remembering any pre-booked appointments that have been made. If you are unable to keep an appointment, PLEASE ADVISE US IN ADVANCE. Patients who repeatedly fail to attend may be advised that no further pre-booked appointments will be accepted. Home Visits Home visits will only be considered for housebound patients or those immobile and unable to travel. Except in a REAL emergency, please make your request BEFORE 11.00am. We have a team of Emergency Care Practitioners who carry out all Home Visits. To Register Complete Registration paperwork available from Reception or download a GMS1 Form. You will also be asked to complete a questionnaire and need to book a New Patient appointment with the Nurse before the registration process can be fully completed. Named Accountable GP Your named accountable GP will be the “usual GP” at the time of registration. This is currently Dr C Volkmar. Repeat prescriptions Requests will normally only be considered up to 7 days before the due date, and will usually be given for 28 days medication at a time. Please allow a minimum of 48hours for collection of prescriptions from your chosen Pharmacy. Prescriptions can be ordered via our clinical system, please see below. Please phone the Surgery after 11.00am in order to obtain results of any test carried out at the Surgery. Chaperones: We are committed to providing a safe, comfortable environment for all our patients. If you are expecting to undergo an “intimate” examination you are entitled to have a chaperone present. If no one is available at the time of your visit, you may be asked to make another appointment. Confidentiality: All information held about patients is confidential and will only be shared outside of the NHS with appropriate Patient consent Disabled Access: Access for disabled visitors is via the main entrance, or via the Pharmacy next door. A lift is installed. Staff will provide any assistance you need. Portable induction Loop systems are available for the hearing impaired. Discrimination: All patients have equal access to the services offered by the Practice. We do not discriminate on any grounds – race, gender, social class, age, religion, sexual orientation, appearance, disability or medical condition. Literature: We have a variety of helpful information and advice leaflets on a number of health related matters. Please ask the Doctor or Nurse if you require further information. Patient records: It is the Patient’s responsibility to ensure that our records are up to date by telling us promptly of any changes to address or phone number. Safeguarding: We have a duty of care to all patients, especially children, young people and vulnerable adults, and are committed to act in their best interests at all times. Staff safety: We DO NOT tolerate violent or abusive language or actions towards staff or premises. Any such person will be asked to leave the premises (with the assistance of the Police if necessary) and may also be removed from the Practice list. Suggestions or Complaints: We aim to give a high quality service to our patients. If you wish to suggest additional ways to achieve this, please inform us by addressing your suggestions to the Practice Manager. We operate a formal “complaints Procedure” but would welcome the opportunity to discuss any concerns you may have, so if you feel dissatisfied with any of the services we offer, please speak with the Practice Manager who as an “Open Door Policy” and welcomes the opportunity to discuss any patient concerns. Please note that we will not respond to anonymous comments. Child Health & Immunisations We recommend full immunisation and regular development checks for all pre-school children. On-Line services Patients can now book some Doctors appointments and order regular medications on-line via the NHS App. Other Staff As part of Benfleet Primary Care Network (PCN) our patients now have access to other Clinicians, including Clinical Pharmacists, Multi Skeletal Practitioners, Social Prescribers, Health & Wellbeing Coaches and Mental Health Practitioners. Useful telephone numbers Emergencies (Monday to Friday 8.00am – 6.30pm) 01268 753591 Out of Hours (free-call) 111 Mental Health Crisis 111 (option 2) Basildon Hospital 01268 524900 Southend Hospital 01702 435555 Care Navigation You may have noticed that we now ask for a brief outline of your problem when you call to make an appointment at the Surgery.. This is a new approach that we call Care Navigation. Through specialist training, our team can now offer more choice on who to see in the practice and help you get to the right health professional fast. Our receptionists never offer clinical advice or triage; this is about offering you the choice to see other specialists in our practice team if they have the expertise to deal with your problem; often quicker and without the need to see the GP each time. By working this way, it helps us to free up time for GPs to care for our patients with complex or serious health conditions. More importantly though, it means you are seen by the clinician that is best placed to deal with your problem each time you visit us. You are able to see Mercy Banning, our Clinical Pharmacist for medication reviews or you can speak to her on the phone if you have a medication query. She is also able to prescribe medication for you. Nurse Practictioner Heather Cannon is our senior Nurse who is also able to prescribe. She can see you for most problems that you would see a GP for. Practice Nurse Pauline Doherty sees patients with chronic conditions like Asthma or COPD. She also does all of our baby/child vaccinations and all routine Nurse appointments. If you require a home visit, you will most likely be visited by an Emergency Care Practitioner in the first instance. We have 3 Emergency Care Practitioners (ECP’s) who are available for home visits each day. Multi-Skeletal Practitioners can be seen for new injury or pain related to joints i.e. back, hip, foot – appointments can be booked via Reception

High Road Family Doctors - Website - for up to date information about the Surgery and services offered. Check your hospital appointment without contacting your GP Find out how to see when your hospital appointments are without wasting your time in contacting your GP. VIDEO INSTRUCTIONS APPOINTMENTS OUT OF HOURS & WEEKENDS HOME VISITS For those of you who are experiencing difficulty in getting through to the Surgery or feel that you are not offered an appointment as soon as you would like, we are listening to your comments and advise as follows: DOCTORS Each Doctor when on duty has 10 appointments in the morning and 10 appointments in the afternoon. These are made up of a mixture of the following urgent “on the day” slots pre-bookable appointments slots that Nurses book into slots for Doctors to book into for patients they are concerned about slots for patients with Long Term Conditions A Doctor also has to deal with all Pathology results, Referrals, Clinic letters, Prescription queries and Tasks from the multi-disciplinary team members. All of this has to be dealt with daily, when the Doctor is not seeing patients. NURSES Our Nurses have a mixture of book on day appointments and pre-bookable appointments. Each Nurse has their own speciality: · one is more for Diabetes / Mental Health concerns / Female concerns e.g. Menopause · and the other is our Respiratory Nurse, e.g. Asthma, COPD, breathing issues. They both deal with all other routine Nurse appointments too. We have a Health Care Assistant who deals with routine Nurse appointments. All 3 of the team will see up to 15-20 patients morning AND afternoon during each of their shifts. They also have to deal with queries from staff/patients, print blood test forms, assess readings patients have supplied for them, Referrals, Clinic letters, Audits and some prescription queries. RECEPTION & ADMIN Our Reception/Admin Team work non-stop during their shifts, taking continuous phones calls, queries from patients which may then need to be passed to another staff member. They deal with all admin duties too, including completing referrals from a Clinician, making referrals that are within their scope, completing all repeat prescription requests, dealing with tasks from Clinicians, making calls, texts, letters to patients, inviting patients for screening clinics, scanning all documents on to patient records – the list is endless. Therefore, as I hope you will appreciate, the working day is extremely long and everyone is working as hard as they possibly can to accommodate as many of our 4000 patients every day of the working week. We appreciate how upset and frustrated you may feel at times, but please bear in mind just how hard we are all working and trying our very best to care for you, our patients. . BACK TO TOP Out-of-Hours & Weekend Appointments GP practices across Benfleet Primary Care Network are working together to provide the right services at a time which is convenient for you. We’ve listened to feedback from people in our local area, and we are making changes to our out-of-hours appointments to deliver better services for you. The new way of delivering out-of-hours appointments will give you: Access to more healthcare professionals. This new service will be delivered by professionals including GPs, Nurses (Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANP's), Healthcare Assistants (HCA's), Practice Nurses, First Contact Physiotherapists (FCP's) and Pharmacists. More choice about the type of appointment you want. These include a mixture of in-person face-to-face appointments and remote telephone appointments. Make it more convenient for you to travel to out-of-hours appointments. These appointments are being planned and delivered locally at both Rushbottom Lane Surgery and The Hollies Surgery. From Saturday 1 October 2022, out-of-hours appointments will be available from 6.30pm to 8pm on weekdays, and from 9am to 5pm on Saturdays. When we asked local people what you wanted from these appointments you told us you wanted additional GP and Nurse appointments on weekday evenings and weekends. In response we have an additional 15.5 hours of GP appointments and 9.95 hours of nurse appointments available each week (subject to bank holidays and Time to Learn afternoons). Out-of-hours appointments were previously planned by the Integrated Care Board (ICB) on behalf of many GP practices in a bigger area. From Saturday 1 October 2022, this is now being planned and delivered locally by Primary Care Networks (PCNs). We are working together with other GP practices in our local area as part of the Benfleet Primary Care Network. You can find out more about Benfleet Primary Care Network on our PCN website at www.benfleetpcn.nhs.uk An out-of-hours appointment might not be at your regular GP surgery. When you book an appointment, you will be told where the appointment will be. These appointments will not be available as walk-in appointments. You will need to book them in advance. To book an out-of-hours appointment, you should contact your regular GP practice in the usual way. They will advise you on the appointments which are available, and which healthcare professional is the right person to help you. If you need medical help now but it's not an emergency, you can also go to 111 online or call 111. BACK TO TOP Home Visits If possible, please try to telephone reception before 11am if you require a home visit. Home visits are only available for patients who are housebound because of illness or disability. BACK TO TOP

High Road Family Doctors is a General Practitioners Surgery in High Road, South Benfleet. This site explains who we are, what we do and provides general healthcare information. WELCOME TO OUR WEBSITE HIGH ROAD FAMILY DOCTORS 119 High Road, Benfleet, Essex SS7 5LN Telephone: 01268 753591 Email: highroad.surgery1@ nhs.net Opening Times Monday 8am - 6.30pm Tuesday 8am - 6.30pm Wednesday 8am - 6.30pm Thursday 8am - 1.00pm Friday 8am - 6.30pm The Surgery is usually closed on the first Tuesday afternoon of each month (except August and January), along with all other local surgeries, for training purposes. CLICK ON THIS LINK TO ACCESS THE BENFLEET PCN FOR LATEST INFO BENFLEET PRIMARY CARE NETWORK APPOINTMENTS ONLINE SERVICES PRESCRIPTIONS PRACTICE LEAFLET GENERAL INFORMATION NEW PATIENTS, TERMS, POLICIES, COMPLAINTS MY PLANNED CARE NEWS NHS FRIENDS & FAMILY TEST FAIR PROCESSING & PRIVACY CARE QUALITY COMMISSION REPORT [CQC] Measles cases are on the rise Measles cases are rising in England. You can still ask your GP practice for the MMR vaccine if your child has missed either of these 2 doses. Read More You can now submit an online consultation using Accurx Patient Triage. Click on the Accurx banner to submit a new request. Support for carers Carers are the main support line for many people, they may be a friend or relative who regularly help, looks after or supports someone over the age of 18 who wouldn’t be able to manage everyday life without their help. Click on the CLICK for CARE link for more information. CLICK for CARE The Essex Care Services Directory has been produced by Care Choices to help you make decisions about care in Essex and Southend-on-Sea. Checkout the systmconnect website to order medication or sick notes. The link below will take you to the Primary Care Network's function in integrated care, including the Care Home rounds (ECHC), frailty and comprehensive care (PACT), and the integrated neighbourhood team (INT). Integrated Care Do you have a joint or muscle problem? Please use the FREE getUBetter app designed and written by your local clinicians in South East Essex. It offers local? tips, advice, and exercises tailored to you and your stage of recovery. CLICK ON THE PICTURE LINK FOR MORE INFORMATION Please leave your feedback for the Surgery by following the link below. Thank you. FEEDBACK CONTACT US If you would like to communicate directly with our Patients Participation Group [PPG] - please click on this button. HIGH ROAD PPG highroad.surgery1@nhs.net 01268 753591 Find us on Facebook

Information about Prescriptions Why can't I get a prescription for an over-the-counter medicine? A GP, nurse or pharmacist will generally not give you a prescription for over-the-counter (OTC) medicines for a range of minor health conditions. This is because of government policy to reduce the amount of money the NHS spends on prescriptions for treating minor conditions that usually get better on their own. Instead, OTC medicines are available to buy in a pharmacy or supermarket. Find your nearest pharmacy . The team of health professionals at your local pharmacy can offer help and clinical advice to manage minor health concerns. If your symptoms suggest it's more serious, they'll ensure you get the care you need. You can buy OTC medicines for any of these conditions: acute sore throat conjunctivitis coughs, colds and nasal congestion cradle cap dandruff diarrhoea (adults) dry eyes and sore tired eyes earwax excessive sweating haemorrhoids (piles) head lice indigestion and heartburn infant colic infrequent cold sores of the lip infrequent constipation infrequent migraine insect bites and stings mild acne mild cystitis mild dry skin mild irritant dermatitis mild to moderate hay fever minor burns and scalds minor pain, discomfort and fever (such as aches and sprains, headache, period pain, and back pain) mouth ulcers nappy rash oral thrush prevention of tooth decay ringworm or athlete's foot sunburn sun protection teething or mild toothache threadworms travel sickness warts and verrucas For information on how these conditions are treated, look up your condition in the health A to Z . Exceptions In some cases, you can still get prescriptions for medicines used to treat these conditions. You may still be prescribed a medicine for a condition on the list if: you need treatment for a long-term condition, for example regular pain relief for chronic arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease you need treatment for more complex forms of minor illnesses, for example migraines that are very bad and where OTC medicines do not work you need an OTC medicine to treat a side effect of a prescription medicine or symptom of another illness, such as constipation when taking certain painkillers the medicine has a licence that does not allow the product to be sold to certain groups of patients. This could include babies, children or women who are pregnant or breastfeeding the person prescribing thinks that a patient cannot treat themselves, for example because of mental health problems Probiotics, vitamins and minerals GPs, nurses or pharmacists will also generally no longer prescribe probiotics or some vitamins and minerals. You can get the vitamins and minerals you need from eating a healthy, varied and balanced diet, or buy them at a pharmacy or supermarket. Why has the NHS reduced these prescriptions? Before these changes in 2018, the NHS spent around £569 million a year on prescriptions for medicines that can be bought from a pharmacy or supermarket, such as paracetamol. By reducing the amount it spends on OTC medicines, the NHS can give priority to treatments for people with more serious conditions, such as cancer, diabetes and mental health problems. PRESCRIPTION CHARGES REPEAT PRESCRIPTIONS BACK TO TOP SystmOnline Prescription Charges & Repeats PRESCRIPTION CHARGES from 1st April 2016 If you wish to apply for a Pre-paid Certificate, please ask the receptionist for form FP95 and a post paid envelope. The completed form should be posted, with the correct fee, to the Prescription Pricing Authority direct in the envelope provided. We now send many prescriptions electronically to a nominated pharmacy of your chouce - this means that you may not need to collect a prescription from the Surgery, and in addition saves time in the process. You will need to nominate your preferred pharmacy and this can be done either at the Surgery or your pharmacy REPEAT PRESCRIPTIONS Prescriptions can be ordered online using the link on this page - please note that you must register first before you can use these services The repeat prescription system for your regular drugs is computerised. Always use the slip attatched to your prescription to order your repeat medication. All other prescription requests MUST be made in writing for approval by a doctor. Please allow a minimum of 48 working hours for collection. Telephone requests CANNOT be accepted. Prescriptions are usually for 28 days medication at a time.

PRACTICE FAIR PROCESSING & PRIVACY NOTICE Your information, your rights Being transparent and providing accessible information to patients about how we will use your personal information is a key element of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the EU General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). The following notice reminds you of your rights in respect of the above legislation and how your GP Practice will use your information for lawful purposes in order to deliver your care and the effective management of the local NHS system. This notice reflects how we use information for: The management of patient records; Communication concerning your clinical, social and supported care; Ensuring the quality of your care and the best clinical outcomes are achieved through clinical audit and retrospective review; Participation in health and social care research; and The management and clinical planning of services to ensure that appropriate care is in place for our patients today and in the future. Data Controller As your registered GP practice, we are the data controller for any personal data that we hold about you. What information do we collect and use? All personal data must be processed fairly and lawfully, whether received directly from you or from a third party in relation to your care. We will collect the following types of information from you directly, or about you from a third party (provider organisation) engaged in the delivery of your care: ‘Personal data’ meaning any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified from the data. This includes, but is not limited to name, date of birth, full postcode, address, next of kin and [NHS number/HCN number/ CHI number]; ‘Special category / sensitive data’ such as medical history including details of appointments and contact with you, medication, emergency appointments and admissions, clinical notes, treatments, results of investigations, supportive care arrangements, social care status, race, ethnic origin, genetics and sexual orientation. How the NHS and care services use your information Your healthcare records contain information about your health and any treatment or care you have received previously (e.g., from an acute hospital, GP surgery, community care provider, mental health care provider, walk-in centre, social services). These records may be electronic, a paper record or a mixture of both. We use a combination of technologies and working practices to ensure that we keep your information secure and confidential. High Road Family Doctors is one of many practices working in the health and care system to improve care for patients and the public. Whenever you use a health or care service, such as attending Accident & Emergency or using Community Care services, important information about you is collected in a patient record for that service. Collecting this information helps to ensure you get the best possible care and treatment. The information collected about you when you use these services can also be used and provided to other organisations for purposes beyond your individual care, for instance to help with: improving the quality and standards of care provided research into the development of new treatments preventing illness and diseases monitoring safety planning services This may only take place when there is a clear legal basis to use this information. All these uses help to provide better health and care for you, your family and future generations. Confidential patient information about your health and care is only used like this where allowed by law. National Data Opt-Out Most of the time, anonymised data is used for research and planning so that you cannot be identified in which case your confidential patient information isn’t needed. You have a choice about whether you want your confidential patient information to be used in this way. If you are happy with this use of information you do not need to do anything. If you do choose to opt out your confidential patient information will still be used to support your individual care. To find out more or to register your choice to opt out, please visit www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters . On this web page you will: See what is meant by confidential patient information Find examples of when confidential patient information is used for individual care and examples of when it is used for purposes beyond individual care Find out more about the benefits of sharing data Understand more about who uses the data Find out how your data is protected Be able to access the system to view, set or change your opt-out setting Find the contact telephone number if you want to know any more or to set/change your opt-out by phone See the situations where the opt-out will not apply You can also find out more about how patient information is used at: https://www.hra.nhs.uk/information-about-patients/ (which covers health and care research); and https://understandingpatientdata.org.uk/what-you-need-know (which covers how and why patient information is used, the safeguards and how decisions are made) You can change your mind about your choice at any time. Data being used or shared for purposes beyond individual care does not include your data being shared with insurance companies or used for marketing purposes and data would only be used in this way with your specific agreement. Health and care organisations have to put systems and processes in place so they can be compliant with the national data opt-out and apply your choice to any confidential patient information they use or share for purposes beyond your individual care. Our organisation is currently compliant with the national data opt-out policy. Why do we collect this information? The NHS Act 2006 and the Health and Social Care Act 2012 invests statutory functions on GP Practices to promote and provide the health service in England, improve quality of services, reduce inequalities, conduct research, review performance of services and deliver education and training. To do this we will need to process your information in accordance with current data protection legislation to: Protect your vital interests; Pursue our legitimate interests as a provider of medical care, particularly where the individual is a child or a vulnerable adult; Perform tasks in the public’s interest; Deliver preventative medicine, medical diagnosis, medical research; and Manage the health and social care system and services. Who will we share your information with? In order to deliver and coordinate your health and social care, we may share information with the following organisations: Local GP Practices, as part of a Primary Care Network (PCN), in order to deliver extended primary care services NHS Secondary Care, i.e. Hospitals 111 and Out of Hours Service Local Social Services and Community Care services Voluntary Support Organisations commissioned to provide services by [Mid & South Integrated Cared System] Your information will only be shared if it is appropriate for the provision of your care or required to satisfy our statutory function and legal obligations. Your information will not be transferred outside of the European Union. Whilst we might share your information with the above organisations, we may also receive information from them to ensure that your medical records are kept up to date and so that your GP can provide the appropriate care. In addition, we receive data from NHS Digital (as directed by the Department of Health) such as the uptake of flu vaccinations and disease prevalence in order to assist us to improve “out of hospital care”. My Care Record Your GP, hospital, community health, mental health and social care teams may all hold records about your care separately. Often, only health and care professionals within the same organisation can see this information. This means it can be difficult for them to work together to deliver the best care. My Care Record is an approach to improving care by joining up health and care information. Wherever possible, health and care professionals will be able to access your records from other services when it is needed for your care. This will make it easier and faster for them to make the best decisions. For example, a doctor treating you in hospital or a nurse working in the community could view the information they need from your GP record. Several different secure computer systems are used across the region. These allow health and care professionals to digitally access your records held by other services. In some areas systems are already in place, in other areas more work is underway to invest in the technology needed. The approach also provides an agreement between all the health and care organisations involved. This means they commit to sharing information in a secure way to help improve your care. The My Care Record approach is in line with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which provides the legal basis to share information between health and care services when it is needed to deliver care. All your information will be held securely. You can object to your record being shared between services. To do this, speak to the person delivering care to you at each organisation such as your GP, specialist or social worker. It is important to understand that not allowing access to your information may affect the quality of the care you receive. In many situations it is necessary to share information between services to deliver care. However, it may be possible to request that specific or sensitive information is not made available. There may also be some situations where information still needs to be made available. For example, if there is a serious concern about an individual’s safety. Please see the My Care Record website www.mycarerecord.org.uk for more information. More information about the areas where your information may be used can be found on the My Care Record website My Care Record: Privacy Notice Primary Care Networks Many people are living with long term conditions such as diabetes and heart disease or suffer with mental health issues and may need to access their local health services more often. To meet these needs, GP practices are working together with community, mental health, social care, pharmacy, hospital, and voluntary services in their local areas in groups of practices known as primary care networks (PCNs). PCNs build on existing primary care services and enable greater provision of proactive, personalised, coordinated and more integrated health and social care for people close to home. Clinicians describe this as a change from reactively providing appointments to proactively caring for the people and communities they serve. We are part of the Benfleet PCN (Primary Care Network) which is a network of GPs practices established to provide integrated services to the local population. Members of the network are: Dr. Khan & Partners St. Georges Medical Practice The Hollies Essex Way Surgery High Road Family Doctors PA Patel Benfleet Surgery By operating as a network, we as the PCN are responsible for delivering the following services working collaboratively with other providers: Social Prescribing; Covid Vaccination Programme; First Contact Physiotherapy; First Contact Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner Where necessary and relevant to support your direct care, we will share your confidential patient information with members of our network and with our collaborative organisations to support safe, efficient and effective care and treatment. If you are not happy for your health data to be shared with the organisations detailed above if you wish to access PCN services, then you can object to this. To do so you should contact your registered Practice so they can discuss the potential impact this could have on your care and treatment. Data Processors Data processors act on behalf of the Practice, as a data controller and under our authority. In doing so, they serve our interests rather than their own. A processor can be a company or other legal entity (such as an incorporated partnership, incorporated association or public authority), or an individual, for example a consultant. The following is a list of processors that the practice has engaged, and a description of the work they carry out on our behalf: The Phoenix Partnership (TPP) SystmOne (GP clinical system) – The practice uses a computer system to record and store patient’s clinical information, this is provided by TPP. All information recorded within the system is held on TPP servers, accessible to the practice over the secure Health and Social Care Network (HSCN). All data processed by TPP is used and stored within the UK. Mid & South Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) Information Governance (IG) [& Data Protection Officer (DPO)] Services – The IG service supports the practice with GDPR and Data Protection compliance, including advice and assistance with breaches of legislation, data subjects’ rights and other data protection issues raised by patient’s or public, as well as helping with completion of the Data Security & Protection Toolkit, and data protection impact assessments. [The DPO service provides a named experienced IG professional within the team to act on behalf of the practice as their Data Protection Officer, to assist monitoring internal compliance, inform and advise on your data protection obligations, provide advice regarding Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) and act as a contact point for data subjects and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).] Arden & GEM Commissioning Support Unit (CSU) Primary Care Enabling Services (IT) – The IT service includes access to the secure network (including HSCN) and cyber security, including electronic storage of information on hosted servers. Business Intelligence (BI) – The BI function within the CSU, receives pseudonymised patient data, combines this with other pseudonymised data sets provided by the ICB (including hospital, community, mental health and ambulance data), then supports practices with analysis of that information, in order for the practice to better target services to their population. This includes population health management and risk stratification (more detail on these programmes of work is available below). NHS Digital Data Services for Commissioners Regional Office (DSCRO) – Hosted within Arden & GEM CSU, but contracted to work for NHS Digital, the DSCRO receives clear patient identifiable information and applies a key to scramble this information, this is called pseudonymisation and renders the data essentially anonymous although still linkable across other datasets pseudonymised using the same key. This data is then shared with the CSU BI Team for linkage and analysis. NHSmail – Provides the practice with a secure email service, common across much of the NHS. This includes access to Microsoft Teams and other software. X-On Telephone System (Surgeryconnect) X-On is a hosted phone system supporting IT transformation within the NHS by delivering quality, safety and efficiency to staff and patients. Call recording will be used for all calls and information stored for 12 months. Accurx Accurx, helps healthcare teams across Primary care communicate with patients and each other. Manage inbound, improve access, tackle waiting lists and support elective recovery through intuitive tools including two-way messaging, questionnaires, patient portal, collaborative inbox, online triage & video consultations, appointment booking & reminders. Further information: -Accurx | Security E-Consult E-Consult provides a text-based clinical consultation service which guides patients through a consultation algorithm to assess their symptoms and recommend appropriate next steps, which may include arranging a GP appointment, self-care advice or signposting to other services (e.g. NHS111, pharmacies etc.). It does not facilitate real-time consultations between patients and GPs but does make GPs aware of all assessments undertaken on their patients. Cinapsis Teledermatology Cinapsis Teledermatology enhances communication and information sharing between clinicians, healthcare staff, and patients, supporting clinical decision-making for patient care. This system ensures that all patient referrals and communications, whether via voice or written text, are recorded, documented, and stored for future access by clinicians. Pando Pando is the essential tool for teamwork and secure collaboration. Pando is made solely for health and social care workers and equips them with features specifically made for them. These include secure messaging, image capturing and patient lists. Rego / Lloyd George Scanning Collection and scanning of pre-electronic paper-based patient notes, hosting of scans on the REGO system until the practice downloads and adds to the electronic patient record (as needed) Healthtech-1 Healthtech-1 is an automated registration product designed to reduce the ‘time till registration’ for patients, increase the quality and quantity of data collected, and reduce the burden of registrations on the administration team. The data collected is recorded in the core clinical system. You have the right to object to data processors handling your personal information, though bear in mind that this is not an absolute right, the practices legitimate grounds can override objections raised. Please raise any issues with the practice manager who will arrange for a discussion and consideration of any objections. Further information on this right is available here: https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/the-right-to-object-to-the-use-of-your-data/ How do we maintain the confidentiality of your records? We are committed to protecting your privacy and will only use information that has been collected lawfully. Every member of staff who works for an NHS organisation has a legal obligation to keep information about you confidential. We maintain our duty of confidentiality by conducting annual training and awareness, ensuring access to personal data is limited to the appropriate staff and information is only shared with organisations and individuals that have a legitimate and legal basis for access. Information is not held for longer than is necessary. We will hold your information in accordance with the Records Management Code of Practice for Health and Social Care 2016. Consent and Objections Do I need to give my consent? The GDPR sets a high standard for consent. Consent means offering people genuine choice and control over how their data is used. When consent is used properly, it helps you build trust and enhance your reputation. However, consent is only one potential lawful basis for processing information. Therefore, your GP practice may not need to seek your explicit consent for every instance of processing and sharing your information, on the condition that the processing is carried out in accordance with this notice. Your GP Practice will contact you if they are required to share your information for any other purpose which is not mentioned within this notice. Your consent will be documented within your electronic patient record. What will happen if I withhold my consent or raise an objection? You have the right to write to withdraw your consent to any time for any particular instance of processing, provided consent is the legal basis for the processing. Please contact your GP Practice for further information and to raise your objection. Population Health Management Population Health Management (PHM) – is helping us understand our current, and predict our future, health and care needs so we can take action in tailoring better care and support with individuals, design more joined up and sustainable health and care services and make better use of public resources. We use historical and current patient level data to understand what factors are driving poor outcomes in different population groups, we then design new proactive models of care which will improve health and wellbeing. This could be by stopping people becoming unwell in the first place, or, where this isn’t possible, improving the way the system works together to support them. This only uses pseudonymised data i.e. where information that identifies you has been removed and replaced with a pseudonym. This will only ever be reidentified if we discover that you may benefit from a particular health intervention, in which case only the relevant staff within your practice or health/care provider will be able to see your personal information in order to offer this service to you. In order to carry out this data linkage, your pseudonymised data will be passed to Arden & GEM Commissioning Support Unit, part of NHS England, who will link this to other local and national data sources to be able to carry out appropriate analyses. PHM is a partnership approach across the NHS and other public services, the outputs of the PHM programme will be shared across these organisations. All have a role to play in addressing the interdependent issues that affect people’s health and wellbeing. Type of Information Used Different types of commissioning data are legally allowed to be used by different organisations within, or contracted to, the NHS. Information put into the population health management tools used by the ICB include: Age Gender GP Practice, Community and Hospital attendances and admissions Medications prescribed Medical conditions (in code form) and other things that affect your health. Legal Basis Statutory requirement for NHS Digital to collect identifiable information. Section 251 of the National Health Service Act 2006 and its current Regulations, the Health Service (Control of Patient Information) Regulations 2002 allows the Secretary of State for Health to make regulations to set aside the common law duty of confidence for defined medical purposes. In practice, this means the person responsible for the information can disclose confidential patient information without consent to an applicant without being in breach of the common law duty of confidence, if the requirements of the regulations are met. The person responsible for the information must still comply with all other relevant legal obligations such as the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Human Rights Act 1998. A Section 251 approval (CAG 2-03(a)/2013) from the Secretary of State, through the Confidentiality Advisory Group of the Health Research Authority, enables the use of pseudonymised information about patients included in the datasets. There is no requirement for a legal basis for use of the aggregated information which is available to the ICB as this does not identify individuals. Data Processing Activities The practice processes this data internally. Data is also processed by Arden & GEM Commissioning Support Unit and Mid and South Essex ICB. Opt-out details You have a choice about whether you want your confidential patient information to be used in this way. If you are happy with this use of information you do not need to do anything. If you do not wish your data to be included in the PHM service (even though it is in a format which does not directly identify you) you can choose to opt-out. In this case, because pseudonymised data is being used, the National Data Opt-Out does not apply. Instead, please inform the practice who will apply an opt-out code to your record to ensure that your information is not included in the programme. Sub-licensing Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) are partnerships that bring together providers and commissioners of NHS services across a geographical area with local authorities and other local partners to collectively plan health and care services to meet the needs of their population. The central aim of the ICS is to integrate care across different organisations and settings, joining up hospital and community-based services, physical and mental health, and health and social care. All parts of England are now covered by one of 42 ICSs. The new Health and Care act 2022 established 42 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) across England as statutory bodies and abolished the 106 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). The ICB will take on the NHS commissioning functions of the former CCGs as well as some of NHS England’s commissioning functions. It will also be accountable for NHS spend and performance within the system. The Board of the ICB will, as a minimum, include a chair, the CEO and representatives from NHS providers, general practice and local authorities. In order to assure a smooth transition to the new commissioning landscape, the ICB need to be able to share data with providers and local authorities within their ICS so they are fully able to contribute to commissioning decisions. The ICS Sub-License approach will allow the ICB to share data they receive from NHS Digital via their commissioning agreements with members of their ICS. This will be limited to pseudonymised commissioning data without the provider unique local patient id included. Re-identification - This is permitted but the ICB will be responsible for determining which users will have this ability. They must be a health or social care professional with a legitimate (direct care) relationship to the patient. It is important to note that direct care relies on the “implied consent” legal basis. Therefore, the patient must be aware of this relationship through clear communication. Type of Information Used Different types of commissioning data are legally allowed to be used by different organisations within, or contracted to, the NHS. Information used by the ICS Partners include: Age Gender GP Practice, Community and Hospital attendances and admissions Medications prescribed Medical conditions (in code form) and other things that affect your health. Legal Basis Statutory requirement for NHS Digital to collect identifiable information. A Section 251 approval (CAG 2-03(a)/2013) from the Secretary of State, through the Confidentiality Advisory Group of the Health Research Authority, enables the use of pseudonymised information about patients included in the datasets. The legal basis for sharing the data with ICS members is: Article 6 (1) (e) – processing is necessary for the performance of a task in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller and Article 9 (2) (h) – processing is necessary for the purposes of preventive or occupational medicine, for the assessment of the working capacity of the employee, medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems Data Processing Activities The ICB processes this data internally. Data is also processed by Arden & GEM Commissioning Support Unit. The ICS Partners currently involved in the Sub-Licensing process are: Essex County Council Southend City Council Thurrock Council Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust East of England Ambulance Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust North East London NHS Foundation Trust Provide CiC The ICS Partners will become Data Controllers in their own right for the data received under the sub-licensing, however certain rules will apply to this: Onward sharing of the data by ICS members is not permitted. Data must be segregated from other datasets and additional linkage is not permitted. Opt out details You have a choice about whether you want your confidential patient information to be used in this way. If you are happy with this use of information you do not need to do anything. If you do not wish your data to be included (even though it is in a format which does not directly identify you) you can choose to opt-out. In this case, because pseudonymised data is being used, the National Data Opt-Out does not apply. Instead, please inform your GP practice who will apply an opt-out code to your record to ensure that your information is not included in the programme. Health Risk Screening / Risk Stratification Health Risk Screening or Risk stratification is a process GPs use to help them to identify and support patients with long-term conditions and to help prevent un-planned hospital admissions or reduce the risk of certain diseases developing such as type 2 diabetes. This is called risk stratification for case-finding. The ICB also uses risk stratified data to understand the health needs of the local population to plan and commission the right services. This is called risk stratification for commissioning. Risk stratification tools use historic information about patients, such as age, gender, diagnoses and patterns of hospital attendance and admission collected by NHS Digital from NHS hospitals and community care services. This is linked to data collected in GP practices and analysed to produce a risk score. There is currently s251 support in place for the ICB to be able to receive data with the NHS Number as an identifier from both NHS Digital and the GP Practice to enable this work to take place. The Data is sent directly into a risk stratification tool from NHS Digital /GP Practices to enable the data to be linked and processed as described above. Once the data is within the tool ICB staff only have access to anonymised or aggregated data. GPs can identify individual patients from the risk stratified data when it is necessary discuss the outcome and consider preventative care. Your GP will use computer-based algorithms or calculations to identify their registered patients who are at most risk, with support from the local Commissioning Support Unit and/or a third-party accredited Risk Stratification provider. The risk stratification contracts are arranged by Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board in accordance with the current Section 251 Agreement. Neither the CSU nor your local Integrated Cared Board (ICB) will at any time have access to your personal or confidential data. They will only act on behalf of your GP to organise the risk stratification service with appropriate contractual technical and security measures in place. Your GP will routinely conduct the risk stratification process outside of your GP appointment. This process is conducted electronically and without human intervention. The resulting report is then reviewed by a multidisciplinary team of staff within the Practice. This may result in contact being made with you if alterations to the provision of your care are identified. Type of Information Used Different types of commissioning data are legally allowed to be used by different organisations within, or contracted to, the NHS. Information put into the risk stratification tools used by the ICB: Age Gender GP Practice and Hospital attendances and admissions Medications prescribed Medical conditions (in code form) and other things that affect your health. Legal Basis Statutory requirement for NHS Digital to collect identifiable information. A Section 251 approval (CAG 2-03(a)/2013) from the Secretary of State, through the Confidentiality Advisory Group of the Health Research Authority, enables the use of pseudonymised information about patients included in the datasets. Data Processing Activities The practice processes this data internally. Data is also processed by Arden & GEM Commissioning Support Unit and Prescribing Services Ltd on behalf of the practice. Opt-out details You have a choice about whether you want your confidential patient information to be used in this way. If you are happy with this use of information you do not need to do anything. If you do not wish your data to be included in the risk stratification service (even though it is in a format which does not directly identify you) you can choose to opt-out. In this case, because pseudonymised data is being used, the National Data Opt-Out does not apply. Instead, please inform your GP practice who will apply an opt-out code to your record to ensure that your information is not included in the programme. As mentioned above, you have the right to object to your information being used in this way. However, you should be aware that your objection may have a negative impact on the timely and proactive provision of your direct care. Please contact the Practice Manager to discuss how disclosure of your personal data can be limited. Sharing of Electronic Patient Records within the NHS Electronic patient records are kept in most places where you receive healthcare. Our local electronic systems (such as SystmOne, EMIS and Eclipse) enables your record to be shared with organisations involved in your direct care, such as: GP practices Community services such as district nurses, rehabilitation services, telehealth and out of hospital services. Child health services that undertake routine treatment or health screening Urgent care organisations, minor injury units or out of hours services Community hospitals Palliative care hospitals Care Homes Mental Health Trusts Hospitals Social Care organisations Pharmacies In addition, NHS England have implemented the Summary Care Record which contains information including medication you are taking and any bad reactions to medication that you have had in the past. In most cases, particularly for patients with complex conditions and care arrangements, the shared electronic health record plays a vital role in delivering the best care and a coordinated response, considering all aspects of a person’s physical and mental health. Many patients are understandably not able to provide a full account of their care or may not be able to do so. The shared record means patients do not have to repeat their medical history at every care setting. Your record will be automatically setup to be shared with the organisations listed above, however you have the right to ask your GP to disable this function or restrict access to specific elements of your record. This will mean that the information recorded by your GP will not be visible at any other care setting. You can also reinstate your consent at any time by giving your permission to override your previous dissent. Your Right of Access to Your Records The Data Protection Act and General Data Protection Regulations allows you to find out what information is held about you including information held within your medical records, either in electronic or physical format. This is known as the “right of access”. If you would like to have access to all or part of your records, you can make a request in writing to the organisation that you believe holds your information. This can be your GP, or a provider that is or has delivered your treatment and care. You should however be aware that some details within your health records may be exempt from disclosure, however this will in the interests of your wellbeing or to protect the identity of a third party. If you would like access to your GP record, please submit your request in writing to: The Practice Manager High Road Family Doctors Highroad.surgery1@nhs.net Right of Rectification and Erasure Following a Subject Access Request, or in other circumstances, should you notice anything in your records that you consider to be incorrect, please get in touch with the practice manager (details above) to discuss how this could be reviewed and potentially rectified. In most circumstances, information would not be able to be removed, as decisions may have been taken with that information in mind, but a note can be added to records to indicate alternative situations. Data Protection Officer A Data Protection Officer (DPO) is a role appointed within by public bodies, to ensure that her organisation processes the personal data of its staff, customers, providers or any other individuals (also referred to as data subjects) in compliance with the applicable data protection rules. The practices Data Protection Officer (DPO) is Jane Marley, Head of IG at the ICB. To contact the DPO, please use the following email address: MSEGP.DPO@nhs.net Complaints In the event that your feel your GP Practice has not complied with the current data protection legislation, either in responding to your request or in our general processing of your personal information, you should raise your concerns in the first instance in writing to the Practice Manager at: High Road Family Doctors Highroad.surgery1@nhs.net 01268 753591 Information Commissioners Office The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) is the national authority overseeing Data Protection and Freedom of Information in the UK. You are able to raise complaints and concerns directly with them, and information on how to do so is available here: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/ Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman The Ombudsman is independent of government and the NHS. The service is confidential and free of charge. There are time limits for taking a complaint to the Ombudsman although this can be waived if there is good reason to do so. If you have questions about whether the Ombudsman will be able to help you, or about how to make a complaint, you can contact: helpline on 0345 015 4033, email phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk or fax 0300 061 400. Further information about the ombudsman is available at http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/ You can write to the Ombudsman at: The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Millbank Tower, Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP BACK TO TOP BACK TO TOP BACK TO TOP BACK TO TOP CALL RECORDING POLICY Anchor 1 Anchor 2 CALL RECORDING POLICY Introduction This policy outlines the practice’s call recording process. The purpose of call recording is to provide a record of incoming and outgoing calls which can: Identify practice staff training needs Protect practice staff from nuisance or abusive calls Establish facts relating to incoming/outgoing calls made (e.g. complaints) Identify any issues in practice processes with a view to improving them Support clinicians with a record of telephone consultations. Purpose The purpose of this policy is to ensure that call recording is managed in line with DPA & Data Retention requirements. This will generally involve the recording of telephone conversations which is subject to the Telecommunications Act 1984. The practice will make every reasonable effort to advise callers that their call may be recorded and for what purpose the recording may be used. This will normally be via a pre-recorded message within the telephone system and on the website. All recordings will be held securely by the systems provider and can be uploaded as an audio file to the clinical record if required, via the integration app, or downloaded to the local practice network. By downloading the recording to their local network, the security of this recording then becomes the responsibility of the practice. Where a patient requests to listen to a recording then this should be allowed within the general provision of a data subject access request under the Data Protection Act and GDPR regulations. Scope This policy applies to all practice staff including any contracted or temporary workers. All calls via the telephone systems used in the practice will be recorded, including: All external incoming calls All external outgoing calls made by practice staff All internal incoming and outgoing calls made by the practice staff Call transfers Recording will automatically stop when the practice staff member terminates the call. Callers must be advised that the call will be recorded for quality/training purposes - this can be in the form of an automated voice message or similar and on the practice websites Playback / Monitoring of Recorded Calls Monitoring of the call recordings will be undertaken by the partners and/or senior staff (General Manager, Office Administrator/Nurse Manager). Any playback of recordings will take place in a private setting and where applicable, individuals should be given the opportunity to listen to the relevant recordings to receive feedback and developmental support. All recordings and call recording equipment will be stored securely, and access to these will be controlled and managed by senior staff as detailed above. Recordings will be accessed by logging into a dedicated, password protected computer system. Calls will be retained by the Practice for up to 12 months. Patients who wish to opt out of call recording will be asked to come to the practice and speak in person. Confidentiality The Data Protection Act allows access to personal information that is held about them and their personal data. This includes recorded telephone calls. Recordings should be stored in such a way that will enable easy access to the information relating to one or more individuals. Requests for copies of telephone conversations can be made under the Data Protection Act as a “Subject Access Request”. This must be done in writing and after assessing whether the information can be released, the requestor can be invited to the practice premises to hear the recording. If there is a request from an external body relating to the detection or prevention of a crime (e.g. police), then requests for information should be directed to the practice manager to carry out the request for the recording. Under GDPR, organisations are prohibited from recording the personal conversations of staff, even with consent, and therefore need to ensure that while business calls are recorded, personal calls always remain private. August 2023 BACK TO TOP