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Under the provisions of the Access to Health Records Act 1990, patients have the right of access, subject to certain exceptions, to health information recorded about themselves and, in certain circumstances, about others within manual records.
Today, all applications for access to records, whether paper-based or electronic, of living persons are now made under the DPA 1998. Section 7 of the DPA, allows patients to have the right to apply for access to their health records, provided:
Once these conditions have been satisfied, Streatham Park Surgery is obliged to comply with the request for access, subject to certain exceptions.
Streatham Park Surgery has a duty to maintain the confidentiality of patient information and to satisfy itself that the applicant is entitled to access before releasing information. A response will be provided usually within 21 days, but no longer than 40. Where an application is declined, a reason will be given. In some circumstances, some parts of your record may be withheld.
The rules of confidentiality apply to the above groups. Consent is, therefore, required before disclosure, or a statement as to why consent is not obtainable.
The practice may share your personal information with other NHS organisations where appropriate for your healthcare. In other circumstances, we may approach you for specific consent to release personal information to third parties.
Information will not normally be released to other family members without written patient consent. In some circumstances, there are statutory or ethical obligations to disclose information to others (such as public health issues) which may not require your consent. However, you may be consulted about these in advance.
All staff have access to your medical and personal details, which is required in relation to their roles, and have completed a confidentiality agreement.
We are a training practice. As part of training, the trainee GP may need to video record some of their consultations.
The consultation will only be recorded with the written consent of the patient. The purpose of video recording the consultation is to enable the trainer to review the consultation skills and techniques with the trainee to ensure their competence.
The recording will be reviewed by the trainer and trainee at the next tutorial. It will not be retained longer than is considered necessary, and will be erased after the tutorial. All videos will be held securely, and all access requests and access to images will be documented.
Other than in accordance with statutory rights, the release or availability of images will be at the discretion of the partners to the practice, who are Data Controllers for the purposes of the Data Protection Act.
Ideally, complaints should be made in writing and addressed to the Practice Manager. However, a verbal complaint will also be accepted if you feel that your concern cannot wait. Where the complaint has been made by a third party, or may involve others, the written consent of the Data Subject is required. Where this is not possible, full justification must be given.
All complaints will be acknowledged within 3 working days, and a response provided within 10 working days. Please see the Feedback section for more information about our complaints procedure.
