Privacy Notice

This information is about what happens to the information that Portland Medical collects about you whenever you contact. It also tells you how we make sure it is kept safe.

Portland Medical adhere to current GDPR guidelines.

What do we collect?

We collect information about you such as:

• Your name
• Why you are coming to see us
• Your birthday and the year you were born
• Your address
• The name of the person who will generally bring you to your appointments
• The reason that you are coming to see us
• Detailed clinical information/experiences about you
• What we do to care for you

Why do we collect it?

Portland Medical’s main purpose is to deliver healthcare to the community. We collect the data we need to care for you in the best way. We ask for your address so that we know where we can contact you. We ask for your date of birth as your age may be important to your care. We also record data from our telephone conversations to 

• establish the facts in the event of a disagreement either by a client or a member of staff and so assist in resolving it;
• help identify training needs and to support training new and existing officers; 
• and assist in the organisations quality control to identify any issues in their processes, with a view to improving them.

Each time you come to see us we will write and record things electronically that you tell us, things that we tell you and any medicines or exercises we give you. That way, we can look back at what we have done for you to make sure we are treating you in the best way.

What do we do with it?

We keep the information we collect electronically and on paper. All of this information together is called your Health Record and will be held on our secure system.

Anyone involved in caring for you at the Practice can see what has been collected. This way we can all make the right decisions about your care with all the information you have given us.

Who we share it with

We will share the information we record about you where it is clinically appropriate and will benefit your care and treatment. That way key people involved in your care are kept up to date on what we are doing for you. If you tell us something that makes us worried about your safety or the safety of someone else you know, we might have to share this with other people outside of the Practice - even if you don’t want us to. This is part of our job to keep you and others safe.

Portland Medical participate in SWL Connecting your Care (CyC) Programme which means other relevant NHS Health and Care providers will have access to relevant clinical information about you.

Keeping your records safe

Everyone working in the Practice understands that they need to keep your information safe. This is called keeping your information confidential or protecting your privacy. They have training every year to remind them of this. We tell them that they are only allowed to look at your information if they are involved in your care or required to support your care, for example by booking an appointment for you.  They understand that they must keep any information safe, especially the information that identifies you; this might be your name or address and anything you come to see us about. We are not allowed to give any of this type of information to anyone who shouldn’t see it. This includes talking to them about it.

Recorded calls are held by our 3rd party telephone provider and stored securely for up to 36 months. Managers at Portland Medical can access the recordings to for check accuracy, answering complaints, and for training to improve service and skills.

We teach future Doctors and Nurses

Students sometimes spend time with us at the Practice. This is so that we can teach them how to look after patients and their families. They are also told how to keep the information we collect safe.

Checking we are doing our best

All Practices are checked by regulatory bodies to make sure they are treating and caring for patients and families in the best way they can. They also ensure that we are keeping records safe and secure.

Am I able to see or hear the information you collect about me?

Yes! You can request this directly from the Practice in writing by email: CROCCG.PortlandMC@nhs.net or by post addressed to the practice. We will check you are who you say are so that we are not sharing your information with anyone who shouldn’t see it.

If I think some of my information is wrong can I do anything about it?

Yes! You can contact any member of the Practice who will speak to our Data Protection Officer. We may need to contact you further to discuss this. 

If I’m unhappy with the way you’ve used some of my information can I do anything?

Yes! Let us know, but if your still unhappy you can contact the Information Commissioners Office.

Caldicott Guardian and Data Protection Officer

The Caldicott Guardian and the Data Protection Officer for the Practice are responsible for ensuring that information about you is processed in a confidential, legal and appropriate manner.

If you have any concerns about the use of your information you can contact these individuals at the address below:

Data Protection Officer/Caldicott Guardian
Portland Medical Centre 
184 Portland Road
South Norwood
SE25 4QB

Review

This document will be reviewed no later than Aug 2024