Confidentiality & Medical Records
Parklands Surgery recognises the need for an appropriate balance between openness and confidentiality in the management and use of information. Parklands Surgery fully supports the principles of corporate governance and recognises its public accountability, but equally places importance on the confidentiality of, and the security arrangements to safeguard, both personal information about patients and staff and commercially sensitive information. Parklands Surgery also recognises the need to share patient information with other health organisations and other agencies in a controlled manner consistent with the interests of the patient and, in some circumstances, the public interest.
Parklands Surgery believes that accurate, timely and relevant information is essential to deliver the highest quality health care. As such it is the responsibility of all clinicians and managers to ensure and promote the quality of information and to actively use information in decision making processes.
Reception and administration staff require access to your medical records in order to do their jobs. These members of staff are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the medical staff.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
Parklands Surgery is aware of and will adhere to the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). We will comply with GDPR article 30(1) and will document in writing and maintain a record of our processing activities, covering areas such as processing purposes, data sharing and retention. This information is available to patients in the following Privacy Notices:
Parklands Surgery Privacy Notice
This Privacy Notice will continue to be updated as appropriate (Last updated July 2021).
Working with other Organisations
Our Medical Record Computer System is set-up so that if you receive medical care from one of the organisations below, they can, with your explicit permission, gain access to your GP Medical Record, thus helping them in their care of you.
| Community Nursing Team | Onecall & Echo | St Wilfrid’s Hospice | GP Access Hub | Bognor Minor Injuries Unit |
| The nurses and other health professionals who work in the community and visit patients at their home | The team who coordinate Urgent Care and End of Life Care in the community | The team who Provide Tailored End of Life Care in the Community & at their Chichester Hospice | The Minor Injury & Minor Illness clinics providing additional GP Appointments | Emergency Nurse Practitioners who treat minor injuries in the Bognor War Memorial Hospital |
These teams will not be able to access your medical record if you have not been registered with them to receive their services. They will also ask for your Explicit Consent to view your GP Medical Record when they first see or speak to you. If you say no, they will not access your record.
If you do not want one or more of these organisations to have this ability, please ask for a Sharing Dissent form from Reception. Please make such a decision carefully as it will mean that even if you subsequently gave them explicit consent, they would not be able to access your record until they have spoken to the Surgery. This would be delayed overnight and at weekends when the surgery is closed and potentially when they need such access the most.
Freedom of Information
Information about the General Practitioners and the practice required for disclosure under this act can be made available to the public. All requests for such information should be made to the practice management.