Privacy: National screening and reporting programs

St Paul’s Cottage Surgery, 114 Augustus Road, London, SW19 6EW.

Tel 020 3092 2556

These currently apply to bowel cancer, breast cancer, aortic aneurysms, diabetic retinal screening service, cardiovascular disease prevention and National Obesity Audit as well as other exempt programmes. The law allows us to share your contact information with Public Health England and NHS England so that you can be invited to the relevant screening programme and so that nationally exempted programmes can operate effectively with regards to public and patient health.

More information can be found at Population screening programmes: detailed information

The information is shared so as to ensure only those who should be called for screening are called and or those at highest risk are prioritised.

The sharing is to support Direct Care which is covered under. 

Article 6(1)(e); “necessary… in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller’ the processing is necessary to perform a task in the public interest.

And 

Article 9(2)(h) ‘necessary for the purposes of preventative 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 and services...”  

Or

Article 9(2)(i) ‘processing is necessary for reasons of public interest in the area of public health, such as protecting against serious cross-border threats to health or ensuring high standards of quality and safety of health care and of medicinal products or medical devices…’

We will also recognise your rights established under UK case law collectively known as the “Common Law Duty of Confidentiality”

“Common Law Duty of Confidentiality”, common law is not written out in one document like an Act of Parliament. It is a form of law based on previous court cases decided by judges; hence, it is also referred to as 'judge-made' or case law. The law is applied by reference to those previous cases, so common law is also said to be based on precedent.

The general position is that if information is given in circumstances where it is expected that a duty of confidence applies, that information cannot normally be disclosed without the information provider's consent.
In practice, this means that all patient information, whether held on paper, computer, visually or audio recorded, or held in the memory of the professional, must not normally be disclosed without the consent of the patient. It is irrelevant how old the patient is or what the state of their mental health is; the duty still applies.

Three circumstances making disclosure of confidential information lawful are:

•  where the individual to whom the information relates has consented;
• where disclosure is in the public interest; and
• where there is a legal duty to do so, for example a court order.

You have the right to object to this processing of your data and to some or all of the information being shared with the recipients. Contact the Controller or the practice

For national screening programmes: you can opt so that you no longer receive an invitation to a screening programme. 

You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office

HOW TO CONTACT THE ICO

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. 

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.

• Learn more about your data matters or register your choice to opt out.
• How patient information is used.
• What you need to know.

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.  Data would only be used in this way with your specific agreement.