Every person who works for the NHS has a legal duty to ensure that patient information is kept confidential. We at Latymer Road Surgery take this very seriously and ensure that the information we hold on our patients is not released to anyone without the written consent of a patient. There are some exceptions to this and they are listed below.
- In the event that a medical referral is made on your behalf to a specialist consultant or hospital, your significant medical history will be attatched as well as information pertaining to the presenting problem. The doctor and the hospital staff are also legally bound to keep your information confidential.
- If the doctors believe that your health, wellbeing and safety is at risk, they may be obliged to inform other agencies such as the social services. However, they will not do so without informing that this is what they intend to do.
- On occasion, we may be required to submit information on certain illnesses to protect the health of the public. This is a lawful requirement. An example of this would be if a patient has contracted an infectious disease which could lead to the general public being at risk of contraction. We will also, with your consent or at your request, send out copies of your records to third parties such as solicitors or insurance companies.
- Parents of children who are above the age of 16 are reminded that they should not request for any medical information pertaining to their children without the written consent of the child. Patients are also reminded that in keeping with the patient confidentiality, we are unable to provide family members with details of a patient’s medical history and/or test results.
Should you require any advice or help with regard to confidentiality please feel free to talk to any member of staff who will give you a copy of our confidentiality policy and point you in the right direction as to from whom you can obtain the required information.
Duty of candour
We all share a common purpose as partners in health and social care – and that is to provide high quality care and ensure the best possible outcomes for people using care services. Promoting improvement is at the heart of what we do. We know that we deliver exceptional care on a daily basis but sometimes things go wrong and it’s how we deal with these incidents that is important.
If you require further Information concerning our Duty of Candour procedures please contact the practice.
