Practice Call Recording Policy

To ensure high-quality service, transparency, and compliance with regulations, our practice records telephone calls. Call recording helps us protect both patients and staff, improve service standards, and resolve any disputes effectively. This policy outlines the purpose of call recording, how we notify callers, and how recordings are managed.

Why We Record Calls

Our call recording system ensures:

  • Protection for both parties involved in the call.
  • Improved practice performance and training.
  • Safeguarding staff from abusive or nuisance calls.
  • Assistance in resolving complaints and medico-legal claims.
  • Compliance with regulatory procedures.

How We Notify Callers

  • Incoming calls: A recorded announcement informs callers.
  • Outgoing calls: Staff will notify patients at the start of the call.

Managing & Accessing Call Recordings

  • All recordings are securely encrypted and stored.
  • Access is strictly controlled and only permitted for valid business needs.
  • Patients can request access to their call recordings under UK GDPR.
  • External requests (e.g., police investigations) must be formally approved.

For more details, please contact our practice.

Self Funded Assessments and Diagnosis by a Private Provider

As a practice, we do not accept the ongoing medication supply and monitoring for patients who have self referred for private care for conditions such as ADHD, gender dysphoria etc..

“Patients electing to see a private specialist, should do so on the expectation that all recommended tests, procedures and prescribed medicines will be provided privately (not on the NHS). A recommendation from a private specialist for a medicine that is available on the NHS does not entitle the patient to NHS prescriptions for that medicine. Recommendations from specialists for ongoing prescribing on the NHS need to be made at an NHS consultation with an NHS specialist. A GP is therefore under no obligation to provide an NHS prescription to a patient based on the recommendation of a private specialist…..” Version 1 Ratified by Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Medicines Optimisation Steering Group (NNMOSG)
May 2024. Review May 2026

We do accept the care for patients who have accessed a private provider who offer NHS services via the right to choose referral and the NHS referral route. This including ongoing monitoring and medication if there is a shared care agreement in place.

 

General Practice Transparency Notice for GPES Data for Pandemic Planning and Research (COVID-19)

This practice is supporting vital coronavirus (COVID-19) planning and research by sharing your data with NHS Digital.

The health and social care system is facing significant pressures due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Health and care information is essential to deliver care to individuals, to support health, social care and other public services and to protect public health. Information will also be vital in researching, monitoring, tracking and managing the coronavirus outbreak. In the current emergency it has become even more important to share health and care information across relevant organisations. This practice is supporting vital coronavirus planning and research by sharing your data with NHS Digital, the national safe haven for health and social care data in England.

Our legal basis for sharing data with NHS Digital

NHS Digital has been legally directed to collect and analyse patient data from all GP practices in England to support the coronavirus response for the duration of the outbreak. NHS Digital will become the controller under the General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (GDPR) of the personal data collected and analysed jointly with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who has directed NHS Digital to collect and analyse this data under the COVID-19 Public Health Directions 2020 (COVID-19 Direction).

All GP practices in England are legally required to share data with NHS Digital for this purpose under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 (2012 Act). More information about this requirement is contained in the data provision notice issued by NHS Digital to GP practices.

Under GDPR our legal basis for sharing this personal data with NHS Digital is Article 6(1)(c) – legal obligation. Our legal basis for sharing personal data relating to health, is Article 9(2)(g) – substantial public interest, for the purposes of NHS Digital exercising its statutory functions under the COVID-19 Direction.

The type of personal data we are sharing with NHS Digital

The data being shared with NHS Digital will include information about patients who are currently registered with a GP practice or who have a date of death on or after 1 November 2019 whose record contains coded information relevant to coronavirus planning and research. The data contains NHS Number, postcode, address, surname, forename, sex, ethnicity, date of birth and date of death for those patients. It will also include coded health data which is held in your GP record such as details of

  • diagnoses and finding
  • medications and other prescribed item
  • investigations, tests and result
  • treatments and outcome
  • vaccinations and immunisations

How NHS Digital will use and share your data

NHS Digital will analyse the data they collect and securely and lawfully share data with other appropriate organisations, including health and care organisations, bodies engaged in disease surveillance and research organisations for coronavirus response purposes only. These purposes include protecting public health, planning and providing health, social care and public services, identifying coronavirus trends and risks to public health, monitoring and managing the outbreak and carrying out of vital coronavirus research and clinical trials. The British Medical Association, the Royal College of General Practitioners and the National Data Guardian are all supportive of this initiative.

NHS Digital has various legal powers to share data for purposes relating to the coronavirus response. It is also required to share data in certain circumstances set out in the COVID-19 Direction and to share confidential patient information to support the response under a legal notice issued to it by the Secretary of State under the Health Service (Control of Patient Information) Regulations 2002 (COPI Regulations).

Legal notices under the COPI Regulations have also been issued to other health and social care organisations requiring those organisations to process and share confidential patient information to respond to the coronavirus outbreak. Any information used or shared during the outbreak under these legal notices or the COPI Regulations will be limited to the period of the outbreak unless there is another legal basis for organisations to continue to use the information.

Data which is shared by NHS Digital will be subject to robust rules relating to privacy, security and confidentiality and only the minimum amount of data necessary to achieve the coronavirus purpose will be shared. Organisations using your data will also need to have a clear legal basis to do so and will enter into a data sharing agreement with NHS Digital. Information about the data that NHS Digital shares, including who with and for what purpose will be published in the NHS Digital data release register.

For more information about how NHS Digital will use your data please see the NHS Digital Transparency Notice for GP Data for Pandemic Planning and Research (COVID-19).

National Data Opt-Out

The application of the National Data Opt-Out to information shared by NHS Digital will be considered on a case by case basis and may or may not apply depending on the specific purposes for which the data is to be used. This is because during this period of emergency, the National Data Opt-Out will not generally apply where data is used to support the coronavirus outbreak, due to the public interest and legal requirements to share information.

Your rights over your personal data

To read more about the health and care information NHS Digital collects, its legal basis for collecting this information and what choices and rights you have in relation to the processing by NHS Digital of your personal data, se

Data Protection Privacy Notice

Hucknall Road Medical Centre Privacy Notice

Click here to read our privacy notice.

Covid Privacy Notice

Click here to read the covid19 privacy notice which accompanies our practice privacy notice.

Social Media Policy

There are many social media platforms that are widely used by both staff and patients at Hucknall Road Medical Centre; these include Facebook, Twitter and others.

At the Hucknall Road Medical Centre we have a Facebook page and Google business page and Twitter account, which provide a range of useful information for our patient population.

Hucknall Road Medical Centre has a duty to maintain patient confidentiality and to safeguard vulnerable patients. You can help us achieve this by adhering to the code of conduct outlined in this policy.

Patients at Hucknall Road Medical Centre  are expected to adhere to the following code of conduct at all times:

  1. Patients are not permitted to take photographs or any media recordings in the waiting room or areas where other patients are present, nor are photographs or media recordings of any staff permitted without their explicit consent.
  2. The practice requires all users of portable devices to use them in a courteous and considerate manner, respecting their fellow patients. Portable devices are not to be used during consultations unless agreed by clinicians.
  3. Patients are not permitted to disclose any patient-identifiable information about other patients, unless they have the express consent of that patient.
  4. Patients should not use any social media platform to communicate medical information with the practice as this is not secure. Any such communications will be deleted, and if possible a message sent to use routine communication methods with the practice.
  5. Patients must not post any material that is inaccurate, fraudulent, harassing, embarrassing, obscene, defamatory or unlawful. Any such posts on the practice social media outlets like a Facebook page, Twitter account etc will be deleted by the Practice Manager and the post reported.
  6. Patients must not post comments on social media that identify staff who work at the practice.
  7. Patients are to use NHS Choices should they wish to leave a review about Hucknall Road Medical Centre This will enable the Practice Manager to respond appropriately.
  8. Defamatory comments about our team are not to be shared on any social media platform. Legal advice will be sought and the appropriate action taken against any patient who posts defamatory comments.

Patient complaints on social media

We have a separate complaints policy which patients are to use should they wish to make a complaint. We will only respond to complaints made to the practice in accordance with the practice policy. If a complaint is made on any social media platform that the practice uses, it may be deleted at the discretion of the practice.

Non Discrimination

Patients should expect to be treated with respect and courtesy and not be discriminated against on grounds of sex, race, colour or creed. We ask you to afford the same level of courtesy and respect to all members of the staff, and to recognise that verbal or physical abuse will not be tolerated. Violence and abuse is a growing concern. GPs and their staff have the right to care for others without fear of being attacked or abused. Violent patients will be reported to the police. Any form of verbal, racial or physical abuse to any members of our practice team will result in you being removed from the practice list.

Zero Tolerance

Non-physical assault, physical, verbal or racial abusive behaviour is NOT acceptable and will NOT be tolerated at this practice. Everyone has a duty to behave in an acceptable and appropriate manner. Staff have a right to work, as patients have a right to be treated, free from fear of assault and abuse, in an environment that is properly safe and secure. The NHS defines non-physical assault as: “the use of inappropriate words or behaviour causing distress and/or constituting harassment”. Patients who are abusive to, or physically/ non-physically assault Doctors, Nurses, Staff or other patients whilst in this practice WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE PRACTICE LIST, along with those registered at the same household. Mutual respect is expected at all times. Thank you.

Fraud

The Fraud Act 2006 introduced a general offence of Fraud – and NHS fraud is no exception. Generally, the term describes offences such as deception, forgery and misrepresentation or concealment of facts. Hucknall Road Medical Centre will not tolerate any fraudulent activity from patients, and if this is found to be happening, will investigate matters which may then result in criminal charges and the removal of yourself and possibly members of your household from the practice list.

Keep your children safe

Please ensure that when bringing any young children to the surgery that they are kept under your control. The surgery does not have any toys in the waiting area due to cross infection reasons, but does have some books for children of different ages.

One patient per consultation

Please note that consultations are for one person only. If you have more than one person requiring to see the doctor, please make more than one appointment. If you mention this to the reception team when booking your appointment, the reception team will do what they can to give you appointments following each other.