We respect your right to privacy and keep all your health information confidential and secure. It is important that the NHS keeps accurate and up-to-date records about your health and treatment so that those treating you can provide the best possible care.

We have a fully computerised medical record system which means information about your healthcare is held on a secure server. You have the right to know what information we hold about you.

Please complete our Ask Reception a Question form if you wish to see or obtain a copy of your record. If you are referred to a hospital specialist you are also welcome to request a copy of the referral letter.

This Privacy Notice is to run alongside our standard Practice Privacy Notice.

As we move away from the initial response to COVID-19 the health and social care system will need to continue to take action to manage and mitigate the spread and impact of the outbreak. This includes ensuring that approved researchers can continue to securely access pseudonymised data held by GP IT systems to assist the health and care service’s response to COVID-19 by, for example:

• recognising trends in COVID-19 diseases and identifying risks it poses
• controlling and preventing the spread of COVID-19
• monitoring and managing outbreaks

The OpenSAFELY COVID-19 research service provides a secure analytics service that supports COVID-19 research, COVID-19 clinical audit, COVID-19 service evaluation and COVID-19 health surveillance purposes.

Under the COVID-19 Public Health Directions 2020 NHS England has been directed by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to establish and operate the OpenSAFELY service.  While each GP practice remains the data controller of its own patient data, they are required under the provisions of s259 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 to provide access to de-identified (pseudonymised) patient data through the OpenSAFELY service.

The service enables individuals (academics, analysts and data scientists) approved by NHS England to run queries on pseudonymised GP and NHS England patient data which is held within the GP system suppliers’ data environments.  Controls are in place to ensure that individuals only have access to aggregated outputs from the service (i.e. they cannot access information that either directly or indirectly identifies individuals).

Purpose of this Notice

OpenSAFELY service is used to analyse de-identified (pseudonymised) data within the EMIS and TPP boundaries, to support COVID-19 related research.

This is a continuation of a service which is supported by the BMA which has been operating since 2020. The permanent legal basis (the COVID-19 Direction) above allows the practice to provide this data to NHSE as an ongoing service.

The OpenSAFELY service is a Trusted Research Environment (TRE) established within the secure environment of EMIS and TPP. Researchers write their analysis code away from the patient data; the code is run automatically on de-identified (pseudonymised) patient data; and only the aggregated outputs (now anonymous) are shared with researchers to be used, for example, in journal publications, reports or presentations.

These controls keep patient data secure inside EMIS and TPP and confidential from researchers. The use of TREs and the data processing principles which OpenSAFELY represents is supported by the RCGP.

To date, this service has supported a range of important COVID-19 related research, including one of the world’s first and largest studies to identify the clinical factors associated with COVID-19 related death, which informed the national COVID-19 vaccination strategy and Green Book guidance. Other studies have also informed COVID-19 related NICE guidance and decisions made by SAGE.

All NHS England approved research studies are published online, including sharing the exact analysis code each study used to analyse the patient data, by whom and when such code was run. In future, NHSE will also publish approvals on our data release register.

During the pandemic, and in the recovery phase, de-identified data has been crucial in helping to save lives. It has supported research into COVID-19 and the ways that it has affected our lives, our health, and to identify effective medicines and treatments.

Research has helped to identify new treatments for COVID-19 and to understand how we can keep our communities safe. Data has helped us to prioritise the right care to the most vulnerable in our society and to develop vaccines to protect against COVID-19.

If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Recording of processing

A record will be kept by Meadowbrook Surgery of all data processed under this Notice.

Sending Public Health Messages

Data protection and electronic communication laws will not stop Meadowbrook Surgery from sending public health messages to you, either by phone, text or email as these messages are not direct marketing.

Digital Consultations

It may also be necessary, where the latest technology allows Meadowbrook Surgery to do so, to use your information and health data to facilitate digital consultations and diagnoses and we will always do this with your security in mind.

Creating a new NHS England: NHS England and NHS Digital merged on 1 February 2023. All references to NHS Digital now, or in the future, relate to NHS England.

Meadowbrook Surgery is a research active practice.

The GP research lead within our practice is Dr More.

This practice is pleased to announce that we are in our third year as a research active practice linked to the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network. We have been accredited by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) as a research ready practice.

We work in close collaboration with a team of GPs, research nurses and facilitators based at the University of Birmingham. If a patient is eligible to join a research study running in our practice, a GP or other healthcare professional will provide written information. Taking part in a research study is voluntary and can be beneficial to patients who participate in them.

Examples of research projects include:

• Investigating respiratory infections
• Management of heart failure
• How to increase physical activity
• Finding out whether low dose aspirin helps people with Type 2 diabetes
• Ways to help people stop smoking
• The use of self-monitoring of blood pressure
• Investigating timing of taking blood pressure medication

If you would like to know more about research taking place locally, visit:

• www.birmingham.ac.uk/CRN-WM

All patients have been allocated a named GP at the practice and where a preference is expressed reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate this. Whilst this doctor has been designated as having overall responsibility for the care and support that our surgery provides for you, this does not prevent you from seeing any other doctor in the practice.

If you do not know the name of your allocated GP, please complete our contact the practice form.

• Privacy Notice for Patients
•  Privacy Notice for Employees
• Children’s Privacy Notice
•  PPG Privacy Notice

What is Proxy Access?

Proxy access was developed to allow someone other than the patient to access and manage parts of their GP online services account. The person acting on behalf of the patient for example a parent or carer (the proxy) is given their own online access account (rather than using the patient’s login details).

To obtain proxy access a person must be registered for online access at the practice where the patient they are acting for is registered. Proxy access is the recommended alternative to sharing login details. Every practice is required to verify patient identity documentation, or individually vouch for each patient requesting access to online services.

Please contact the practice who will advise how to request Proxy Access.

Our practice staff are here to help you. Our aim is to be as polite and helpful as possible to all patients.

Please note:

• Shouting, swearing or showing any form of violence towards staff or other patients in the surgery will not be tolerated under any circumstances.
• Any patients who are registered at this surgery and are abusive, risk being removed from our patient list.
• If you consider that you have been treated unfairly or inappropriately, please ask our reception staff to contact a member of the management team who will be happy to address your concerns.

Thank you.

The practice takes any bullying/threatening or undermining remarks about staff on social media very seriously and this will not be tolerated. Any such action may result in reporting the patient to the police in regard to section 2, 2A, 4 or 4A Protection from Harassment Act 1997, or offences under the Malicious Communications Act 1988 and Communications Act 2003.

Drs More, Martin and Coll, Meadowbrook Surgery.