Privacy: National Screening and Reporting Programmes

The NHS provides national screening and reporting programmes so that certain diseases can be detected at an early stage.

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.

• Population screening programmes
• Compliance with the national data opt-out

Controller contact details

Brocklebank Practice
249 Garratt Lane
Wandsworth
London
SW18 4DU

Telephone: 020 3818 8270

Data Protection Officer contact details

dpo.swl@nhs.net

Purpose of the processing

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 lawfulness conditions and special categories

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.

Recipient or categories of recipients of the shared data

The data will be shared with national and research bodies as allowed by law.  

Rights to object

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. 

Right to access and correction

You have the right to access the data that is being shared and have any inaccuracies corrected. There is no right to have accurate medical records deleted except when ordered by a court of Law.

Retention period

GP medical records will be kept in line with the law and national guidance. 

Right to complain

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