Privacy statement

Introduction

This is Benfleet Dental Centre’s Privacy Notice.

As part of the services we offer, we are required to process personal data about our patients and, in some instances, the friends or relatives of our patients. “Processing” can mean collecting, recording, organising, storing, sharing or destroying data.

We are committed to being transparent about why we need your personal data and what we do with it. This information is set out in this privacy notice. It also explains your rights when it comes to your data.

If you have any concerns or questions please contact us via email: Jade Houdler at [email protected].

Service Users

What data do we have?

So that we can provide a safe and professional service, we need to keep certain records about you. We may process the following types of data:

• Your basic details and contact information e.g. your name, address, date of birth and next of kin, NHS number, address, telephone number and email address;

We will also use the information to send you reminders and recall appointments as we have a legitimate interest to ensure your continuing care and to make you aware of our services – however you will require to give consent on how you wish us to communicate with you.

• Your financial details e.g. details of how you pay us for your care or your funding arrangements.

Where your dental care is provided under the terms of the NHS, we are required to complete statutory forms to allow payments to be processed. This is an NHS requirement.

We also record the following data which is classified as “special category”:

• Clinical records made by dentists and other dental professionals involved with your care and treatment
• X-rays, clinical photographs, digital scans of your mouth and teeth, and study models
• Medical and dental histories
• Treatment plans and consent
• Notes of conversations with you about your care
• Dates of your appointments
• Details of any complaints you have made and how these complaints were dealt with

• Correspondence with you and other health professionals or institutions
• Any other health and social care data about you, which might include both your physical and mental health data.
• We may also record data about your race, ethnic origin, sexual orientation.

We collect and use this information to allow us to fulfil our contract with you to discuss your treatment options and provide dental care that meets your needs. We also use this information for the legitimate interest of ensuring the quality of the treatment we provide.

Why do we have this data?

We need this data so that we can provide high-quality care and support. By law, we need to have a lawful basis for processing your personal data.

To provide you with high-quality dental care, support and treatment that you need, we require up-to-date and accurate information about you.

We process your data because:

• We have a legal obligation to do so – generally under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 or Mental Capacity Act 2005.

We process your special category data because

• It is necessary for us to provide and manage health care services;
• We are required to provide data to our regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), as part of our public interest obligations.

We may also process your data with your consent. If we need to ask for your permission, we will offer you a clear choice and ask that you confirm to us that you consent. We will also explain clearly to you what we need the data for and how you can withdraw your consent at any time.

Common law duty of confidentiality

You need to satisfy the common law duty of confidentiality when using health and care information.

In our use of health and care information, we satisfy the common law duty of confidentiality because:

· You have provided us with your consent (either implicitly to provide you with care, or explicitly for other uses)

· We have a legal requirement to collect, share and use the data

· The public interest to collect, share and use the data overrides the public interest served by protecting the duty of confidentiality (for example sharing information with the police to support the detection or prevention of serious crime).

Where do we process your data?

So that we can provide you with high quality care and support we need specific data. This is collected from or shared with:

1. You or your legal representative(s);

2. Third parties.

We do this face to face, via phone, via email, via our website, via application forms on supporting software like dengro and working feedback.

Third parties are organisations we might lawfully share your data with. These include:

· Other parts of the health and care system such as local hospitals, the GP, the pharmacy, social workers, clinical commissioning groups, and other health and care professionals;

· The Local Authority;

· Your family or friends – with your permission;

· Organisations we have a legal obligation to share information with i.e. for safeguarding, the CQC;

· The police or other law enforcement agencies if we have to by law or court order.

How do we store your personal information?

We take precautions to ensure security of the practice premises in case of any physical data, however we store all clinical records digitally and shred any paper related patient information at the end of every day.

We use high-quality specialist dental software to record and use your personal information safely and effectively. Our computer system also has a secure audit trail and we back-up information routinely.

We keep your records for 15 years after the date of your last visit to the practice or until you reach the age of 25 years , whichever is the longer. We run an audit once a year and deleted any digital records that are not needed anymore.

At your request, we will delete non-essential information (for example some contact details) before the end of this period.

National Data Opt-Out

We review our data processing on an annual basis to assess if the national data opt-out applies. This is recorded in our Record of Processing Activities. All new processing is assessed to see if the national data opt-out applies. If any data processing falls within scope of the National Data Opt-Out we use MESH to check if any of our service users have opted out of their data being used for this purpose.

At this time, we do not share any data for planning or research purposes for which the national data opt-out would apply. We review all of the confidential patient information we process on an annual basis to see if this is used for research and planning purposes. If it is, then individuals can decide to stop their information being shared for this purpose. You can find out more information at https://www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/.

Our Website

In order to provide you with the best experience while using our website, we process some data about you.

Your rights

The data that we keep about you is your data and we ensure that we keep it confidential and that it is used appropriately. You have the following rights when it comes to your data:

1. You have the right to request a copy of all of the data we keep about you.
2. You have the right to ask us to correct any data we have which you believe to be inaccurate or incomplete. You can also request that we restrict all processing of your data while we consider your rectification request;
3. You have the right to ask that we erase any of your personal data which is no longer necessary for the purpose we originally collected it for. For legal reasons, we may be unable to erase certain information (for example, information about your dental treatment). However, we can, if you ask us to, delete some contact details and other non-clinical information.
4. We retain our data in line with the Information Governance Alliance’s guidelines which is 10 years after the date of your last visit to the practice or until you reach the age of 25 years , whichever is the longer.
5. If we have asked for your consent to additional sharing of your data. You can withdraw consent at any time – please contact us to do so.

You may need to provide adequate information for our staff to be able to identify you, for example, a passport or driver’s licence. This is to make sure that data is not shared with the wrong person inappropriately. We will always respond to your request as soon as possible and at the latest within one month.

If you do not agree

If you do not wish us to use your personal information as described, you should discuss the matter with Jade Houlder our practice manager. If you object to the way that we collect and use your information, we may not be able to continue to provide your dental care.

If you have any concerns about how we use your information and you do not feel able to discuss it with your dentist or anyone at the practice please contact:

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/