Burnley Group Practice

AS A PRACTICE WE MUST CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THE STRICT INFECTION, PREVENTION AND CONTROL MEASURES TO LIMIT THE RISK OF THE VIRUS TO YOU AS PATIENTS AND TO OUR STAFF. THIS MEANS THAT WHERE POSSIBLE OUR STAFF AND CLINICIANS WILL REMOTELY TRIAGE AND ASSESS YOUR NEEDS BEFORE DETERMINING IF A FACE-TO-FACE APPOINTMENT IS REQUIRED. IF YOUR NEEDS CAN BE MET SAFELY VIA THE TELEPHONE OR VIDEO CONSULTATION THEN THIS WILL TAKE PLACE. IF A CLINICIAN FEELS YOU REQUIRE A FACE-TO-FACE APPOINTMENT THEN THIS WILL BE ARRANGED. WE HAVE BEEN OPERATING IN THIS WAY SINCE THE START OF THE PANDEMIC IN ORDER TO CONTINUE PROVIDING ALL PATIENTS WITH ACCESS TO OUR SERVICES.

THE CURRENT PANDEMIC SITUATON IS CHALLENGING FOR EVERYONE IN DIFFERENT WAYS AND WE APPRECIATE THAT THE SITUATION WE ALL FIND OURSELVES IN CAN BE FRUSTRATING SOMETIMES. UNFORTUNATELY A NUMBER OF OUR STAFF HAVE RECENTLY EXPERIENCED FOUL AND ABUSIVE LANGUAGE OR BEHAVIOUR FROM A MINORITY OF PATIENTS. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE AND WE WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS SORT OF BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS OUR STAFF - ALL OF WHOM CONTINUE TO WORK TIRELESSLY DURING THIS PANDEMIC. 

IN LINE WITH OUR ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY, IF YOU ARE FOUND TO BE ABUSIVE TOWARDS MEMBERS OF STAFF THE APPROPRIATE ACTION WILL BE TAKEN

• Burnley Group Practice strives to achieve exceptional, professional standards of healthcare within a friendly and approachable healthcare setting.
• We take time to be understanding of, and caring towards people's needs. We endeavour to be equitable and responsive in our approach to serve our diverse population, with safeguarding vulnerable individuals and groups our priority.
• We will work in partnership with our patients, their families and carers, involving them in decision making about their care and treatment.
• We also commit to nurturing our staff through an ethos of continuous learning and reflection.

Your complete GP medical record will be digital and stored in a secure cloud based clinical system (only accessible by your GP practice) with the paper based records being securely destroyed following BS EN 15713:2009 Secure destruction of confidential material.  Your GP will still be able to access your records easily within this system. The scanning and destruction of the paper records will follow strict data protection guidelines adhered to by the NHS.  As with paper based records, digital records are stored for the durations specified in the Records Management Codes of Practice for Health and Social Care. For GP patient records, this states that they may be destroyed 10 years after the patient’s death if they are no longer needed.

If you wish to discuss the scheme, please inform the Practice direct either by letter or via e-mail.

 Burnley Group Practice

3^rd Floor, St Peters Centre

BURNLEY

BB11 2DL

Tel. 01282 644222

Email: burnley.gp@nhs.net

There is more information available at https://www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters

EMIS is the provider of our electronic clinical records system, please see below information from them regarding how your medical records may be used:

EMIS Health Covid-19 Research Collaboration

Publish Date: 31/07/2020 16:15:58 BST

Dear Colleague, 

We are contacting you again in relation to the notice issued by the Secretary of State for Health to GP practices (and others) under the Health Service (Control of Patient Information) Regulations 2002 (COPI).

Pursuant to the COPI notice EMIS has agreed to work with NHS England (who has engaged the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to undertake the relevant research) to provide a unique environment for Covid-19 research.

Notice under Regulation 3(4) of the Health Service (Control of Patient Information) Regulations 2002 (COPI), which were made under sections 60 (now section 251 of the NHS Act 2006) and 64 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001. 

As you will be aware, the health and social care system is taking extensive action to manage and mitigate the spread and impact of the current outbreak of Covid-19. 

All GP practices whose systems are supplied by EMIS are required under Regulation 3(4) of COPI to release primary care patient data, for the purposes set out in Regulation 3(1) of COPI for purposes related to the outbreak of Covid-19. Under these arrangements, NHS England has directed EMIS to create a linked dataset using personal data from all GP practice records processed by EMIS with data about patients who have been diagnosed and hospitalised with Covid-19 infection. 

This linked dataset will be pseudonymised and made available within a secure data processing environment to a small group of researchers, under contract to NHS England, from Oxford University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to support data analysis that might identify medical conditions and medications that affect the risk or impact of Covid-19 infection. 

The researchers will not be able to access identifiable patient information and any data they extract from the linked dataset will be fully anonymised / aggregated.

NHS England and EMIS have entered a data processing agreement to ensure that appropriate controls are in place to protect personal data. If you need any additional information or questions you are advised to contact: england.igpolicyteam@nhs.net.

Annex

Regulation 3(1) of COPI Purposes related to the outbreak of Covid-19 include, but are not limited to, the following:

• understanding Covid-19 and risks to public health, trends in Covid-19 and such risks, and controlling and preventing the spread of Covid-19 and such risks;
• identifying and understanding information about patients or potential patients with or at risk of Covid-19, information about incidents of patient exposure to Covid-19 and the management of patients with or at risk of Covid-19 including: locating, contacting, screening, flagging and monitoring such patients and collecting information about and providing services in relation to testing, diagnosis, self-isolation, fitness to work, treatment, medical and social interventions and recovery from Covid-19;
• understanding information about patient access to health services and adult social care services and the need for wider care of patients and vulnerable groups as a direct or indirect result of Covid-19 and the availability and capacity of those services or that care;
• monitoring and managing the response to Covid-19 by health and social care bodies and the Government including providing information to the public about Covid-19 and its effectiveness and information about capacity, medicines, equipment, supplies, services and the workforce within the health services and adult social care services;
• delivering services and information to patients, clinicians, the health services and adult social care services workforce and the public about and in connection with Covid-19, including the provision of information, fit notes and the provision of health care and adult social care services; and
• research and planning in relation to Covid-19.

Kind regards, 

Dr Shaun O’Hanlon

Chief Medical Officer, EMIS Health

Further information from EMIS:

National dataset to support the management of the 2020/21 Flu and Covid-19 Vaccination Programme

Publish Date: 13/10/2020 10:00:00 BST

Dear Colleague,

We are contacting you again in relation to the notice issued by the Secretary of State for Health to GP practices (and others) under the Health Service (Control of Patient Information) Regulations 2002 (COPI).

Under the Notice issued by the Secretary of State on 20th March 2020 made under Regulation 3(4) of the Health Service (Control of Patient Information) Regulations 2002 (COPI) which was addressed to GP Practices, NHS England are seeking to establish a national dataset to support the management of the 2020/21 Flu and Covid-19 Vaccination Programme. We understand that the national dataset will be used for purposes including:

• identifying cohorts of people who will be prioritized for vaccination through the programme;
• a national call and recall service in support of practice level vaccination programmes;
• optimising participation of members of the public in the vaccination programme in order to reduce pressures on the health and care system; and
• maintaining a record of recipients of flu and Covid-19 vaccinations.

We have received a direct instruction to work with NHS Digital and/or NHS England’s chosen service provider (System C Healthcare) as appropriate in order to provide the dataset referred to above. Furthermore, as the dataset will be used to support the provision of direct care, we have been instructed not to apply Type 1 Opt-Outs when providing the relevant data extracts.

If you need any additional information or questions you are advised to contact: privacy@emishealth.com and used the subject line “COVID 19 Vaccination COPI Notice”.

Thanks,

EMIS

Further information from EMIS:

National data collection for online and video consultations

Publish Date: 23/09/2020 08:30:39 BST

Dear Colleague, 

We are contacting you again in relation to the notice issued by the Secretary of State for Health to GP practices (and others) under the Health Service (Control of Patient Information) Regulations 2002 (COPI).

Under the Notice issued by the Secretary of State on 20th March 2020 made under Regulation 3(4) of the Health Service (Control of Patient Information) Regulations 2002 (COPI) which was addressed to GP Practices, NHS England and NHS Improvement are collating practice level data on the utilisation of online and video consultation systems. This is to support service delivery including implementation, resourcing, planning and research to respond appropriately during the pandemic. The information is being collected directly from online consultation and video consultation suppliers. This practice level information on the availability and use of online and video consultation services will be shared with the department of health and social care, national NHS, regional, system, CCG, PCN and practice teams.

If you need any additional information or questions you are advised to contact: privacy@emishealth.com and used the subject line “Video Consult COPI Notice”.

Thanks,

EMIS Health