Make the Most of Our Service

Be nice to our staff. They do their very best for you.
Let us know when you think we have done well.
Read the notices in surgery.
Make sure you know the opening times of the surgery.
Find out how to arrange home visits, repeat prescriptions and urgent appointments.
You may not always need to see a doctor, ask what services the nurse can provide.
Keep your appointment or cancel it.
Only use out of hours services in an emergency
Take a friend or relative with you if necessary.
Tell the receptionist if you need more time to speak to the Doctor. He/she will be able to arrange this.
We also offer a ‘ CALL BACK’ service. If you think you need telephone advice only from the Doctor or Nurse we can arrange this for you.
Think twice before making an appointment. Do you really need to see the doctor? Which Health Professional do you need to see?

Subject Access Request Policy

Introduction

This policy provides the Practice with a process for the management of requests for personal information (for living individuals) under the Data Protection Act (DPA), the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and (for deceased individuals) the Access to Health Records Act 1990.

It defines a process for achieving legislative requirements and ensuring effective and consistent management of such requests.

The policy ensures that all staff are aware of how a subject access request should be made and to respond quickly.

Under the Data Protection Act, subject to certain conditions, an individual is entitled to be:

Told whether any personal data is being processed;
Given a description of the personal data, the reasons it is being processed,
and whether it will be given to any other organisations or people; and
Given a copy of the information comprising the data, and given details of the source of the data (where this is available).

The Data Protection Act extends equally to all relevant records relating to living individuals, including records held in the private health sector and health professionals’ private practice records.

Personal data held by the Practice may be:

Personnel/Staff records relating to a member of staff, present, past or prospective, whether permanent, temporary or volunteer.
Health records consisting of information about the physical or mental health of an identifiable individual made by, or on behalf of, a health professional in connection with the care of that individual.

Access encompasses the following rights:

To obtain a copy of the record in permanent form.
To have information provided in an intelligible format (and explained where necessary).

The Data Protection Act also gives subjects who now reside outside the UK the right to apply for access to their former UK health and employment records:

Employees are legally entitled to request their personal records and may take them outside of the UK at their own discretion.
Original health records should not be given to people to keep/take outside the UK. A GP or community health professional may be prepared to provide the patient with a summary of treatment; alternatively, the patient may make a request for access in the usual way.

Organisations must have procedures in place to ensure that an individual’s rights of access are met in a timely and appropriate fashion.

Individual’s rights regarding the sharing of their personal information are supported by the Care Record Guarantees, which set out high-level commitments for protecting and safeguarding service user information, particularly in regard to individuals’ rights of access to their own information, how the information will be shared (both within and outside of the organisation) and how decisions on sharing information will be made.

In the response to the Caldicott2 Report, the Department of Health confirmed that service users should have access to information about themselves even if it was obtained through new or non-traditional approaches (for example, virtual consultations) to delivering health and care services.

The BMA Confidentiality and Health Records Toolkit helps identify the key factors to take into consideration when making a decision around confidentiality and disclosure of health records.

Scope

This policy applies to any request by a patient or member of staff for access to their personal information held by the Practice.

This policy applies to all staff (employees, governing body members, contractors) of the Practice.

Who can make an Access Request?

An application for access to personal data may be made to the Practice by any of the following:

An individual.
A person authorised by the individual in writing to make the application on an individual’s behalf e.g. solicitor, family member, carer.
A person having parental responsibility for the individual where he/she is a child.
A person appointed by a court to manage the affairs of an individual who is deemed incompetent.
Individuals who hold a health and welfare Lasting Power of Attorney.
Where the individual has died, the personal representative and any person who may have a claim arising out of the individual’s death (the executor of the deceased’s will; someone who has been appointed as an Administrator of the Estate by the Courts; someone who has the written consent of either of the above to be given access, someone who is in the process of challenging the deceased’s will).

Police Requests

The Police may, on occasion, request access to the personal data of individuals. Whilst there is an exemption in the Data Protection Act which permits the Practice to disclose information to support the prevention and detection of crime, the Police have no automatic right to access it; however, they can obtain a Court Order.

Solicitor Requests

A patient can authorise their solicitor or another third party to make a SAR. As long as the solicitor has provided the patient’s written consent to authorise access to the records, the SAR process should be followed as usual.

Insurance Requests

Insurance companies however do not have the same privileges to access patient records – the ICO has said that insurance companies using SARs to obtain full medical records is an abuse of the process (the DPA 2018 still says that information must be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose the data is processed).

It is a criminal offence to make a SAR access information about individuals’ convictions and cautions – the law sets out various levels of fines, and a clause in the DPA 2018 will soon be enacted to extend this to cover medical records. If you suspect that a SAR from an insurer is not relevant or excessive then it should be reported to the ICO and the Association of British Insurers.

Requests Relating to Children/Young Persons

Parental responsibility for a child is defined in the Children’s Act 1989 as ‘all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority, which by law a parent of a child has in relation to a child and his property. Although not defined specifically, responsibilities would include safeguarding and promoting a child’s health, development and welfare, including if relevant their employment records. Included in the parental rights which would fulfil the parental responsibilities above are:

Having the child live with the person with responsibility, or having a say in where the child lives;
If the child is not living with her/him, having a personal relationship and regular contact with the child;
Controlling, guiding and directing the child’s upbringing.

Foster parents are not ordinarily awarded parental responsibility for a child. It is more likely that this responsibility rests with the child’s social worker and appropriate evidence of identity should be sought in the usual way.

The law regards young people aged 16 or 17 to be adults for the purposes of consent to employment or treatment and the right to confidentiality. Therefore, if a 16-year-old wishes HR or a medical practitioner to keep their information confidential then that wish must be respected.

In some certain cases, children under the age of 16 who have the capacity and understanding to make decisions about their own treatment are also entitled to decide whether personal information may be passed on and generally to have their confidence respected.

Where a child is considered capable of making decisions, e.g. about his/her employment or medical treatment, the consent of the child must be sought before a person with parental responsibility may be given access. Where, in the view of the appropriate professional, the child is not capable of understanding the nature of the application, the holder of the record is entitled to deny access if it is not felt to be in the patient’s best interests.

The identity and consent of the applicant must always be established.

The applicant does not have to give a reason for applying for access.

The Practice is a Data Controller and can only provide information held by the organisation. Data controllers in their own right must be applied directly, the Practice will not transfer requests from one organisation to another.

Application

Individuals wishing to exercise their right to access should:

Make a written application to the Practice holding the records, including via email.
Provide such further information as the Practice may require to sufficiently identify the individual.

An individual may also raise a request using the form in Appendix A, however, this is not mandatory.

The Practice as “data controller” is responsible for ascertaining the purpose of the request and the manner in which the information is supplied.

Fees and Response Time

Under GDPR the Practice musts provide information free of charge. However, we can charge a “reasonable fee” when a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive, particularly if it is repetitive.

The fee must be based on the administrative cost of providing the information only.

The request should be initially passed to the Data Protection Officer who will manage the Subject Access Request.

If the request involves creating a medical report or interpreting the information in an existing medical record or report, then this would be a request under the Access to Medical Reports Act (AMRA). Unlike a Subject Access Request, these requests will require new material to be created. This would mean that a fee is payable in such circumstances.

Appendix A to this policy prompts the applicant to clarify whether they wish to make this type of request.

The request must be complied with without delay and at least within one calendar month of receipt of the request. This period can be extended for a further two months where requests are complex or numerous, however, the Practice must inform the individual within one month of receipt of the request and explain why the extension is necessary.

The identity of an individual who provided/recorded information should not be disclosed, nor should the identity of any other person/s referred to in the record(s) of the individual requesting access, unless explicit consent has been given.

The Release Stage

The format of the released information must comply with the requester’s wishes. Where no specific format is requested, the Practice should provide the information in the same manner as the original request. For example, requests received via email can be satisfied via email.

The release of a health record is subject to consultation with either:

The health professional who is currently, or was most recently, responsible for the clinical care of the data subject in connection with the information which is the subject of the request.
Where there is more than one such health professional, the health professional who is the most suitable to advise on the information which is the subject of the request.

Once the records have been collated, redacted where applicable and signed off by the Caldicott Lead, they should be sent to the requester. On no account must the original record be released.

In denying or restricting access, a reason for the decision does not need to be given but the applicant should be directed through the appropriate complaint channels.

Where information is not readily intelligible, an explanation (e.g. of abbreviations or terminology) must be given.

If it is agreed that the subject or their representative may directly inspect the record, a health professional or HR administrator must supervise the access. If supervised by an administrator, this person must not comment or advise on the content of the record and if the applicant raises enquiries, an appointment with a health professional must be offered.

Exemptions

Access may be denied or restricted where:

The record contains information that relates to or identifies a third party that is not a care professional and has not consented to the disclosure. If possible, the individual should be provided with access to that part of the record that does not contain third party information.

Access to all or part of the record will prejudice the carrying out of social work by reason of the fact that serious harm to the physical or mental well-being of the individual or any other person is likely. If possible the individual should be provided with access to that part of the record that does not post the risk of serious harm.
Access to all or part of the record will seriously harm the physical or mental well-being of the individual or any other person. If possible the individual should be provided with access to that part of the record that does not pose the risk of serious harm.
If an assessment identifies that to comply with a SAR would involve disproportionate effort under section 8(2)(a) of the Data Protection Act (Appendix C).

There is no requirement to disclose to the applicant the fact that certain information may have been withheld.

In addition, Article 23 of the GDPR enables the Members States, such as the United Kingdom to introduce further exemptions from the GDPR’s transparency obligations and individual rights. The Data Protection Officer can provide further information regarding exemptions applicable at the time of receipt of the subject access request.

Complaints and Appeals

The applicant has the right to appeal against the decision of the Practice to refuse access to their information. This appeal should be made to the Practice Manager.

If an applicant is unhappy with the outcome of their access request, the following complaints channels should be offered:

Meet with the applicant to resolve the complaint locally.
Advise a patient to make a complaint through the complaint’s process.

Advise a member of staff to consult with their trade union representative.

If individuals remain unhappy with the Practice response, they have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office:

– https://www.ico.org.uk/Global/contact_us.

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Email: caseworkatico.gsi.gov.uk

Roles and Responsibilities

The Caldicott Lead has executive responsibility for Subject Access Requests.

The Data Protection Officer has operational responsibility for Subject Access Requests.

All staff must be aware of how to recognise and manage a subject access request. Training will be provided to staff likely to be in receipt of requests covering:-

The required format of a subject access request.
Correct identification of the requesting individual.
Location of personal information.
Timescales for compliance.
Provision of information in an intelligible format.
Action to be taken if the information includes third party data or if it has been determined that access will seriously harm an individual (see exemptions)

Monitoring and Review

The principal GP monitors all Subject Access Requests to ensure the correct process has been followed and monitors any appeals/complaints relating to Subject Access Requests.

Equality Impact

In applying this policy, the organisation will have due regard for the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, promote equality of opportunity, and provide for good relations between people of diverse groups, in particular on the grounds of the following characteristics protected by the Equality Act (2010); age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, and sexual orientation, in addition to offending background, trade union membership, or any other personal characteristic.

Appendix A: Form – Subject Access Request Form

The [PRACTICE] respects the rights of individuals to have copies of their information wherever possible.
Personal information collected from you by this form is required to enable your request to be processed, this personal information will only be used in connection with the processing of this Subject Access Request.
Charges Payable: In accordance with legislation no fee will be charged for your request, unless the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive, particularly if it is repetitive. Before any further action is taken, we will contact you with details of our “reasonable administrative charges” in order to comply with your request.

PLEASE COMPLETE IN BLOCK CAPITALS – Illegible forms will delay the time taken to respond to requests.

Details of Patient/Clients/Staff members record to be accessed (Please complete one form per person)

Surname

Date of Birth

Forename(s)

Current Address

Full Postcode

Any former names (If Applicable)

Telephone Number

Previous Address (If Applicable)

Full Postcode

NHS Number (If known/relevant)

If further details are available please include them in a separate covering note.

Details of Records to be Accessed

In order to locate the records, you require please provide as much information as possible. Please list the department or services you have accessed that you require records from i.e. PALs, complaints, continuing healthcare or Human resources etc (Continue on a separate sheet if required).

Records dated from

Department or services accessed

/ / to / /

Details of the applicant (Complete if different to patients/clients/staff members details)

Full Name

Company (if Applicable)

Relationship with the individual whose records have been requested

Address to which a reply should be sent

Postcode: Tel:

Authorisation to release to the applicant (to be completed by the patients/clients/staff member if not making their own request)

I (Print name) hereby authorise the [PRACTICE] to release any personal data they may hold relating to me to the above applicant and to whom I authorise to act on my behalf.

Signature of patient/client/staff member : Date: / /

Declaration

I declare that information given by me is correct to the best of my knowledge and that I am entitled to apply for access to the health record(s) referred to above, under the terms of the Access to Health Records Act (1990) / Data Protection Act.

Please select one box below:

I am the patient/client/staff member (data subject).
I have been asked to act on behalf of the data subject and they have completed section 4 -authorisation above.
I am acting on behalf of the data subject who is unable to complete the authorisation section above (Covering letter with further details supplied).
I am the parent/guardian of a data subject under 16 years old who has completed the authorisation section above. (Please include proof such as a birth certificate)
I am the parent/guardian of a data subject under 16 years old who is unable to understand the request and who has consented to my making the request on their behalf.
I have been appointed the Guardian for the patient/client, who is over age 16 under a Guardianship order (attached).
I am the deceased patient/client’s personal representative and attach the confirmation of my appointment.
I have a claim arising from the patient/client’s death and wish to access information relevant to my claim (Covering letter with further details to be supplied).

Please Note:

If you are making an application on the behalf of somebody else we require evidence of your authority to do so i.e. personal authority, court order etc.
It may be necessary to provide evidence of identity (i.e. Driving Licence).
If there is any doubt about the applicant’s identity or entitlement, information will not be released until further evidence is provided. You will be informed if this is the case.
Under the terms of the Data Protection Act, Subject Access Requests will be responded to within 30 days after receiving all necessary information and/or fee required to process the request.
If you are making a request under the Access to Health Records Act 1990, requests will be responded to within 40 days where no entries have been made to the patient/client’s record 40 days immediately preceding the date of this request, otherwise, requests will be responded to within 21 days after receiving all necessary information and/or fee required to process the request.
Under the terms of Section 7 of the Data Protection Act, Information disclosed under a Subject Access Request may have information removed; this is to ensure that confidentiality is maintained for third parties referred to who have not consented to their information being disclosed.

Print Name

Signed (Applicant)

Date

/ /

Please complete and send this document to:

Notify the data subject in writing that the information cannot be disclosed.

Release information.

Notify the data subject in writing that no information is held by the PRACTICE.

Advise requester that the request must be in writing (either using the SAR Form or via email).

Request additional supporting information from the requester and advise that the one calendar month response timeframe will only apply once all outstanding information has been received.

This guidance sheet is based on the revised Information Commissioner Subject Access Code of Practice that was issued in July 2017:

https://ico.org.uk/media/for-organisations/documents/2014223/subject-access-code-of-practice.pdf

What is the Disproportionate Effort?

The ‘disproportionate effort’ exception is in section 8(2) of the DPA. The Court of Appeal has provided clarification as to its application in its 2017 judgments in the cases of Dawson–Damer ¹ and Ittihadieh/Deer and Oxford University ^2.
The DPA does not define ‘disproportionate effort’, but the court has explained that there is scope for assessing whether, in the circumstances of a particular case, complying with a request by supplying a copy of the requested information in permanent form would result in so much work or expense as to outweigh the requester’s right of access to their personal data.
The court also made it clear that in assessing whether complying with a SAR would involve disproportionate effort under section 8(2)(a) you may take into account difficulties that occur throughout the process of complying with the request, including any difficulties you encounter in finding the requested information.
This approach accords with the concept of proportionality in EU law, on which the DPA is based. When responding to SARs, the Information Commissioner expects you to evaluate the particular circumstances of each request, balancing any difficulties involved in complying with the request against the benefits the information might bring to the data subject, whilst bearing in mind the fundamental nature of the right of subject access.

How is This Applied in Practice?

In order to apply the exception, the burden of proof is on you as a data controller to show that you have taken all reasonable steps to comply with the SAR and that it would be disproportionate in all the circumstances of the case for you to take further steps.
The Information Commissioner considers it good practice for you to engage with the applicant, having an open conversation about the information they require. This might help you to reduce the costs and effort that you would otherwise incur in searching for the information.
If the Information Commissioner receives a complaint about your handling of a subject access request, they may take into account your readiness to engage with the applicant and balance this against the benefit and importance of the information to them, as well as taking into account their level of co-operation with you in the course of the handling of a request.
Even if you can show that supplying a copy of the information in permanent form would involve disproportionate effort, you must still try to comply with the request in some other way, if the applicant agrees. This could form a useful part of your discussions with the applicant, in order to identify an alternative way of satisfying their request.

In addition, even if you do not have to supply a copy of the information in permanent form, the requester still has the right:

– to be informed whether you are processing their personal data; and

– if so, to be given a description of:

– the personal data in question; o the purpose of the processing; and o the recipients or classes of recipients; and

– to be given information about the source of the personal data.

Example

An organisation has decided that to supply copies of an individual’s records in permanent form would involve a disproportionate effort.
Rather than refuse the individual access, they speak to her and agree that it would be preferable if she visited their premises and viewed the original documents. They also agree that if there are documents she would like to take away with her, they can arrange to provide copies.

Key Things to Remember

Subject Access Request Policy

Introduction

It defines a process for achieving legislative requirements and ensuring effective and consistent management of such requests.

The policy ensures that all staff are aware of how a subject access request should be made and to respond quickly.

Under the Data Protection Act, subject to certain conditions, an individual is entitled to be:

Told whether any personal data is being processed;
Given a description of the personal data, the reasons it is being processed,
and whether it will be given to any other organisations or people; and
Given a copy of the information comprising the data, and given details of the source of the data (where this is available).

Personal data held by the Practice may be:

Personnel/Staff records relating to a member of staff, present, past or prospective, whether permanent, temporary or volunteer.
Health records consisting of information about the physical or mental health of an identifiable individual made by, or on behalf of, a health professional in connection with the care of that individual.

Access encompasses the following rights:

To obtain a copy of the record in permanent form.
To have information provided in an intelligible format (and explained where necessary).

The Data Protection Act also gives subjects who now reside outside the UK the right to apply for access to their former UK health and employment records:

Employees are legally entitled to request their personal records and may take them outside of the UK at their own discretion.
Original health records should not be given to people to keep/take outside the UK. A GP or community health professional may be prepared to provide the patient with a summary of treatment; alternatively, the patient may make a request for access in the usual way.

Organisations must have procedures in place to ensure that an individual’s rights of access are met in a timely and appropriate fashion.

The BMA Confidentiality and Health Records Toolkit helps identify the key factors to take into consideration when making a decision around confidentiality and disclosure of health records.

Scope

This policy applies to any request by a patient or member of staff for access to their personal information held by the Practice.

This policy applies to all staff (employees, governing body members, contractors) of the Practice.

Who can make an Access Request?

An application for access to personal data may be made to the Practice by any of the following:

An individual,
A person authorised by the individual in writing to make the application on an individual’s behalf e.g. solicitor, family member, carer,
A person having parental responsibility for the individual where he/she is a child.
A person appointed by a court to manage the affairs of an individual who is deemed incompetent.
Individuals who hold a health and welfare Lasting Power of Attorney.
Where the individual has died, the personal representative and any person who may have a claim arising out of the individual’s death (the executor of the deceased’s will; someone who has been appointed as an Administrator of the Estate by the Courts; someone who has the written consent of either of the above to be given access, someone who is in the process of challenging the deceased’s will).

Police Requests

Solicitor Requests

Insurance Requests

Requests Relating to Children/Young Persons

Having the child live with the person with responsibility, or having a say in where the child lives;
If the child is not living with her/him, having a personal relationship and regular contact with the child;
Controlling, guiding and directing the child’s upbringing.

The identity and consent of the applicant must always be established.

The applicant does not have to give a reason for applying for access.

The Practice is a Data Controller and can only provide information held by the organisation. Data controllers in their own right must be applied to directly, the Practice will not transfer requests from one organisation to another.

Application

Individuals wishing to exercise their right to access should:

Make a written application to the Practice holding the records, including via email,
Provide such further information as the Practice may require to sufficiently identify the individual,

An individual may also raise a request using the form in Appendix A, however, this is not mandatory.

The Practice as “data controller” is responsible for ascertaining the purpose of the request and the manner in which the information is supplied.

Fees and Response Time

Under GDPR the Practice musts provide information free of charge. However, we can charge a “reasonable fee” when a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive, particularly if it is repetitive.

The fee must be based on the administrative cost of providing the information only.

The request should be initially passed to the Data Protection Officer who will manage the Subject Access Request.

If the request involves creating a medical report or interpreting the information in an existing medical record or report, then this would be a request under the Access to Medical Reports Act (AMRA). Unlike a Subject Access Request, these requests will require new material to be created. This would mean that a fee is payable in such circumstances.

Appendix A to this policy prompts the applicant to clarify whether they wish to make this type of request.

The Release Stage

The release of a health record is subject to consultation with either:

The health professional who is currently, or was most recently, responsible for the clinical care of the data subject in connection with the information which is the subject of the request.
Where there is more than one such health professional, the health professional who is the most suitable to advise on the information which is the subject of the request.

Once the records have been collated, redacted where applicable and signed off by the Caldicott Lead, they should be sent to the requester. On no account must the original record be released.

In denying or restricting access, a reason for the decision does not need to be given but the applicant should be directed through the appropriate complaint channels.

Where information is not readily intelligible, an explanation (e.g. of abbreviations or terminology) must be given.

Exemptions

Access may be denied or restricted where:

The record contains information that relates to or identifies a third party that is not a care professional and has not consented to the disclosure. If possible, the individual should be provided with access to that part of the record that does not contain third party information.
Access to all or part of the record will prejudice the carrying out of social work by reason of the fact that serious harm to the physical or mental well-being of the individual or any other person is likely. If possible the individual should be provided with access to that part of the record that does not post the risk of serious harm.
Access to all or part of the record will seriously harm the physical or mental well-being of the individual or any other person. If possible the individual should be provided with access to that part of the record that does not pose the risk of serious harm.
If an assessment identifies that to comply with a SAR would involve disproportionate effort under section 8(2)(a) of the Data Protection Act (Appendix C).

There is no requirement to disclose to the applicant the fact that certain information may have been withheld.

Complaints and Appeals

The applicant has the right to appeal against the decision of the Practice to refuse access to their information. This appeal should be made to [insert name and role].

If an applicant is unhappy with the outcome of their access request, the following complaints channels should be offered:

Meet with the applicant to resolve the complaint locally,
Advise a patient to make a complaint through the complaint’s process,
Advise a member of staff to consult with their trade union representative,

If individuals remain unhappy with the Practice response, they have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office:

– https://www.ico.org.uk/Global/contact_us.

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Email: caseworkatico.gsi.gov.uk

Roles and Responsibilities

The Caldicott Lead has executive responsibility for Subject Access Requests.

The Data Protection Officer has operational responsibility for Subject Access Requests.

All staff must be aware of how to recognise and manage a subject access request. Training will be provided to staff likely to be in receipt of requests covering:

The required format of a subject access request,
Correct identification of the requesting individual,
Location of personal information,
Timescales for compliance,
Provision of information in an intelligible format,
Action to be taken if the information includes third party data or if it has been determined that access will seriously harm an individual (see exemptions),

Monitoring and Review

[Insert name and role] monitors all Subject Access Requests to ensure the correct process has been followed and monitors any appeals/complaints relating to Subject Access Requests.

Equality Impact

Appendix A: Form – Subject Access Request Form

The [PRACTICE] respects the rights of individuals to have copies of their information wherever possible.
Personal information collected from you by this form is required to enable your request to be processed, this personal information will only be used in connection with the processing of this Subject Access Request.
Charges Payable: In accordance with legislation no fee will be charged for your request, unless the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive, particularly if it is repetitive. Before any further action is taken, we will contact you with details of our “reasonable administrative charges” in order to comply with your request.

PLEASE COMPLETE IN BLOCK CAPITALS – Illegible forms will delay the time taken to respond to requests.

Details of Patient/Clients/Staff members record to be accessed (Please complete one form per person)

Surname

Date of Birth

Forename(s)

Current Address

Full Postcode

Any former names (If Applicable)

Telephone Number

Previous Address (If Applicable)

Full Postcode

NHS Number (If known/relevant)

If further details are available please include them in a separate covering note.

Details of Records to be Accessed

Records dated from

Department or services accessed

/ / to / /

3. Details of the applicant (Complete if different to patients/clients/staff members details)

Full Name

Company (if Applicable)

Relationship with an individual whose records have been requested

Address to which a reply should be sent

Postcode: Tel:

Authorisation to release to the applicant (to be completed by the patients/clients/staff member if not making their own request)

I (Print name) hereby authorise the [PRACTICE] to release any personal data they may hold relating to me to the above applicant and to whom I authorise to act on my behalf.

Signature of patient/client/staff member : Date: / /

Declaration

Please select one box below:

I am the patient/client/staff member (data subject).
I have been asked to act on behalf of the data subject and they have completed section 4 -authorisation above.
I am acting on behalf of the data subject who is unable to complete the authorisation section above (Covering letter with further details supplied).
I am the parent/guardian of a data subject under 16 years old who has completed the authorisation section above. (Please include proof such as a birth certificate)
I am the parent/guardian of a data subject under 16 years old who is unable to understand the request and who has consented to my making the request on their behalf.
I have been appointed the Guardian for the patient/client, who is over age 16 under a Guardianship order (attached).
I am the deceased patient/client’s personal representative and attach the confirmation of my appointment.
I have a claim arising from the patient/client’s death and wish to access information relevant to my claim (Covering letter with further details to be supplied).

Please Note:

If you are making an application on the behalf of somebody else we require evidence of your authority to do so i.e. personal authority, court order etc.
It may be necessary to provide evidence of identity (i.e. Driving Licence).
If there is any doubt about the applicant’s identity or entitlement, information will not be released until further evidence is provided. You will be informed if this is the case.
Under the terms of the Data Protection Act, Subject Access Requests will be responded to within 30 days after receiving all necessary information and/or fee required to process the request.
If you are making a request under the Access to Health Records Act 1990, requests will be responded to within 40 days where no entries have been made to the patient/client’s record 40 days immediately preceding the date of this request, otherwise requests will be responded to within 21 days after receiving all necessary information and/or fee required to process the request.
Under the terms of Section 7 of the Data Protection Act, Information disclosed under a Subject Access Request may have information removed; this is to ensure that the confidentiality is maintained for third parties referred to who have not consented to their information being disclosed.

Print Name

Signed (Applicant)

Date

/ /

Please complete and send this document to:

[insert practice address]

Has a subject access request been received in writing (completed SAR form or via email)?

Do you reasonably require more information to process the request?

Do you hold information relating to the data subject?

Has all the information to be released been reviewed by the clinical lead / IAO and redacted before submission to the Caldicott Lead? Can the information be provided without including references to a third party (even after redaction)?

Notify the data subject in writing that the information cannot be disclosed.

Clinical lead / IAO to conduct review and redaction process.

Release information.

Notify the data subject in writing that no information is held by the Practice.

Advise requester that the request must be in writing (either using the SAR Form or via email).

Request additional supporting information from the requester and advise that the one calendar month response timeframe will only apply once all outstanding information has been received.

Appendix C – Disproportionate Effort Exemption Guidance

This guidance sheet is based on the revised Information Commissioner Subject Access Code of Practice that was issued in July 2017:

What is the Disproportionate Effort?

The ‘disproportionate effort’ exception is in section 8(2) of the DPA. The Court of Appeal has provided clarification as to its application in its 2017 judgments in the cases of Dawson–Damer ¹ and Ittihadieh/Deer and Oxford University ^2.
The DPA does not define ‘disproportionate effort’, but the court has explained that there is scope for assessing whether, in the circumstances of a particular case, complying with a request by supplying a copy of the requested information in permanent form would result in so much work or expense as to outweigh the requester’s right of access to their personal data.
The court also made it clear that in assessing whether complying with a SAR would involve disproportionate effort under section 8(2)(a) you may take into account difficulties that occur throughout the process of complying with the request, including any difficulties you encounter in finding the requested information.
This approach accords with the concept of proportionality in EU law, on which the DPA is based. When responding to SARs, the Information Commissioner expects you to evaluate the particular circumstances of each request, balancing any difficulties involved in complying with the request against the benefits the information might bring to the data subject, whilst bearing in mind the fundamental nature of the right of subject access.

How is this Applied in Practice?

In order to apply the exception, the burden of proof is on you as a data controller to show that you have taken all reasonable steps to comply with the SAR and that it would be disproportionate in all the circumstances of the case for you to take further steps.
The Information Commissioner considers it good practice for you to engage with the applicant, having an open conversation about the information they require. This might help you to reduce the costs and effort that you would otherwise incur in searching for the information.
If the Information Commissioner receives a complaint about your handling of a subject access request, they may take into account your readiness to engage with the applicant and balance this against the benefit and importance of the information to them, as well as taking into account their level of co-operation with you in the course of the handling of a request.
Even if you can show that supplying a copy of the information in permanent form would involve disproportionate effort, you must still try to comply with the request in some other way, if the applicant agrees. This could form a useful part of your discussions with the applicant, in order to identify an alternative way of satisfying their request.

In addition, even if you do not have to supply a copy of the information in permanent form, the requester still has the right:

– to be informed whether you are processing their personal data; and,

– if so, to be given a description of:

– the personal data in question; o the purpose of the processing; and o the recipients or classes of recipients; and,

– to be given information about the source of the personal data.

Example

– An organisation has decided that to supply copies of an individual’s records in permanent form would involve a disproportionate effort.

– Rather than refuse the individual access, they speak to her and agree that it would be preferable if she visited their premises and viewed the original documents. They also agree that if there are documents she would like to take away with her, they can arrange to provide copies.

Key Things to Remember

Where the disproportionate effort argument is used this is NOT a reason for not seeking to respond to a request.
This is about recognizing the difficulties that an organisation at times may have in finding information and providing a constructive approach that recognizes this.
The applicant still has the right to appeal and an organisation MUST be able to demonstrate the structured approach that it has taken if the disproportionate effort argument is used.

vSUBJECT ACCESS REQUEST POLICY

Introduction

It defines a process for achieving legislative requirements and ensuring effective and consistent management of such requests.

The policy ensures that all staff are aware of how a subject access request should be made and to respond quickly.

Under the Data Protection Act, subject to certain conditions, an individual is entitled to be:

Told whether any personal data is being processed;
Given a description of the personal data, the reasons it is being processed,
and whether it will be given to any other organisations or people; and
Given a copy of the information comprising the data, and given details of the source of the data (where this is available).

Personal data held by the Practice may be:

Personnel/Staff records relating to a member of staff, present, past or prospective, whether permanent, temporary or volunteer.
Health records consisting of information about the physical or mental health of an identifiable individual made by, or on behalf of, a health professional in connection with the care of that individual.

Access encompasses the following rights:

To obtain a copy of the record in permanent form.
To have information provided in an intelligible format (and explained where necessary).

The Data Protection Act also gives subjects who now reside outside the UK the right to apply for access to their former UK health and employment records:

Employees are legally entitled to request their personal records and may take them outside of the UK at their own discretion.
Original health records should not be given to people to keep/take outside the UK. A GP or community health professional may be prepared to provide the patient with a summary of treatment; alternatively, the patient may make a request for access in the usual way.

Organisations must have procedures in place to ensure that an individual’s rights of access are met in a timely and appropriate fashion.

The BMA Confidentiality and Health Records Toolkit helps identify the key factors to take into consideration when making a decision around confidentiality and disclosure of health records.

Scope

This policy applies to any request by a patient or member of staff for access to their personal information held by the Practice.

This policy applies to all staff (employees, governing body members, contractors) of the Practice.

Who can make an Access Request?

An application for access to personal data may be made to the Practice by any of the following:

An individual.
A person authorised by the individual in writing to make the application on an individual’s behalf e.g. solicitor, family member, carer.
A person having parental responsibility for the individual where he/she is a child.
A person appointed by a court to manage the affairs of an individual who is deemed incompetent.
Individuals who hold a health and welfare Lasting Power of Attorney.
Where the individual has died, the personal representative and any person who may have a claim arising out of the individual’s death (the executor of the deceased’s will; someone who has been appointed as an Administrator of the Estate by the Courts; someone who has the written consent of either of the above to be given access, someone who is in the process of challenging the deceased’s will).

Police Requests

Solicitor Requests

Insurance Requests

Requests Relating to Children/Young Persons

Having the child live with the person with responsibility, or having a say in where the child lives;
If the child is not living with her/him, having a personal relationship and regular contact with the child;
Controlling, guiding and directing the child’s upbringing.

The identity and consent of the applicant must always be established.

The applicant does not have to give a reason for applying for access.

Application

Individuals wishing to exercise their right to access should:

Make a written application to the Practice holding the records, including via email.
Provide such further information as the Practice may require to sufficiently identify the individual.

An individual may also raise a request using the form in Appendix A, however, this is not mandatory.

The Practice as “data controller” is responsible for ascertaining the purpose of the request and the manner in which the information is supplied

Fees and Response Time

Under GDPR the Practice musts provide information free of charge. However, we can charge a “reasonable fee” when a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive, particularly if it is repetitive.

The fee must be based on the administrative cost of providing the information only.

The request should be initially passed to the Data Protection Officer who will manage the Subject Access Request.

Appendix A to this policy prompts the applicant to clarify whether they wish to make this type of request.

The Release Stage

The release of a health record is subject to consultation with either:

The health professional who is currently, or was most recently, responsible for the clinical care of the data subject in connection with the information which is the subject of the request.
Where there is more than one such health professional, the health professional who is the most suitable to advise on the information which is the subject of the request.

Once the records have been collated, redacted where applicable and signed off by the Caldicott Lead, they should be sent to the requester. On no account must the original record be released.

In denying or restricting access, a reason for the decision does not need to be given but the applicant should be directed through the appropriate complaint channels.

Where information is not readily intelligible, an explanation (e.g. of abbreviations or terminology) must be given.

Exemptions

Access may be denied or restricted where:

The record contains information that relates to or identifies a third party that is not a care professional and has not consented to the disclosure. If possible, the individual should be provided with access to that part of the record that does not contain third party information.
Access to all or part of the record will prejudice the carrying out of social work by reason of the fact that serious harm to the physical or mental well-being of the individual or any other person is likely. If possible the individual should be provided with access to that part of the record that does not post the risk of serious harm.
Access to all or part of the record will seriously harm the physical or mental well-being of the individual or any other person. If possible the individual should be provided with access to that part of the record that does not pose the risk of serious harm.
If an assessment identifies that to comply with a SAR would involve disproportionate effort under section 8(2)(a) of the Data Protection Act (Appendix C).

There is no requirement to disclose to the applicant the fact that certain information may have been withheld.

Complaints and Appeals

The applicant has the right to appeal against the decision of the Practice to refuse access to their information. This appeal should be made to the Practice Manager.

If an applicant is unhappy with the outcome of their access request, the following complaints channels should be offered:

Meet with the applicant to resolve the complaint locally.
Advise a patient to make a complaint through the complaint’s process.
Advise a member of staff to consult with their trade union representative.

If individuals remain unhappy with the Practice response, they have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office:

https://www.ico.org.uk/Global/contact_us.

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Email: caseworkatico.gsi.gov.uk

Roles and Responsibilities

The Caldicott Lead has executive responsibility for Subject Access Requests.

The Data Protection Officer has operational responsibility for Subject Access Requests.

All staff must be aware of how to recognise and manage a subject access request. Training will be provided to staff likely to be in receipt of requests covering:

The required format of a subject access request.
Correct identification of the requesting individual.
Location of personal information.
Timescales for compliance.
Provision of information in an intelligible format.
Action to be taken if the information includes third party data or if it has been determined that access will seriously harm an individual (see exemptions).

Monitoring and Review

The Principal GP monitors all Subject Access Requests to ensure the correct process has been followed and monitors any appeals/complaints relating to Subject Access Requests.

Equality Impact

Appendix A: Form – Subject Access Request Form

The [PRACTICE] respects the rights of individuals to have copies of their information wherever possible.
Personal information collected from you by this form is required to enable your request to be processed, this personal information will only be used in connection with the processing of this Subject Access Request.
Charges Payable: In accordance with legislation no fee will be charged for your request, unless the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive, particularly if it is repetitive. Before any further action is taken, we will contact you with details of our “reasonable administrative charges” in order to comply with your request.

PLEASE COMPLETE IN BLOCK CAPITALS – Illegible forms will delay the time taken to respond to requests.

Details of Patient/Clients/Staff members record to be accessed (Please complete one form per person)

Surname

Date of Birth

Forename(s)

Current Address

Full Postcode

Any former names (If Applicable)

Telephone Number

Previous Address (If Applicable)

Full Postcode

NHS Number (If known/relevant)

If further details are available please include them in a separate covering note.

Details of Records to be Accessed

Records dated from

Department or services accessed

/ / to / /

Details of the applicant (Complete if different to patients/clients/staff members details)

Full Name

Company (if Applicable)

Relationship with an individual whose records have been requested

Address to which a reply should be sent

Postcode: Tel:

Authorisation to release to the applicant (to be completed by the patients/clients/staff member if not making their own request)

I (Print name) hereby authorise the [PRACTICE] to release any personal data they may hold relating to me to the above applicant and to whom I authorise to act on my behalf.

Signature of patient/client/staff member : Date: / /

Declaration

Please select one box below:

I am the patient/client/staff member (data subject).
I have been asked to act on behalf of the data subject and they have completed section 4 -authorisation above.
I am acting on behalf of the data subject who is unable to complete the authorisation section above (Covering letter with further details supplied).
I am the parent/guardian of a data subject under 16 years old who has completed the authorisation section above. (Please include proof such as a birth certificate)
I am the parent/guardian of a data subject under 16 years old who is unable to understand the request and who has consented to my making the request on their behalf.
I have been appointed the Guardian for the patient/client, who is over age 16 under a Guardianship order (attached).
I am the deceased patient/client’s personal representative and attach the confirmation of my appointment.
I have a claim arising from the patient/client’s death and wish to access information relevant to my claim (Covering letter with further details to be supplied).

Please Note:

If you are making an application on the behalf of somebody else we require evidence of your authority to do so i.e. personal authority, court order etc.
It may be necessary to provide evidence of identity (i.e. Driving Licence).
If there is any doubt about the applicant’s identity or entitlement, information will not be released until further evidence is provided. You will be informed if this is the case.
Under the terms of the Data Protection Act, Subject Access Requests will be responded to within 30 days after receiving all necessary information and/or fee required to process the request.
If you are making a request under the Access to Health Records Act 1990, requests will be responded to within 40 days where no entries have been made to the patient/client’s record 40 days immediately preceding the date of this request, otherwise, requests will be responded to within 21 days after receiving all necessary information and/or fee required to process the request.
Under the terms of Section 7 of the Data Protection Act, Information disclosed under a Subject Access Request may have information removed; this is to ensure that confidentiality is maintained for third parties referred to who have not consented to their information being disclosed.

Print Name

Signed (Applicant)

Date

/ /

Please complete and send this document to:

Eastmoor Health Centre, Windhill Road, Wakefield, WF1 4SD

Has a subject access request been received in writing (completed SAR form or via email)?

Do you reasonably require more information to process the request?

Do you hold information relating to the data subject?

Has all the information to be released been reviewed by the clinical lead / IAO and redacted before submission to the Caldicott Lead?

Can the information be provided without including references to a third party (even after redaction)?

Notify the data subject in writing that the information cannot be disclosed.

Clinical lead / IAO to conduct review and redaction process.

Release information.

Notify the data subject in writing that no information is held by the PRACTICE.

Advise requester that the request must be in writing (either using the SAR Form or via email).

Request additional supporting information from requester and advise that the one calendar month response timeframe will only apply once all outstanding information has been received.

Appendix C – Disproportionate Effort Exemption Guidance

This guidance sheet is based on the revised Information Commissioner Subject Access Code of Practice that was issued in July 2017:

What is the Disproportionate Effort?

The ‘disproportionate effort’ exception is in section 8(2) of the DPA. The Court of Appeal has provided clarification as to its application in its 2017 judgments in the cases of Dawson–Damer ¹ and Ittihadieh/Deer and Oxford University ^2.
The DPA does not define ‘disproportionate effort’, but the court has explained that there is scope for assessing whether, in the circumstances of a particular case, complying with a request by supplying a copy of the requested information in permanent form would result in so much work or expense as to outweigh the requester’s right of access to their personal data.
The court also made it clear that in assessing whether complying with a SAR would involve disproportionate effort under section 8(2)(a) you may take into account difficulties that occur throughout the process of complying with the request, including any difficulties you encounter in finding the requested information.
This approach accords with the concept of proportionality in EU law, on which the DPA is based. When responding to SARs, the Information Commissioner expects you to evaluate the particular circumstances of each request, balancing any difficulties involved in complying with the request against the benefits the information might bring to the data subject, whilst bearing in mind the fundamental nature of the right of subject access.

How is this Applied in Practice?

In order to apply the exception, the burden of proof is on you as a data controller to show that you have taken all reasonable steps to comply with the SAR and that it would be disproportionate in all the circumstances of the case for you to take further steps.
The Information Commissioner considers it good practice for you to engage with the applicant, having an open conversation about the information they require. This might help you to reduce the costs and effort that you would otherwise incur in searching for the information.
If the Information Commissioner receives a complaint about your handling of a subject access request, they may take into account your readiness to engage with the applicant and balance this against the benefit and importance of the information to them, as well as taking into account their level of co-operation with you in the course of the handling of a request.
Even if you can show that supplying a copy of the information in permanent form would involve disproportionate effort, you must still try to comply with the request in some other way, if the applicant agrees. This could form a useful part of your discussions with the applicant, in order to identify an alternative way of satisfying their request.

In addition, even if you do not have to supply a copy of the information in permanent form, the requester still has the right:

– to be informed whether you are processing their personal data; and

– if so, to be given a description of:

– the personal data in question; o the purpose of the processing; and o the recipients or classes of recipients; and

-to be given information about the source of the personal data.

Example

– An organisation has decided that to supply copies of an individual’s records in permanent form would involve a disproportionate effort- Rather than refuse the individual access, they speak to her and agree that it would be preferable if she visited their premises and viewed the original documents. They also agree that if there are documents she would like to take away with her, they can arrange to provide copies.

Key things to remember

Subject Access Request Policy

Introduction

It defines a process for achieving legislative requirements and ensuring effective and consistent management of such requests.

The policy ensures that all staff are aware of how a subject access request should be made and to respond quickly.

Under the Data Protection Act, subject to certain conditions, an individual is entitled to be:

Told whether any personal data is being processed;
Given a description of the personal data, the reasons it is being processed,
and whether it will be given to any other organisations or people; and
Given a copy of the information comprising the data, and given details of the source of the data (where this is available).

Personal data held by the Practice may be:

Personnel/Staff records relating to a member of staff, present, past or prospective, whether permanent, temporary or volunteer.
Health records consisting of information about the physical or mental health of an identifiable individual made by, or on behalf of, a health professional in connection with the care of that individual.

Access encompasses the following rights:

To obtain a copy of the record in permanent form.
To have information provided in an intelligible format (and explained where necessary).

The Data Protection Act also gives subjects who now reside outside the UK the right to apply for access to their former UK health and employment records:

Employees are legally entitled to request their personal records and may take them outside of the UK at their own discretion.
Original health records should not be given to people to keep/take outside the UK. A GP or community health professional may be prepared to provide the patient with a summary of treatment; alternatively, the patient may make a request for access in the usual way.

Organisations must have procedures in place to ensure that an individual’s rights of access are met in a timely and appropriate fashion.

The BMA Confidentiality and Health Records Toolkit helps identify the key factors to take into consideration when making a decision around confidentiality and disclosure of health records.

Scope

This policy applies to any request by a patient or member of staff for access to their personal information held by the Practice.

This policy applies to all staff (employees, governing body members, contractors) of the Practice.

Who can make an Access Request?

An application for access to personal data may be made to the Practice by any of the following:

An individual.
A person authorised by the individual in writing to make the application on an individual’s behalf e.g. solicitor, family member, a carer.
A person having parental responsibility for the individual where he/she is a child.
A person appointed by a court to manage the affairs of an individual who is deemed incompetent.
Individuals who hold a health and welfare Lasting Power of Attorney.
Where the individual has died, the personal representative and any person who may have a claim arising out of the individual’s death (the executor of the deceased’s will; someone who has been appointed as an Administrator of the Estate by the Courts; someone who has the written consent of either of the above to be given access, someone who is in the process of challenging the deceased’s will).

Police Requests

Solicitor Requests

Insurance Requests

Requests Relating to Children/Young Persons

Having the child live with the person with responsibility, or having a say in where the child lives;
If the child is not living with her/him, having a personal relationship and regular contact with the child;
Controlling, guiding and directing the child’s upbringing.

The identity and consent of the applicant must always be established.

The applicant does not have to give a reason for applying for access.

Application

Individuals wishing to exercise their right to access should:

Make a written application to the Practice holding the records, including via email.
Provide such further information as the Practice may require to sufficiently identify the individual.

An individual may also raise a request using the form in Appendix A, however, this is not mandatory.

The Practice as “data controller” is responsible for ascertaining the purpose of the request and the manner in which the information is supplied.

Fees and Response Time

Under GDPR the Practice musts provide information free of charge. However, we can charge a “reasonable fee” when a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive, particularly if it is repetitive.

The fee must be based on the administrative cost of providing the information only.

The request should be initially passed to the Data Protection Officer who will manage the Subject Access Request.

Appendix A to this policy prompts the applicant to clarify whether they wish to make this type of request.

The Release Stage

The release of a health record is subject to consultation with either:

The health professional who is currently, or was most recently, responsible for the clinical care of the data subject in connection with the information which is the subject of the request.
Where there is more than one such health professional, the health professional who is the most suitable to advise on the information which is the subject of the request.

Once the records have been collated, redacted where applicable and signed off by the Caldicott Lead, they should be sent to the requester. On no account must the original record be released.

In denying or restricting access, a reason for the decision does not need to be given but the applicant should be directed through the appropriate complaint channels.

Where information is not readily intelligible, an explanation (e.g. of abbreviations or terminology) must be given.

Exemptions

Access may be denied or restricted where:

The record contains information that relates to or identifies a third party that is not a care professional and has not consented to the disclosure. If possible, the individual should be provided with access to that part of the record that does not contain third party information.
Access to all or part of the record will prejudice the carrying out of social work by reason of the fact that serious harm to the physical or mental well-being of the individual or any other person is likely. If possible the individual should be provided with access to that part of the record that does not post the risk of serious harm.
Access to all or part of the record will seriously harm the physical or mental well-being of the individual or any other person. If possible the individual should be provided with access to that part of the record that does not pose the risk of serious harm.
If an assessment identifies that to comply with a SAR would involve disproportionate effort under section 8(2)(a) of the Data Protection Act (Appendix C).

There is no requirement to disclose to the applicant the fact that certain information may have been withheld.

Complaints and Appeals

The applicant has the right to appeal against the decision of the Practice to refuse access to their information. This appeal should be made to the Practice Manager.

If an applicant is unhappy with the outcome of their access request, the following complaints channels should be offered:

Meet with the applicant to resolve the complaint locally.
Advise a patient to make a complaint through the complaint’s process.
Advise a member of staff to consult with their trade union representative.

If individuals remain unhappy with the Practice response, they have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office:

https://www.ico.org.uk/Global/contact_us.

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Email: caseworkatico.gsi.gov.uk

Roles and Responsibilities

The Caldicott Lead has executive responsibility for Subject Access Requests.

The Data Protection Officer has operational responsibility for Subject Access Requests.

All staff must be aware of how to recognise and manage a subject access request. Training will be provided to staff likely to be in receipt of requests covering:

The required format of a subject access request.
Correct identification of the requesting individual.
Location of personal information.
Timescales for compliance.
Provision of information in an intelligible format.
Action to be taken if the information includes third party data or if it has been determined that access will seriously harm an individual (see exemptions).

Monitoring and Review

The Principal GP monitors all Subject Access Requests to ensure the correct process has been followed and monitors any appeals/complaints relating to Subject Access Requests.

Equality Impact

Appendix A: Form – Subject Access Request Form

The [PRACTICE] respects the rights of individuals to have copies of their information wherever possible.
Personal information collected from you by this form is required to enable your request to be processed, this personal information will only be used in connection with the processing of this Subject Access Request.
Charges Payable: In accordance with legislation no fee will be charged for your request, unless the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive, particularly if it is repetitive. Before any further action is taken, we will contact you with details of our “reasonable administrative charges” in order to comply with your request.

PLEASE COMPLETE IN BLOCK CAPITALS – Illegible forms will delay the time taken to respond to requests.

Details of Patient/Clients/Staff members record to be accessed (Please complete one form per person)

Surname

Date of Birth

Forename(s)

Current Address

Full Postcode

Any former names (If Applicable)

Telephone Number

Previous Address (If Applicable)

Full Postcode

NHS Number (If known/relevant)

If further details are available please include them in a separate covering note.

Details of Records to be Accessed

Records dated from

Department or services accessed

/ / to / /

Details of the applicant (Complete if different to patients/clients/staff members details)

Full Name

Company (if Applicable)

Relationship with an individual whose records have been requested

Address to which a reply should be sent

Postcode: Tel:

Authorisation to release to the applicant (to be completed by the patients/clients/staff member if not making their own request)

I (Print name) hereby authorise the [PRACTICE] to release any personal data they may hold relating to me to the above applicant and to whom I authorise to act on my behalf.

Signature of patient/client/staff member : Date: / /

Declaration

Please select one box below:

I am the patient/client/staff member (data subject).
I have been asked to act on behalf of the data subject and they have completed section 4 -authorisation above.
I am acting on behalf of the data subject who is unable to complete the authorisation section above (Covering letter with further details supplied).
I am the parent/guardian of a data subject under 16 years old who has completed the authorisation section above. (Please include proof such as a birth certificate)
I am the parent/guardian of a data subject under 16 years old who is unable to understand the request and who has consented to my making the request on their behalf.
I have been appointed the Guardian for the patient/client, who is over age 16 under a Guardianship order (attached).
I am the deceased patient/client’s personal representative and attach the confirmation of my appointment.
I have a claim arising from the patient/client’s death and wish to access information relevant to my claim (Covering letter with further details to be supplied).

Please Note:

If you are making an application on the behalf of somebody else we require evidence of your authority to do so i.e. personal authority, court order etc.
It may be necessary to provide evidence of identity (i.e. Driving Licence).
If there is any doubt about the applicant’s identity or entitlement, information will not be released until further evidence is provided. You will be informed if this is the case.
Under the terms of the Data Protection Act, Subject Access Requests will be responded to within 30 days after receiving all necessary information and/or fee required to process the request.
If you are making a request under the Access to Health Records Act 1990, requests will be responded to within 40 days where no entries have been made to the patient/client’s record 40 days immediately preceding the date of this request, otherwise, requests will be responded to within 21 days after receiving all necessary information and/or fee required to process the request.
Under the terms of Section 7 of the Data Protection Act, Information disclosed under a Subject Access Request may have information removed; this is to ensure that confidentiality is maintained for third parties referred to who have not consented to their information being disclosed.

Print Name

Signed (Applicant)

Date

/ /

Please complete and send this document to:

[insert practice address]

Appendix C – Disproportionate Effort Exemption Guidance

This guidance sheet is based on the revised Information Commissioner Subject Access Code of Practice that was issued in July 2017:

What is the Disproportionate Effort?

The ‘disproportionate effort’ exception is in section 8(2) of the DPA. The Court of Appeal has provided clarification as to its application in its 2017 judgments in the cases of Dawson–Damer ¹ and Ittihadieh/Deer and Oxford University ^2.
The DPA does not define ‘disproportionate effort’, but the court has explained that there is scope for assessing whether, in the circumstances of a particular case, complying with a request by supplying a copy of the requested information in permanent form would result in so much work or expense as to outweigh the requester’s right of access to their personal data.
The court also made it clear that in assessing whether complying with a SAR would involve disproportionate effort under section 8(2)(a) you may take into account difficulties that occur throughout the process of complying with the request, including any difficulties you encounter in finding the requested information.
This approach accords with the concept of proportionality in EU law, on which the DPA is based. When responding to SARs, the Information Commissioner expects you to evaluate the particular circumstances of each request, balancing any difficulties involved in complying with the request against the benefits the information might bring to the data subject, whilst bearing in mind the fundamental nature of the right of subject access.

How is This Applied in Practice?

In order to apply the exception, the burden of proof is on you as a data controller to show that you have taken all reasonable steps to comply with the SAR and that it would be disproportionate in all the circumstances of the case for you to take further steps.
The Information Commissioner considers it good practice for you to engage with the applicant, having an open conversation about the information they require. This might help you to reduce the costs and effort that you would otherwise incur in searching for the information.
If the Information Commissioner receives a complaint about your handling of a subject access request, they may take into account your readiness to engage with the applicant and balance this against the benefit and importance of the information to them, as well as taking into account their level of co-operation with you in the course of the handling of a request.
Even if you can show that supplying a copy of the information in permanent form would involve disproportionate effort, you must still try to comply with the request in some other way, if the applicant agrees. This could form a useful part of your discussions with the applicant, in order to identify an alternative way of satisfying their request

In addition, even if you do not have to supply a copy of the information in permanent form, the requester still has the right:

– to be informed whether you are processing their personal data; and

– if so, to be given a description of:

– the personal data in question; o the purpose of the processing; and o the recipients or classes of recipients; and

– to be given information about the source of the personal data.

Example

– An organisation has decided that to supply copies of an individual’s records in permanent form would involve a disproportionate effort.

Key things to remember

– Where the disproportionate effort argument is used this is NOT a reason for not seeking to respond to a request.

– This is about recognizing the difficulties that an organisation at times may have in finding information and providing a constructive approach that recognizes this.

– The applicant still has the right to appeal and an organisation MUST be able to demonstrate the structured approach that it has taken if the disproportionate effort argument is used.

Case Finding and Profiling

Sometimes your information will be used to identify whether you need particular support from us.

Those involved in your care might look at particular ‘indicators’ (such as particular conditions) and contact you or take action for healthcare purposes.

For example, this might be to prevent you from having to visit an accident and emergency by supporting you in your own home or in the community.

We will use automated technology to help us to identify people that might require support but ultimately, the decision about how or whether to provide the extra support is made by those involved in your care.

Our Data Protection Officer will be happy to speak to you about this if you have concerns or objections.

Sharing Partners and Projects

Our practice uses Wakefield CCG to support us to deliver some of our services such as providing appointments when our practice is closed or for community-based services.

Here is a list of sharing partners across Wakefield:

h ttps://www.wakefieldccg.nhs.uk/home/patient-in-wakefield/connecting-care/about-connecting-care/connecting-care-programmes/connecting-care-hubs/sharing-information/

For more information about some of our other sharing activities click below;

Diabetic Eye Screening – https://www.midyorks.nhs.uk/desp

Social Prescribing – https://www.wakefieldccg.nhs.uk/home/patient-in-wakefield/connecting-care/about-connecting-care/connecting-care-programmes/voluntary-community-and-social-enterprise-sector/live-well-wakefield-social-prescribing/

Health Checks –https://conexus-healthcare.org/nhs-health-checks-wakefield/

Child Health Immunisations – www.bdct.nhs.uk/services/health-visiting-wakefield

Information Technology

The practice will use third parties to provide services that involve your information such as;

Removal and destruction of confidential waste.
Provision of clinical systems.
Provision of connectivity and servers.
Digital dictation services.

Data analytics or warehousing (these allow us to make decisions about care or see how effectively the practice is run – personal data will never be sold or made available to organisations not related to your care delivery).

We have contracts in place with these third parties that prevent them from using it in any other way that instructed. These contracts also require them to maintain good standards of security to ensure your confidentiality.

Sharing When Required By Law

Sometimes we will be required by law to share your information and will not always be able to discuss this with you directly. Examples might be for the purposes of detection or prevention of crime, where it is in the wider public interest, to safeguard children or vulnerable adults, reporting infectious diseases or where required by court order.

Care Quality Commission Access to Health Records

CQC has powers under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 to access and use your health information where it is necessary to carry out their functions as a regulator.

This means that inspectors may ask to look at certain records to decide whether we are providing safe, good quality care.

More information about the CQC can be obtained on their website: https://www.cqc.org.uk/about-us/our-policies/privacy-statement.

Information Access and Rights

Data protection law provides you with a number of rights that the practice is committed to supporting you with;

Right to Access

You have the right to obtain:

Confirmation that your information is being used, stored or shared by the practice.
A copy of the information held about you.
We will respond to your request within one month of receipt or will tell you when it might take longer.
We are required to validate your identity including the identity of someone making a request on your behalf.

Right to Object or Withdrawn Consent

We mainly use, store and share your information because we are permitted in order to deliver your healthcare but you do have a right to object to us doing this.
Where we are using, storing and sharing your information based on explicit consent you have provided, you have a right to withdraw that consent at any time.
Our Data Protection Officer will be happy to speak with you about any concerns you have.

Right to Correction

If information about you is incorrect, you are entitled to request that we correct it
There may be occasions, where we are required by law to maintain the original information – our Data Protection Officer will talk to you about this and you may request that the information is not used during this time.
We will respond to your request within one month of receipt or will tell you when it might take longer.

Right to Complain

You also have the right to make complaints and request investigations into the way your information is used. Please contact our Data Protection Officer or visit the link below for more information.

For more detailed information on your rights visit https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/individual-rights/.

Data Transparency

Supplementary Privacy Note on Covid-19 for Service User

This notice describes how we may use your information to protect you and others during the Covid-19 outbreak.

The health and social care system is facing significant pressures due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Health and care information is essential to deliver care to individuals, support health and social care services and protect public health. Information will also be vital in researching, monitoring, tracking and managing the outbreak. In the current emergency, it has become even more important to share health and care information across relevant organisations.

Existing law which allows confidential patient information to be used and shared appropriately and lawfully in a public health emergency is being used during this outbreak. Using this law the Secretary of State has required NHS Digital, NHS England and Improvement, arms-length bodies (such as Public Health England), local authorities, health organisations and GPs to share confidential patient information to respond to the Covid-19 outbreak. Any information used or shared during the Covid-19 outbreak will be limited to the period of the outbreak unless there is another legal basis to use the data. Further information is available on gov.uk here and someFAQs on this law are also available.

During this period of emergency, opt-outs will not generally apply to the data used to support the Covid-19 outbreak, due to the public interest in sharing information. This includes national data opt –outs . However, in relation to the Summary Care Record, existing choices will be respected. Where data is used and shared under these laws your right to have personal data erased will also not apply. It may also take us longer to respond to subject access requests, freedom of information requests and new opt-out requests whilst we focus our efforts on responding to the outbreak.

In order to look after your health and care needs, we may share your confidential patient information including health and care records with clinical and non-clinical staff in other health and care providers, for example neighbouring GP practices, hospitals and NHS 111. We may also use the details we have to send public health messages to you, either by phone, text or email.

During this period of emergency, we may offer you a consultation via telephone or videoconferencing. By accepting the invitation and entering the consultation you are consenting to this. Your personal/confidential patient information will be safeguarded in the same way it would with any other consultation.

We will also be required to share personal/confidential patient information with health and care organisations and other bodies engaged in disease surveillance for the purposes of protecting public health, providing healthcare services to the public and monitoring and managing the outbreak. Find further information about how health and care data is being used and shared by other NHS and social care organisations in a variety of ways to support the Covid-19 response.

NHS England and Improvement and NHSX have developed a single, secure store to gather data from across the health and care system to inform the Covid-19 response. This includes data already collected by NHS England, NHS Improvement, Public Health England and NHS Digital. New data will include 999 call data, data about hospital occupancy and A&E capacity data as well as data provided by patients themselves . All the data held in the platform is subject to strict controls that meet the requirements of data protection legislation.

In such circumstances where you tell us you’re experiencing Covid-19 symptoms, we may need to collect specific health data about you. Where we need to do so, we will not collect more information than we require and we will ensure that any information collected is treated with the appropriate safeguards.

We may amend this privacy notice at any time so please review it frequently. The date at the top of this page will be amended each time this notice is updated.

Your Information

We take your privacy very seriously. We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office as a Data Controller and our registration number can be found by searching the ICO Register using This Link? If you have any questions or wish to make a request in relation to your information, please contact us using the details on our main page or contact our Data Protection Officer at?

We aim to provide you with the highest quality health care. To do this we must keep records about you, your health and the care we have provided or plan to provide to you?

Your doctor and other health professionals caring for you, such as nurses or physiotherapists, keep records about your health and treatment so that they are able to provide you with the best possible care.

These records are called your ‘health care record’ and may be stored in paper form or on a computer and electronic systems and may include Personal Data; basic details about you, such as an address, date of birth, NHS number, and next of kin as well as Sensitive Personal Data; contact we have had with you, such as clinical visits notes and reports about your health details and records about your treatment and care results of x-rays, laboratory tests etc.

Healthcare providers are permitted to collect, store, use and share this information under Data Protection Legislation which has a specific section related to healthcare information

What do We do With Your Information?

What We Do With Your Information –Updated 18th April 2019

Refer you to other healthcare providers when you need other service or tests.

Discuss or share information about your health or care with other health or social care providers.
Share samples with laboratories for testing (like blood samples).
Share test results with hospitals or community services (like blood test results).
Allow out of hours or extended hours GPs to look at your health record when you are going to an appointment.
Send prescriptions to a pharmacy.
Text patients in relation to healthcare services.
Samples are provided to the courier for delivery to the pathology.
Share reports with the coroner

Receive reports of appointments you have attended elsewhere such as with the community nurse or if you have had a stay in hospital.

Produce medical reports on request from third parties such as the DVLA or your employer.

Movement of Patient records to Primary Care Support England.

14th April 2019: Amended to include “Discuss or share information about your health or care with other health or social care providers”

How Do We Keep Your Information Safe?

We are committed to ensuring the security and confidentiality of your information.

We are committed to ensuring the security and confidentiality of your information.

There are a number of ways we do this:

Does staff receive annual training about protecting and using personal data?

Policies are in place for staff to follow and are regularly reviewed?

We check that only the minimum amount of data is shared or accessed.

We use ‘smartcards’ to access systems, this helps to ensure that the right people are accessing data – people with a ‘need to know”.

We use encrypted emails and storage which would make it difficult for someone to ‘intercept’ your information.

We report and manage incidents to make sure we learn from them and improve

We put in place contracts that require providers and suppliers to protect your data as well.

We do not send your data outside of the EEA.

What Else Do We Use Your Information For?

Along with activities related directly to your care, we also use information in ways that allow us to check that care is safe and provide data for the improvement and planning of services.

Quality/payment/performance reports are provided to service commissioners.

As part of clinical research – information that identifies you will be removed, unless you have consented to be identified.

Undertaking clinical audits within the practice.
Supporting staff training.
Incident and complaint management.

How Long Do We Keep Your Information?

In line with the Department of Health Code, we will retain/store your health record for your lifetime.

When a patient dies, we will send your record to Primary Care Services England to review the record and generally, it will be destroyed 10 years later, unless there is a reason to keep it for longer?

If you move away or register with another practice, we will send your records to the new practice.

How we Handle Your Data – Video

https://www.kafico.co.uk/copy-of-telephone-recording

Named and Allocated GP

Dr Barnsley is the Named GP and Allocated GP for all our registered patients at this Practice.

GP Earnings

“All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings (e.g. average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.”

The average pay for GP’s working in Eastmoor Surgery in the financial year was £ 21,508 before tax and national insurance. This is for 1 full time GP and 1 part time GP’s who worked in the practice for more than six months NHS England require that the net earnings of doctors engaged in the practice are publicised, and the required disclosure is shown above.

However it should be noted that the prescribed method for calculating earnings is potentially misleading because it takes no account of how much time doctors spend working in the practice, and should not be used to form any judgement about GP earnings, nor to make any comparison with any other practice.

Introduction

Scope

Police Requests

Solicitor Requests

Insurance Requests

Requests Relating to Children/Young Persons

Application

Fees and Response Time

The Release Stage

Exemptions

Complaints and Appeals

Roles and Responsibilities

Monitoring and Review

Equality Impact

Appendix A: Form – Subject Access Request Form

What is the Disproportionate Effort?

How is This Applied in Practice?

Example

Key Things to Remember

Subject Access Request Policy

Scope

Police Requests

Solicitor Requests

Insurance Requests

Requests Relating to Children/Young Persons

Application

Fees and Response Time

The Release Stage

Exemptions

Complaints and Appeals

Roles and Responsibilities

Monitoring and Review

Equality Impact

Appendix A: Form – Subject Access Request Form

Appendix C – Disproportionate Effort Exemption Guidance

What is the Disproportionate Effort?

How is this Applied in Practice?

Example

Key Things to Remember

Scope

Police Requests

Solicitor Requests

Insurance Requests

Requests Relating to Children/Young Persons

Application

Fees and Response Time

The Release Stage

Exemptions

Complaints and Appeals

Roles and Responsibilities

Monitoring and Review

Equality Impact

Appendix A: Form – Subject Access Request Form

Appendix C – Disproportionate Effort Exemption Guidance

What is the Disproportionate Effort?

How is this Applied in Practice?

Example

Key things to remember

Subject Access Request Policy

Scope

Police Requests

Solicitor Requests

Insurance Requests

Requests Relating to Children/Young Persons

Application

Fees and Response Time

The Release Stage

Exemptions

Complaints and Appeals

Roles and Responsibilities

Monitoring and Review

Equality Impact

Appendix A: Form – Subject Access Request Form

Appendix C – Disproportionate Effort Exemption Guidance

What is the Disproportionate Effort?

How is This Applied in Practice?

Example

Key things to remember

Care Quality Commission Access to Health Records

Right to Access