You can be sure that anything you discuss with any member of the practice team – doctor, nurse, reception staff and counselor – will stay confidential. Even if you are under 16 nothing will be said to anyone – including parents, other family members, care workers or tutors without your permission.
This means that you can tell others about the visit, but we won’t. The only reason why we might have to consider passing on confidential information without your permission, would be to protect you or someone else from very serious harm and/or if the Law requires us to do so. We would always try to discuss this with you first.
We do not share your information for non-medical purposes that could identify you. All NHS staff have a legal duty to keep information about you confidential and they follow a staff code of practice on protecting patient confidentiality.
We only release test results to the patient, unless alternative arrangements have been agreed in writing.
We follow the guidelines set out and agreed between the British Medical Association, Royal College of General Practitioners and the Department of Health on Records and Confidentiality. You will be able to find further details on www.rcgp.org.uk and www.bma.org.uk. If you have any concerns about confidentiality, please feel free to ask a member of staff.
