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Basildon Dental Practice

Privacy Notice

 

The practice aims to meet the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR], the guidelines on the Information Commissioner’s website as well as our professional guidelines and requirements.

 

The data controller is Dr Amar Dave, who is also the information Governance Lead The Data Protection Officer is the Practice Manager.

 

You will be asked to provide personal information when joining the practice. The purpose of us processing this data is to provide optimum health care to you.

 

The categories of data we process are:

 

  • Personal data for the purposes of staff and self-employed team member management

  • Personal data for the purposes of direct mail/text/Email

  • Special category data including health records for the purposes of the delivery of health care

  • Special category data including health records and details of criminal record checks for managing employees and contracted team members

 

We never pass your personal details to a third party unless we have a contract for them to process data on our behalf and will otherwise keep it confidential. If we intend to refer a patient to another practitioner or to secondary care such as a hospital we will gain the individual’s permission before the referral is made and the personal data is shared.

 

  • Personal data is stored in the [EU] whether in digital or hard copy format

 

  • Personal data is obtained when a patient joins the practice. 

 

The lawful basis for processing special category data such as patients’ and employees’ health data is:

 

  • Processing is necessary for the purposes of preventative or occupational medicine, for assessing the working capacity of the employee, medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or management of health or social care systems and services on the basis of Union or Member State law or a contract with a health professional

 

The lawful basis of processing personal data such as name, address, email or phone number is:

  • Consent of the data subject

  • Processing is necessary for the performance of a contract with the data subject or to take steps to enter into a contract

 

 

 

 

The retention period for special data in patient records is a minimum of 15 years and may be longer for complex records in order to meet our legal requirements. The retention period for staff records is 6 years. The retention periods for other personal data is 2 years after it was last processed. Details of other retention periods are available in the Record Retention procedure available from the practice.

 

 

You have the following personal data rights:

 

  • The right to be informed

  • The right of access

  • The right to rectification

  • The right to erasure (clinical records must be retained for a certain time period)

  • The right to restrict processing

  • The right to data portability

  • The right to object

 

Further details of these rights can be seen in our Information Governance Procedures or at the Information Commissioner’s website. Here are some practical examples of your rights:

 

  • If you are a patient of the practice you have the right to withdraw consent for important notifications, newsletters, surveys or marketing. You can inform us to correct errors in your personal details or withdraw consent from communication methods such as telephone, email or text. You have the right to obtain a free copy of your patient records within one month.

 

  • If you are not a patient of the practice you have the right to withdraw consent for processing personal data, to have a free copy of it within one month, to correct errors in it or to ask us to delete it. You can also withdraw consent from communication methods such as telephone, email or text.
     

We have carried out a Privacy Impact Assessment and you can request a copy from the details below. The details of how we ensure security of personal data is in our Security Risk Assessment and Information Governance Procedures.

 

Comments, suggestions and complaints

Please contact Dr Amar Dave at the practice for a comment, suggestion or a complaint about your data processing at admin@essexdentalpractice.co.uk or 01268553315 option 2 or by writing to or visiting the practice at 11 Southview Road, Basildon, Essex. SS164XP.   We take complaints very seriously.

 

If you are unhappy with our response or if you need any advice you should contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Their telephone number is 0303 123 1113, you can also chat online with an advisor. The ICO can investigate your claim and take action against anyone who’s misused personal data. You can also visit their website for information on how to make a data protection complaint.

 

Related practice procedures

You can also use these contact details to request copies of the following practice policies or procedures:

 

  • Data Protection and Information Security Policy Consent Policy

  • Privacy Impact Assessment Information Governance Procedures

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Practice policy on appointments

 

At our practice we will endeavour to manage our appointments system to avoid delays in appointment times and minimise loss of surgery time through cancellations and failed appointments.

 

 

In our practice we

 

  • Communicate with patients in a courteous, friendly, professional manner

  • Make sure that patients receive full information about our services, their treatment and its cost

  • Provide advice and treatment outside normal surgery hours where necessary

  • Refer patients for further professional advice and treatment where appropriate

 

 

In our practice we will

 

  • Manage our appointments system so that treatment appointments are booked as soon as possible.

  • Ensure that patients are seem promptly when they have an arranged appointment. Where there is a further delay we will explain the reasons.

  • Offer a text reminder service to all patients – an appointment card will also be given on booking

  • Monitor our waiting times for (i) treatment and (ii) for booking appointments

  • Provide as much notice as possible when appointments have to be changed or cancelled and explain the reasons

  • Advise patients if there is a change of dentist – where possible

 

In return, we would like you to

 

  • Participate in your dental treatment, particularly any advice about prevention and diet that we have asked you to continue at home

  • Arrive on time for your appointment. Please give the practice at least 24 - 48  hours notice if you are unable to keep your appointment.  If you fail to attend an appointment  without prior notice of cancellation, we reserve the right to refuse further appointments at our practice. 

  • Advise us of any changes to your contact details (address, telephone numbers, email) to help us keep our records up to date and ensure that we are able to contact you

  • Be polite and courteous to staff and other patients – we have a zero tolerance policy and will enforce this.

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Basildon Dental Practice

Consent Policy

 

Basildon Dental Practice follows the GDC guidelines Standards for the Dental Team: ‘Principle 3, Obtain Valid Consent’. We treat patients politely and with respect, in recognition of their dignity and rights as individuals. We also recognise and promote our patients’ responsibility for making decisions about their bodies, their priorities and their care and make sure we do not take any steps without a patient’s consent (permission).

The clinical team member will always obtain valid consent before starting treatment or physical investigation, or providing personal care for a patient, because patients have a right to choose whether or not to accept advice or treatment. Clinical team members are adequately trained to ensure that the patient has:

  • Enough information to make a decision (informed consent)

  • Made a decision (voluntary decision-making)

  • The ability to make an informed decision (capacity)

 

The nature of treatment NHS or private and all charges are clarified to the patient before it commences and the patient is provided with a written treatment plan and cost estimate. All team members are aware that:

 

  • Once the consent has been given it may be withdrawn at any time

 

  • Giving and getting consent is a process, not a one-off event. It is an ongoing discussion between the clinician and the patient

 

  • It is necessary to find out what the patient wants to know, as well as saying what the clinician thinks the patient needs to know. Examples of information which patients may want to know include: why a proposed treatment is necessary; the risks and benefits of the proposed treatment; what might happen if the treatment is not carried out and alternative forms of treatment, their risks and benefits, and whether or not the treatment is considered appropriate

  • If an estimate has been agreed with a patient, but it is necessary to change the treatment plan, the patient’s consent to any further treatment and extra cost will always be obtained prior to providing the changed treatment. This will be achieved by the provision of an amended written treatment plan and estimate

 

Everyone aged 16 or over is presumed to have capacity to make their own decisions unless it can be shown that they lack capacity to make a particular decision at the time it needs to be made. If the treating clinician thinks that someone lacks capacity to make a treatment decision, s/he will carry out a mental capacity assessment and, if appropriate, make a decision in the person’s best interests.  We have a Mental Capacity Assessment to provide a record of how a treatment decision was reached.

 

Children’s consent

A child is a person under 18.                                                                                                                                      

Children aged 16 and over are presumed to have capacity and able to consent or, refuse to treatment in their own right. If the practitioner thinks a child aged 16 or over may lack capacity, a mental capacity assessment will be carried out and the results recorded in the clinical notes.

 

If a child is under 16, it is the first choice to obtain the consent of the parent or carer. But for various reasons this may not be possible. A child who is under 16 can give consent if the practitioner considers that the child is ‘Gillick competent’.

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Code of practice for patient complaints

 

In this practice we take complaints very seriously and try to ensure that all our patients are pleased with their experience of our service. When patients complain, they are dealt with courteously and promptly so that the matter is resolved as quickly as possible. This procedure is based on these objectives.

 

Our aim is to react to complaints in the way in which we would want our complaint about a service to be handled. We learn from every mistake that we make and we respond to patients’ concerns in a caring and sensitive way.

 

  1. The person responsible for dealing with any complaint about the service that we provide is The Practice Manager, the practice Complaints Manager.

 

  1. If a patient complains by telephone or in person, we will listen to their complaint and offer to refer him or her to the Complaints Manager immediately. If the Complaints Manager is not available at the time, then the patient will be told when they will be able to talk to the Complaints Manager and arrangements will be made for this to happen. The member of staff will make a written record of your complaint and provide the patient with a copy as well as passing it on to the Complaints Manager. If we cannot arrange this within a reasonable period or if the patient does not wish to wait to discuss the matter, arrangements will be made for someone else to deal with it.

 

  1. If the patient complains in writing or by e-mail it will be passed on immediately to the Complaints Manager.

 

  1. If a complaint is about any aspect of clinical care or associated charges it will normally be referred to the dentist concerned, unless the patient does not want this to happen.

 

  1. We will acknowledge the patient’s complaint in writing and enclose a copy of this code of practice as soon as possible, normally within 3 working days. We will offer to discuss the complaint at a time agreed with the patient, asking how the patient would like to be kept informed of developments, for example, by telephone, face to face meetings, letters or e-mail. We will inform the patient about how the complaint will be handled and the likely time that the investigation will take to be completed. If the patient does not wish to discuss the complaint, we will still inform them of the expected timescale for completing the process.

 

  1. We will seek to investigate the complaint speedily and efficiently and we will keep the patient regularly informed, as far as is reasonably practicable, as to the progress of the investigation. Investigations will normally be completed within six months.

 

  1. When we have completed our investigation, we will provide the patient with a full written report. The report will include an explanation of how the complaint has been considered, the conclusions reached in respect of each specific part of the complaint, details of any necessary remedial action and whether the practice is satisfied with any action it has already taken or will be taking as a result of the complaint.

 

  1. Proper and comprehensive records are kept of any complaint received as well as any actions taken to improve services as a consequence of a complaint

 

  1. If patients are not satisfied with the result of our procedure then a complaint may be referred to:

 

  •  NHS England, PO Box 16738, Redditch B97 9PT (email: England.contactus@nhs.net) or the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Millbank Tower, Millbank London SW1P 4QP (tel: 0345 015 4033 or www.ombudsman.org.uk for complaints about NHS treatment).

  • Dental Complaints Service, Stephenson House, 2 Cherry Orchard Road, Croydon CR0 6BA (Telephone: 08456 120 540) for complaints about private treatment

The General Dental Council, 37 Wimpole Street, London, W1M 8DQ the dentists’

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