Your Confidentiality at Jesmond Health Partnership
The health and comfort of every patient is important at our practice. We want everyone to be happy to speak to any member of our team, knowing anything they say will be treated in confidence, and their privacy will be respected.
It’s not just Doctors who are bound by patient confidentiality, everyone who works here is too.
You can read about the 5 principles of confidentiality in the NHS here.
What this means
The information you give to us when you fill in a form, or talk to us over the phone or in person, is classified as confidential.
When describing your symptoms or telling us about your medical history, that information is only shared when it’s needed to give you the best possible care. There are processes to keep anything that identifies patients secure and safe.
Anything collected for statistical or research purposes – important for making sure that services match what patients’ need – is always anonymised.
Why this matters
Because we want you to feel comfortable knowing that anything you tell us will only ever be used to benefit your health.
Patients often ask why they need to say what is wrong with them when they book an appointment.
It’s because the more we know, the quicker we can get you to the right person to help you.
You may not know this, but our Reception staff are trained to direct you to the right service. They are not making clinical decisions about diagnosis or treatment, but what they are doing is using their knowledge to get you to the right person who will.
Your rights
It’s important to know that you are in control of your information. You do not have to tell us something you don’t want to, and you can ask us not to share what you do tell us.
For more on how to opt out of sharing information, visit our ‘Your Data’ section here.
Equally though, it’s important to know what the effects of not sharing information could be. For example, if you choose not to say why you want any appointment, you could wait longer to see a Doctor when a Nurse Practitioner was available and could have prescribed medication.
You can always ask to speak privately to a member of staff if you’d rather not explain in the waiting room. Equally, we’ll ask patients to give each other space when waiting, and respect each other’s privacy.
If you have any concerns about privacy, confidentiality or the use of your information, please speak to a member of the Reception Team in the first instance.