Understanding How Your Data is Used
To provide you with the best possible care, our practice shares electronic healthcare records with the Greater Manchester Care Record. This securely connects different parts of the local NHS and social care health systems to ensure the professionals looking after you have the most up-to-date information when you need it.
How is your data used?
There are three distinct ways your records are utilised under this agreement:
- Direct Care: Giving frontline clinicians (such as doctors in A&E) instant access to your medications and medical history to treat you safely in an emergency
- Secondary Uses: Looking at anonymised data to monitor local health programmes, such as lung cancer screenings, or to plan better services for the wider community.
- Research: Helping approved academic or healthcare teams study health conditions and test new care programmes (such as local training initiatives). For these projects, your personal identity is removed (pseudonymised) so you cannot be identified.
Managing your choices (Opting Out)
We fully respect your right to choose how your medical information is shared. If you do not want your data used beyond your direct individual care, you have two options:
- National Data Opt-Out: This stops your data from being used for research and planning across the wider NHS. You can set this preference yourself online at www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters or directly inside the NHS App.
- Type 1 Opt-Out: This specifically prevents your identifiable practice medical records from leaving our GP system for secondary or research purposes. If you wish to put a Type 1 Opt-Out in place, please contact our administrative team directly so we can apply the correct security flag to your medical record.
Your choices will not affect the standard of individual care you receive from our practice team. If you have any questions about data sharing or the Greater Manchester Care Record, please speak to a member of our reception team.