Privacy Policy

Who we are

TyneHealth is a GP federation representing all 26 practices in North Tyneside. Together with our GP members, we deliver improved health care in the community to over 215,000 residents, closer to patients’ homes.  We are registered in England and Wales under registration number 05927008.

TyneHealth takes your privacy rights very seriously and are committed to always protecting and respecting these rights.   This Privacy and Cookies Policy sets out the way in which the personal information you provide to us (and the information collected by us) is handled, stored and processed.

TyneHealth is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office for data protection purposes (registration number Z1096290).

Scope of this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy relates to all personal information collected and used by TyneHealth either in relation to our staff, our business contacts, website users and individuals who access our services.   It provides an overview of how we use this personal information and your rights in relation to this use.  

The majority of TyneHealth clinical services are delivered on behalf of practices within the North Tyneside area.  Where this is the case, further information on use of this information can be found in the relevant practice’s privacy notice.

In addition all TyneHealth potential or existing staff will be provided with an Employee Privacy Notice.

Information we use

We collect and use different types of information for different purposes.  These include:

• Information that you provide to use when using our services, or that is generated in the course of the use of these services e.g. if you use one of our clinical services such as North Tyneside Care Plus or a service provided by us through your GP practice (out of hours doctors services, sexual health services etc).  Information collected may include your personal contact details and any health information needed to deliver the service to you)
• Information that you may provide to us through our recruitment processes or as a TyneHealth member of staff
• Information contained in or relating to any communications that you send to us or send through our website (including the communication content and meta data associated with the communication)
• Any other personal information that you choose to provide to us

Before you disclose to us the personal information of another person, you must obtain that person’s consent to both the disclosure and the processing of that personal information in accordance with this policy.

Source of information

We collect personal information from a number of different sources, including:

• directly from you. For example, when you access healthcare services, submit a query to us including via our website, by email or post
• from other healthcare organisations, such as your GP, an NHS body or a private healthcare provider, for example in order to access your medical records

How we use your information

We may use your information for a number of different purposes.  For each purpose we must have a “legal ground” to use your personal information in such a way.  When the information that we process is classed as sensitive personal information/ special categories of personal information, we must have a specific, additional “legal ground” to process such information.

Generally we will rely on the following “legal grounds”, as appropriate:

• We have a legal or regulatory obligation to use such personal information. For example, where our regulators require us to hold certain records of our dealings with you.
• We need to use your personal information in order to protect your vital interests or those of a third party. For example, in order to ensure your safety or the safety of others.
• We need to use your personal information for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise or our official authority. For example, in order to provide healthcare services.
• We need to use your personal information for purposes of medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems. For example, in order to provide healthcare services and treatment to you.
• We need to use such personal information to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights. This might happen when we are faced with legal proceedings or want to bring legal proceedings ourselves.
• We need to use your personal information to manage employment practices as part of our recruitment and staffing processes
• You have consented to the use of your personal information 

Uses of your information which rely on some of the legal grounds detailed above include:

• Providing healthcare and related services
• Administration and management of healthcare services (such as maintaining records, receiving professional advice)
• Service improvement, evaluation and audit (in order to improve the healthcare we provide, and to protect and improve the health of the public)
• Communicating with you and resolving any queries or complaints that you might have
• Complying with our legal and regulatory requirements
• Safeguarding purposes (for example, in order to ensure the health and safety of an individual)
• Preventing and investigating fraud. This might include sharing your personal information with third parties such as the police or fraud prevention agencies, for example, NHS Counter Fraud Authority or Audit One
• Managing staff employment and recruitment
• Delivering the TyneHealth website 
• Responding to enquiries or complaints received

For more general information on how NHS and care services use your information, see our Transparency Statement below.

Cookies

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer by websites that you visit to distinguish you from other users of the site. TyneHealth and its partners use technologies, such as cookies, and process personal data, such as IP addresses and cookie identifiers, to personalise ads and content based on your interests, measure the performance of ads and content, and derive insights about the audiences who saw ads and content. 

TyneHealth will ask for your consent to the use of this technology and the processing of your personal data for these purposes when you visit the TyneHealth website. You can change your mind and change your consent choices at any time by returning to the site through the privacy dashboard.

You will be able to set your consent preferences and determine how you want your data to be used on the website and you will also be able to set consent preferences for each individual third-party company. 

You can view our full cookie policy here. 

Changes to our privacy policy

Any changes we may make to our Privacy and Cookies Policy in the future will be posted on this page, so please check from time to time to see if there are any changes.

Contact

Questions, comments and requests regarding this privacy policy or about the way we use your personal information are welcomed and should be addressed to email address.