Diagnostic Ultrasound Services - about us
Quality:
Diagnostic Ultrasound Services is an accredited AQP (Any Qualified Provider) NHS Provider of diagnostic ultrasound scans to patients in Surrey, West Kent and West Sussex.
We offer a choice of ultrasound scans which are carried out by highly experienced consultant radiologists and consultant sonographers. We are committed to providing the highest standard of diagnostic ultrasound using state of the art, fully equipped high resolution scanners.
We have operated a community ultrasound service for over 15 years with the aim of supporting the care and management of patients in primary care. We have been visited and subsequently described as "an exemplar site" by the Royal College of General Practitioners.
Our own surveys show that 75% of patients referred for a scan with our service can subsequently be managed in primary care with no need for secondary care (hospital) referral. Those patients who are referred to secondary care are referred for a hospital based procedure.
This supports the idea behind Clinical commissioning that patients should be seen in the right place, at the right time and by the right person.
Locations:
These are at five fixed sites and these are securely and electronically linked on the NHS N3 network.
Oxted Health Centre, Oxted is our central hub where all co-ordination of our appointments and administration takes place.
We have four further sites:
- The Hawthorns Surgery in Redhill
- Birchwood Medical Centre in Horley.
- The Avenue Surgery, London Road, Burgess Hill. West Sussex
- Langley Corner Surgery, Ifield Green, Crawley
Your Ultrasound Report:
Our ultrasound reports are available electronically within your notes at your GP surgery within half an hour of the scan being performed.
All reports and images are also available electronically to any NHS hospital within the UK if this is requested via IEP (Image Exchange Portal).
We can also liaise with private hospitals similarly.
Our aim is to ensure a seamless, safe and secure pathway to support your GP referral where necessary.
Fair Processing notice:
How we use your personal information
This fair processing notice explains why Diagnostic Ultrasound Services hold information about you and how that information may be used.
The health care professionals, who provide you with care, maintain records about your referral and treatment with Diagnostic Ultrasound Services. These records help to provide you with the best possible healthcare.
Diagnostic Ultrasound Services also holds the following personal information about you;
- Details such as your address, DOB, your GP surgery and contact telephone number.
- Any contact Diagnostic Ultrasound services has had with you, your referral from your GP, appointments, clinic visits, consent
form and your ultrasound report. - The patient satisfaction we may ask you to complete is anonymised.
This information is kept in electronic and paper format and we use a combination of working practices and technology to ensure that your information is kept confidential and secure.
Some information will be used for statistical purposes and is requested by the Clinical Commissioning Groups.
Where we do this, we take strict measures to ensure that individual patients cannot be identified and all information is anonymised.
Other Data Sharing / Access Projects
How do we maintain the confidentiality of your records?
We are committed to protecting your privacy and will only use information collected lawfully in accordance with:
- Data Protection Act 1998
- Human Rights Act 1998
- Common Law Duty of Confidentiality
- Health and Social Care Act 2012
- NHS Codes of Confidentiality and Information Security
Every member of staff who works for InsideVue has a legal obligation to keep information about you confidential.
We will only ever use or pass on information about you if others involved in your care have a genuine need for it. We will not disclose your information to any 3rd party without your permission unless there are exceptional circumstances (i.e. life or death situations), where the law requires information to be passed on and / or in accordance with the new information sharing principle following Dame Fiona’s Caldicott information sharingreview (Information to share or not to share) where “The duty to share information can be as important as the duty to protect patient confidentiality.” This means that health and social care professionals should have the confidence to share information in the best interests of their patients within the framework set out by the Caldicott principles. They should be supported by the policies of their employers, regulators and professional bodies.
Who do we share your information with?
- NHS Trusts / Foundation Trusts. Should you be referred for further care, your Consultant may request copies of the images taken at Diagnostic Ultrasound Services. This information is shared via our secure Image Exchange Portal ( IEP)
- GP’s
- NHS Commissioning Support Units
- Clinical Commissioning Groups
- Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC)
Any information provided, with the exception of images which may be requested by secondary care, is in anonymised format.
Any information we hold in paper format is scanned in to our clinical system. Paper copies are then destroyed, on site, by our secure document destruction service. These companies are bound by contractual agreements to ensure information is kept confidential and secure. This agreement is held by the Operations Manager.
Access to personal information
You have a right under the Data Protection Act 1998 to request access to view or to obtain copies of what information DUS holds about you and to have it amended should it be inaccurate. This request must be made through your GP surgery.
- Your request must be made in writing to your GP - for information from the hospital you should write direct to them
- There may be a charge to have a printed copy of the information held about you
- They are required to respond to you within 30 days
- You will need to give adequate information (for example full name, address, date of birth, NHS number
and details of your request) so that your identity can be verified and your records located
Objections / Complaints
Should you have any concerns about how your information is managed at DUS please contact the Operations Manager. If you are still unhappy following a review by the Operations Manager, you can then complain to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) via their website: www.ico.org.uk
Change of Details
It is important that you tell the person treating you if any of your details such as your name or address have changed or if any of your details such as date of birth is incorrect in order for this to be amended. You have a responsibility to inform us of any changes so our records are accurate and up to date for you.
Notification
The Data Protection Act 1998 requires organisations to register a notification with the Information Commissioner to describe the purposes for which they process personal and sensitive information.
This information is publicly available on the Information Commissioners Office website www.ico.org.uk
Diagnostic Ultrasound Services is registered with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO). Registration number - Z8953550
The Data Controller, responsible for keeping your information secure and confidential is:
Mrs Sally Hill - Manager
Tel: 01883 734038, mobile 07955 583791, (Ultrasound bookings / queries)
Manager: Mrs Sally Hill MSc (Diagnostic ultrasound)
Secure nhs.net email: ultrasound.oxtedhealthcentre@nhs.net - (note this is secure when emailed from another nhs.net email address)
The photographs below show the launch of our latest ultrasound machine - donated by the League of Friends of Oxted Health Centre and Community - by Mr Sam Gyimah, MP for East Surrey:
