We would like you to know that we record calls as part of our commitment to training, audit and quality assurance. The details you provide are recorded on our system and may be shared with other partner agencies
We may record telephone calls to:
- Review and improve services
- Monitor and review quality of care
- Train, develop and manage staff and medical trainees
- Prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute allegations, complaints, claims and / or fraud relating to patients, other organisations or Holderness Health staff
- Protect staff and patients
We do this in the interests of offering a good service to our service users, patient safety, being a good employer and to protect public funds.
If you object to this, you will need to end the call when you are told that calls may be recorded.
Sometimes, calls may not be recorded if:
- there’s a technical fault with the telephony system
- a call handler is using equipment which does not let calls be recorded
Holderness Health may record both incoming and outgoing telephone calls.
How will call recordings be used:
Quality monitoring: Written records only provide partial information. A call recording provides a more rounded view and allows us to better understand patient and staff experience and assess the processes applied. This can help us identify any improvement areas.
Training and development: Listening to a sample number of calls allows managers to identify training needs. Call recordings may also be used as part of training for medical students, GP registrars and other clinical staff in training at the practice. This is part of their clinical skills development.
Gaining a better understanding of our customers: Many calls are verbally resolved without the need to complete records. Listening to sample calls will help us better understand our patient and staff needs and gain a more informed view of organisations we signpost to.
Complaints and disputes: Some calls are verbally resolved. Where information is entered onto an electronic system this is becomes the established record. In the event of a complaint or dispute, a call recording (if possible), may provide additional information to help us investigate any allegations.
Employee safety and wellbeing: A recording may become a vital piece of evidence in the event of any threats being made to the organisation or an individual or in dealing with employment-related matters.
How your information is shared
The law requires Holderness Health to share information from your medical records in certain circumstances. Call recordings may form part of your medical record. Information is shared so that the NHS or Public Health England can, for example:
- Plan and manage services
- Check that the care being provided is safe
- Prevent infectious diseases from spreading
We will share information with NHS Digital, the Care Quality Commission and the local health protection team (or Public Health England) when the law requires us to do so.
Call recordings may be shared internally within the practice. This includes team members, managers and GPs. They will only have access if the data is necessary for the performance of their roles.
We may share call recordings with NHS England or East Riding of Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group in order to respond to complaints made about the practice.
How long we keep your call recording
General call recordings will be retained for up to 36 months from the date of creation.
Call recordings may be linked to your patient record at the end of the call. Where this is the case, the recording will form an integral part of your NHS medical record and will therefore be stored as a permanent record.
The above retention periods are in line with the Records Management Code of Practice for Health and Social Care 2016.
Our full Privacy Notice relating to the recording of telephone calls can be viewed below.