Any GDPR experts able to help me out?

[GDPRhelp]

I've name changed as this is outing.

I was at my GP for a nurses appointment last year, it was just a vaccination and the door was open. I mentioned to the nurse that I'd really struggled to get an appointment recently and had accessed a private GP. The nurse shouted to a lady in the corridor to come in. She introduced herself as a manager and asked why I had gone private. I gave my reasons and she gave me quite a hard time about going private, said no one else has an issue queuing up or getting an appointment. She was stood over me and I felt quite intimidated. We were getting nowhere with the discussion and I said I had to leave.

That was last year.

Cut to last week on our local Facebook group someone commented how the GP practice had gone downhill. Over 90 people commented to say it was a bad service. I commented warning people to be careful what they say as when I had complained the manager had interrupted my appointment to give me a hard time. I mentioned no names, I wasn't rude and was completely factual.

Last night I went to the walk in centre (no appointments at GP!) and have been referred for diagnostic tests.

Today phone rings and I thought it's the doc wanting to speak about my tests but no - it's the manager wishing to "discuss" my post on social media. Again she was very intimidating, misquoted me, spoke aggressively and constantly spoke over me in a raised voice.

What is the GDPR perspective on this? Is she allowed to dip into my data to obtain my number and call to give me a bollocking?

Dramalama it isn't about the right for it not to be seen it is about the right to expect or not expect follow up contact. If the individual would not reasonably expect to be contacted or it would cause unjustified harm then LI is overridden. If I posted on a non-surgery page I would not expect to receive a phone call. If it was on a surgery page then fair enough.

It’s a breach of the data protection act, which runs alongside gdpr doesn’t it?

She has looked up your name in the doctors database for personal use without your consent, it’s actually very serious.

In my old working environment if I did this it was instant dismissal and a fine of upto 2000 for breaking the data protection act.

Gdpr is more concerning marketing isn’t it?

OP ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/

There’s a live chat option, please report this. Someone could really be put at risk from the actions of this person.

I think that the issue of whether or not her phone call to you was a violation of GDPR would depend on the details of their lawful basis for processing your data, and on an interpretation of whether the call was legitimately connected to their provision of a service to you.

It doesn't seem to me like the GDPR/data protection is the best rounds for your complaint. I would complain on different grounds related to the poor quality of service that her attidude and behaviour represents.

OP didn’t make a complaint to the practice, giving the woman a reason to follow up. She made a negative but true statement on an unrelated page. Of course the practice are going to be able to see it, but the fact that they can view it doesn’t turn it into a formal complaint made to them. It’s as if OP had made the same comment in a conversation at the local pub without realising that the woman was sat around the corner. In that situation would it be OK for the woman to use her data to phone her to tell her off?

It's def a GDPR/data protection issue. The GP is allowed to process personal information for certain reasons, which have to be clear and stated (basic GDPR) - which in this case is providing health care, contacting you with information re your care bla bla. Using them to contact you for other reasons falls outside the framework. Bizarre woman btw.

Whilst she seems quite, well, angry about your complaint, I'm not sure there's a breach as you posted on a public forum about your experience at the practice and she had access legitimately to the database and contacted you about your public complaint.

Thanks for all your responses.

I called the Information Commissioner helpline this morning and they directed me to NHS England who were helpful.

They are going to assign a caseworker to deal with the complaint of her inappropriate conduct and also look into the potential misuse of my data.

Great result.

👍🏻