Secretly Recorded by GP

[UPSETPATIENT]

I am seeking advice on a matter. I found out my accident that my GP recorded a telephone appointment without permission. I have complained to the practice and ICB, however they have not done anything. Does anybody have any advice or suggestions

It might not be on their website, but you will have consented somewhere. My last GPs (tiny village place) had it in the small print of the paper form when registering. My current one - very modern - has it everywhere, even on the screens in the practice.

I'd be absolutely astounded in this day and age if they didn't.

Either way it's much of a muchness and absolutely pointless getting this worked up about.

OP, I am going to bed now. I hope you get a good night’s sleep and tomorrow research organisations who have some expertise and insight regarding your experience with the phone call 💐

I don't think people are giving the OP a hard time as much as trying to reassure her that recording of telephone calls is normal and not sinister. It applies to all calls and not just the OP.

Even if the surgery haven't advised in their privacy notice that telephone calls are recorded, (although this would be unusual), the information will be stored on secure system, only accessible to authorised people and not shared with anyone outside of the surgery.

OP, unless you have disclosed that you are about to commit a serious crime, or other harmful activity, the recording of your phone call isn't going anywhere. Please do read the privacy notice.

Thank you for those send helpful suggestion.

I will be de-registering myself from the GP nor will I be visiting the GP in the future. The one thing I have learnt is not to accept telephone call or telephone appointment. In addition, I will be asking my mental health team and other specialist not to share information with my gp.

I will be off to bed now.

Actually this makes no sense.

It's a private consultation between patient and GP. It's a recorded line between reception desk and patient requesting a booking.

It's like when you make a bank transaction online; recorded line until you provide payment details then they take the recorded line off.

The bit where you did not consent, you couldn't you weren't informed. It's very different to a telephone advice line where it states that it's a recorded line.

This is a violation of patient-gp privacy.

It's the reason why surgeries should ensure photographs sent to gp for checking are not of genitals especially children. Because a recorded line is accessible to every person who works there.

There's no medical reason for a person to need the recording. Their notes are a summary of what you said and they said.

You maybe their patient but you are a person first. You have the right to say no to things. For you to say no, you should be informed so you can decline and ask what your options are.

OP I hope you sleep well, but please do think carefully before deregistering. Perhaps speak again with your MH team? It sounds like you need support and I hope you get it.

Every GP I've ever had records telephone appointments. For their protection and for yours as well as quality control. They don't have to ask permission to record their phone lines, only if they share the recording, as is my understanding.

I don't find the rude response very helpful or reassuring. Mocking or belittling someone or trying to shame someone for their feelings isn't helpful. Nor did I find the comments suggesting and insinuating that I done something wrong helpful. I found your post very rude and condescending.

My feeling are valid and I don't need to go into my trauma history to justify my feelings.

Deregistering seems drastic, maybe sleep on that one? Even if you move to another surgery presumably they will record calls too.

Please don't use this terminology.
You should say Images of Child Sexual Abuse.

LINK

You are pissed off that you have been recorded, but expect the practice manager to break gdpr and send you other people's personal recordings... Okay 👍🏻

No, OP wanted a recording of her other appointment.

Have you accessed the practices privacy notice (it may also be called a privacy policy)- it should be available on the practice website, and does it cover the recording of telephone calls?

If there is nothing in the privacy notice about recording of telephone calls, and the telephone system doesn't advise you that calls are being recorded, it seems likely the practice is failing to meet the 1st data protection principle because the personal data processing involved in making the recording is not transparent. However, if it is in the privacy policy, and it is accessible to you as a patient, they will have fulfilled that transparency principle, even if you haven't read it.

If I can offer some suggestions as to the way forward:

• Find the contact details of the practices Data Protection Officer, and contact them to complain that the transparency requirement of the first data protection principle isn't being met by the practice.

• Ask the data protection officer to confirm the purpose for which the recording of telephone calls occurs, the organisational and technical measures that the practice has in place to protect the recordings once they are made, who has access to the recordings and in what circumstances, and how long the recordings are kept for. The responses to these questions will (hopefully) inform and reassure you, or at least enable the Data Protection Officer to identify the failings of the practice in these areas.

• Make a 'erasure request' under Article 17 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation, to request that the recording be deleted by the practice and/or make a 'restriction of processing' request under Article 18 of the UK GDPR to request that the recording not be further processed, including any onward sharing of it that you may be concerned about. These rights do not always apply, but again getting the DPO to process these requests will identify any failings of the practice.

Where did I say that - I asked for the rest of recorded telephone appointments. I asked for my own data. Why would ask for other people data.

Thank you for this - this is really helpful.

For all those saying that the recording is to help record keeping, give ‘protection’ and enable quality control, how come in a face to face consultation this isn’t necessary? GP in person still has to make notes, could give a poor quality consultation or the patient could threaten them - no recording deemed necessary then? No requirement for a chaperone listening in person making recording superfluous.

People tend to be more abusive over the phone than they would dare to be in person. You can get ranting and death threats on the phone but when they actually have to come in and look you in the eye, they simmer the fuck down. You want evidence of that, especially if its a repeat offender that you want to deregister.

That’s a really good point, but it seems that OP is just worried about what she possibly said about her mental health?

si if you call into your surgery right now….then they don’t say we record conversations?

nit in the gp appointment but just if you rang up now and go run the queue?

I think ultimately as long as the data is ‘kept’ correctly….i would imagine that they could say it’s to help you and no one can listen to it etc….

i do think they must inform you though and I would really push the evidence that they didn’t inform you of the recording

Most surgeries record calls. It is a wide spread thing.
Nothing within the calls that pertain to a patients care can be shared with anyone else without the patients consent. No one would/should have shared the information you gave during the call with anyone else. Doctors are not allowed to break confidentiality without consent.
99% of the calls are not listened to. They will be listened to is something happens or as a point of training mainly for reception staff or learning for clinical staff.
The calls are mainly recorded to protect both patients and staff from being accused of doing or saying something they have not done.
Most people welcome evidence of their conversations as it means there is objective proof of what has been said compared with what has been documented in the notes. You said yourself the GP had written they'd explained things in the notes they didn't. The recording proves this.

Aware this has been covered but just to reiterate my experience working in a GP practice - all calls in/out are recorded - it's not typical though for anyone to listen to them- the Drs wouldn't be able to by themselves. Normally when you sign the documentation to register at the surgery there will be a mention of it. This has been widespread for many years, the same as hospital phone lines, 111 and 999.

But you're right that staff are asked to remind people that calls are recorded - "before for we start I want to let you know that all calls are recorded, but do remain confidential. If you'd like to see how we use this information please see the privacy statement on our website..." But not doing this doesn't make anything 'illegal'. Anecdotally I think it's rare for clinicians to give this prompt in every call.

What's probably worse in some ways is lots of people now use clinical AI programmes to help write consultation notes - the computer in the room listens in and writes up the consult - seen it use and was very impressed by the accuracy -likely to become the standard over the next few years considering how much time it can save.

And you have strong evidence of this - via the recorded call...

@UPSETPATIENT "The conversation was sensitive and found it triggering to listen to the conversation" but you only listened to it because of your SAR? You had no other reason that you'd ever listen to it?!

I've made this point to my higher ups before but it's simply because there's a standard operating procedure/expectation that all calls are recorded.

I made it in the context of a paramedic working on the road -many of the calls I'm sent to investigate can be managed over the phone so I've argued to be allowed to call the patient and give them the information (then document the conversation) rather than drive 20miles to do so face to face and document that conversation. They forbad calling (from a work mobile phone) as they couldn't record the call, even though obviously im not going to make a recording in the patients home. Its purely because its standard operating procedure that calls are recorded.