Retention Policy
Retention Summary – Patient Data
The GDPR requires that personal data should not be held for longer than is necessary for the purpose for which it is being processed. However, it is a fundamental requirement that all of Wimbledon Clinics records are retained for a minimum period of time for legal, operational, research and / or safety reasons. The length of time for retaining records will depend on the type of record. Below you will find a summary of the various types of data we hold about you and how long each will be kept.
Medical Records
As you will see below Wimbledon Clinics retention policy for most medical records is 30 years. This period has been determined with patient safety in mind. There is also the necessity in healthcare to occasionally need to undertake patient recalls where it is generally necessary to have access to the original patient medical record to determine, for instance, what was discussed with the patient, any products implanted or used to treat the patient or identify members of staff involved in the patient’s care. Some non-medical records will also need to be held for this time period as they support the medical records by providing context and further operational information. These are discussed in the next section.
| Medical Records |
Type of record | Start of Retention Period | Minimum Retention Period | Comments |
All medical records | Conclusion of treatment | Retain for 30 years |
Non-Medical Records
The following list explains what other personal data Wimbledon Clinics may hold about you and how long that data will be held for.
Type of record | Start of Retention Period | Minimum Retention Period | Comments |
Booking Tool + Patient Record (Meddbase – Patient Administration Software)
| Date of last admission | 30 years | Retention period of 30 years in line with medical record retention. |
Credit Card details where there is no outstanding debt on patient’s account | Receipt of credit card details | 6 months | For instance when credit card details are taken at registration. |
Credit Cards details where there is outstanding debt on patient’s account | Discharge of debt | 6 months |
|
Debtor records cleared | Close of financial year in which debt is cleared | 6 years |
|
Debtor records not cleared |
| Retain until cleared
|
|
Invoices to patients regarding their treatment | Close of financial year to which the invoice relates
| 6 years |
|
Patient enquiries – email | Receipt | 6 years |
|
Patient surveys | Receipt | 6 years | Applies to surveys where patients have consented for their data to be linked back to their patient record. |
Prospective patient data for marketing purposes (this data is most commonly collected at events) | Receipt | 6 years |
|
Complaints case life | Closure of incident | 30 years | Retention period of 30 years in line with medical record retention. |
Fraud case files | Case closure | 6 years |
|
Litigation records | Case closure | 30 years | Retention period of 30 years in line with medical record retention |
Subject Access Requests (SAR) and disclosure correspondence | Closure of SAR | 3 years |
|
Subject Access Requests where there has been a subsequent appeal | Closure of appeal | 6 years |
|
Accident forms | Creation | 10 years |
|
Telephone call recordings | Creation | 1 year | Downloaded calls should only be retained long enough for the purpose of their use to be concluded. |
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*At Wimbledon Clinics we comply with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act (UK). We will never share your data without your permission and we will only use your data how you’ve asked us to. Please let us know if you’d like to join our mailing list to receive updates about our specialist consultants, the latest treatments for orthopaedic and sports injuries and prevention tips for common injuries.
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