Data Protection

This statement sets out how Crewe Pharmacy & Travel Vaccination Centre handles your health and personal information, keeps it confidential, and shares it safely when it is needed for your care. It should be read alongside our privacy policy.

Our commitment to confidentiality

Everyone working at Crewe Pharmacy has a legal and professional duty to keep your information confidential. This duty applies to pharmacists, technicians and all members of the pharmacy team, and continues even after they have left the pharmacy. We handle your data in line with the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, the NHS common law duty of confidentiality and the standards set by the General Pharmaceutical Council.

The data controller is Slick Healthcare Limited (Companies House number 16389272), operating Crewe Pharmacy at 139-141 Nantwich Road, Crewe, Cheshire, CW2 6DF.

The health information we hold

To care for you safely, we keep records that may include your name, date of birth, NHS number, contact details, GP details, medicines, allergies, medical history and the services we have provided. This includes both NHS care, such as Pharmacy First consultations, prescriptions, contraception services and blood pressure checks, and private care, such as travel vaccinations, ear wax microsuction, weight management and vitamin B12 injections.

How we use your health data

We use your health information to:

• Dispense your medicines accurately and safely
• Check for interactions, allergies and contraindications
• Provide NHS and private clinical services
• Keep accurate records as required by law and professional standards
• Contact you about your care where necessary

Sharing information within the NHS

Pharmacies are part of the wider NHS, and sharing relevant information helps to keep your care joined up and safe. With appropriate safeguards, we may share information with:

• Your GP practice, to update them on services such as vaccinations or Pharmacy First consultations
• The NHS Business Services Authority, for the processing and reimbursement of NHS prescriptions and services
• Other healthcare professionals directly involved in your care
• NHS commissioners and regulators, where there is a lawful basis to do so

We share only the information that is necessary, and only with those who have a legitimate need to see it.

When we may share without your explicit consent

In most cases we share information to support your direct care. There are limited circumstances where we may be required to disclose information without your consent, for example where the law requires it, where there is a serious risk to your safety or the safety of others, or to support a safeguarding concern. We will always act within professional guidance when making such decisions.

Keeping your data safe

We protect your information through secure clinical systems, controlled access, confidentiality agreements and ongoing staff training. Paper and electronic records are stored securely, and any organisation that processes data on our behalf must meet strict contractual and security standards.

How long we keep records

We retain pharmacy records in line with NHS retention guidance, generally for at least eight years after your last interaction, and longer for children and certain treatments. After this, records are securely and confidentially destroyed.

Your choices and rights

You have rights over your health information, including the right to access it, to ask for corrections, and to raise concerns about how it is used. Full details, including how to make a request and how to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, are set out in our privacy policy. To discuss any aspect of how we handle your data, contact us at admin@crewepharmacy.co.uk or call 01270 215837.