The process of sharing personal data with other organisations and agencies must be conducted in accordance with data protection legislation, namely the Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulations.
In order to understand how we use and who we share your information with, it important to understand why we collect information about you, and this is explained below.
Why do we collect information about you?
- Your records are used to help us give you the best possible care. Records are kept in paper and electronic format and are used to help staff care for you by ensuring that:
- They have the right information on your health to help judge what care you need
- They can make proper arrangements for your care, for instance to get you further appointments or visits
- New or different doctors, or other health staff involved in your care have an up to date picture. This might include your GP or a specialist in another part of the NHS
- We can look into what has happened if you are worried about your treatment or wish to complain
How we use your information
We use your information as follows (please note this is not an exhaustive list):
- To ensure that your treatment is safe and effective
- To help us make decisions about your care
- We may use and record information which you make public via social media to help us ensure your care plan is appropriate. We will not access any information which has not been made public
- To facilitate effective communication with other organisations who may be involved in your care
- To help improve upon the quality and standards of care we provide
- To ensure we can meet your future needs
- For research and audit purposes
- In order to train healthcare professionals and improve quality
- To provide statistics on our overall NHS performance
- To effectively monitor how we utilise public funds
- To help identify any risk areas in the Trust
- To help plan services across the organisation
- To help evaluate local and national NHS and social care policies
- To monitor safety
Sharing your information
As mentioned earlier, the sharing of personal information is strictly controlled by law and generally, your information will only be seen by those involved in providing or administering your care.
When information is shared, it is transferred securely in line with the requirements of data protection legislation, and anyone who receives information from us is also under a legal duty to keep it confidential and secure. Under data protection legislation we do not need your consent to share your personal information for direct healthcare purposes.
You can opt out of having your confidential personal data used for research, national clinical audits and planning purposes by registering your decision on the Your NHS Data Matters website (please access the website using the link below) :
https://www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/manage-your-choice/
Sharing your information without consent
We will normally ask you for your consent to share information about you outside of direct healthcare purposes, however there are circumstances when we may be required to share your information without your consent.
These may be:
- where there is a serious risk of harm or abuse to you or other people (including child protection or safeguarding vulnerable adult concerns)
- where a serious crime is being investigated or where it could be prevented
- where we encounter infectious diseases that may endanger the safety of others
- where a formal court order has been issued
- where there is a legal requirement to do so
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the Information Governance Team:
