What do we do with your information – Fair Processing Notice

Why do we collect information about you?

Your doctor and other health professionals caring for you, keep records about your health and any treatment and care you receive from the NHS. This helps to ensure that you receive the best possible care from us. The record may be written down (manual records), or held on a computer. The records may include:

• Basic details about you, such as address and next of kin
• Contacts we have had with you, such as clinic visits
• Notes and reports about your health and any treatment and care you have received
• Details and records about the treatment and care you receive
• Results of any investigations, such as X-rays and laboratory tests
• Relevant information from other health professionals, or those who care for you and know you well

How your records are used to help us

Your records are used to guide professionals in the care you receive to ensure that:

• Your doctor, nurse or any other healthcare professionals involved in your care has accurate and up-to-date information to assess your health and decide what care you need
• Full information is available if you see another doctor, or are referred to a specialist or another part of the NHS
• There is a good basis for assessing the type and quality of care you have received
• Your concerns can be properly investigated if you need to complain

How are your records are used to help the NHS?

Your information may also be used to help us:

• Assess the needs of the general population
• Make sure our services can meet patient needs in the future
• Review the care we provide to ensure it is of the highest standard
• Teach and train healthcare professionals
• Conduct health research and development
• Pay your GP, dentist and hospital for the care they provide
• Audit NHS accounts and service
• Prepare statistics on NHS performance
• Investigate complaints, legal claims or untoward incidents

Some of this information will be held centrally, but where this is used for statistical purposes stringent measures are taken to ensure that individual patients cannot be identified; this is termed ‘effective anonymisation’ or ‘pseudomymisation’. Statistical information that has been pseudonymised or effectively anonymised may be passed to organisations with a legitimate interest, including universities and research institutions

Where it is not possible to use effectively anonymised or pseudonymised information, we will seek your consent unless the law requires information to be passed on to improve public health.

How we keep your records confidential?

Everyone working for the NHS has a legal duty to keep information about you confidential.

You may be receiving care from other organisations as well as the NHS (eg Social Services). We may need to share some information about you so we can all work together for your benefit. We will only ever use or pass on information about you if others involved in your care have a genuine need for it.

We will not disclose your information to third parties without your permission unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as when the health and safety of others is at risk or where the law requires information to be passed on.

Anyone who receives information from us is also under a legal duty to keep it confidential

We are required by law to report certain information to the appropriate authorities. This is only provided after formal permission has been given by a qualified health professional. Occasions when we must pass on information include:

• Notification of new births
• Where we encounter infectious diseases which may endanger the safety of others, such as meningitis or measles (but not HIV/AIDS)
• Where a formal court order has been issued

Our guiding principle is that we are holding your records in strict confidence.

Who are our partner organisations?

The principal partner organisations, with which information may be shared:

• Strategic Health Authorities
• NHS Trusts
• General Practitioners (GPs)
• Ambulance Services

Your information may also, subject to strict agreements describing how it will be used, be shared with:

• Social Services
• Education Services
• Local Authorities
• Voluntary Sector Providers
• Private Sector Providers

How you can get access to your own health records?

The Data Protection Act 1998, which came into force on 1st March 2000, allows you to find out what information about you is held on computer and in certain manual records. This is known as “right of subject access”. It applies to your health records.

If you would like to see your records you can make a written request to the PCT or hospital trust where you are being, or have been, treated. You are entitled to receive a copy of your records but should note that a charge will usually be made. You should also be aware that in certain circumstances your right to see some details in your health records may be limited.

For more details on Subject Access, please refer to the Freedom of Information page of this website

NHS Devon's policies relating to Handling Personal Information are:

• Devon PCT Information Security Policy
• Devon PCT Records Management Policy
• Devon PCT Data Protection Policy
• Devon PCT Code of Practice on Confidentiality

Further Information

If you would like to know more about how we use your information or if, for any reason, you do not wish to have your information used in any of the ways described here please speak to the health professionals concerned with your care.

Alternatively, if you have any queries please contact foi.devonpct@nhs.net or telephone 01392 205205.