We aim to provide you with the highest quality of health care. To do this we must keep records about you, about your health and about the care we have provided to you or plan to provide to you.

These records may include:

Basic details about you, such as your address, date of birth and details of your next of kin.
Contact we have had with you such as details of your consultations, home visits and any telephone consultations.
Notes and reports about your health.
Details and records about your treatment and care.
Results of x-rays, laboratory tests and other investigations etc.
Relevant information from people who care for you and know you well, such as other health professionals and relatives.

It is good practice for people in the NHS who provide care to:

Discuss and agree with you what they are going to record about you.
Give you a copy of letters they are writing about you, if you ask them to.
Show you what they have recorded about you, if you ask them to.

How your records are used

The people who care for you use your records to:

Provide a good basis for all health decisions made by you and by healthcare professionals.
Allow you to work with those providing care.
Make sure your care is safe and effective, and
Work effectively with others providing you with care.

Others may also need to use records about you to:

Check the quality of care provided (for example, to complete a clinical audit)
Protect the health of the general public
Monitor and evaluate NHS spending
Manage the National Health Service
Help investigate any concerns or complaints you or your family may have about your health care
Teach health workers and to help with research

Some information will be held centrally and be used for statistical purposes. In these instances, strict measures are taken to ensure that individual patients cannot be identified from the information.

Wherever possible, we use anonymous information but on occasions we may need to use personally identifiable information for essential NHS purposes such as research and auditing. However, this information will only be used with your consent, unless the law requires us to pass on the information.

Your rights

You have the right to confidentiality under the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA), the Human Rights Act 1998 and the common law duty of confidence (the Disability Discrimination and the Race Relations Acts may also apply). You also have the right to ask for a copy of all records held about you, although you may have to pay a fee.

Your request must be made in writing to the organisation who is holding your information
There may be a charge to have a printed copy of the information held about you
The organisation is required to respond to you within 40 days of your request
You will need to give adequate information (for example your full name, your full postal address, your date of birth and for NHS number)
You will be required to provide ID before any information is released to you.
If you feel that any of the information is inaccurate or incorrect, please inform the organisation who is holding your information.

Notification

The Data Protection Act 1998 requires organisations to notify the Information Commissioner of the purposes for which they process personal information.

The details are publicly available from:

Information Commissioner:
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

01625 545745
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

How we keep your record Confidential

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

We have a duty to:-

Maintain full and accurate records of the care we provide to you
Keep records about you confidential, secure and accurate
Provide information in a format that is accessible to you (i.e. in large type if you are partially sighted).

We will not share information that identifies you for any reason, unless:-

You ask us to do so
We ask and you give us specific permission
We have to do this by law · We have special permission for health or research purposes or
We have special permission because the interests of the public are thought to be of greater importance than your confidentiality

Who are our Partner Organisations?

We may share information with the following main Partner Organisations:

Strategic Health Authorities
NHS Trusts including Hospitals and Primary Care Organisations
Special Health Authorities
Ambulance Service

We may also share your information, with your consent and subject to strict sharing protocols about how it will be used, with:

Social Services
Education Services
Local Authorities
Voluntary Sector Providers
Private Sector

Anyone who receives information from us also has a legal duty to keep it confidential.