Patient confidentiality

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 does not change the right of patients to protection of their patient confidentiality in accordance with Article 8 of the Human Rights Act, the Data Protection Act 1998 and common law. Maintaining the legal right to patient confidentiality continues to be an important commitment on our part.

East Cheshire NHS Trust places great emphasis on the need for the strictest confidentiality in respect of personal health data. This applies to manual and computer records and conversations about patients' treatments.

Everyone working for the National Health Service (NHS) is under a legal duty to keep patient information, held in whatever form, confidential and secure. Staff and volunteers at East Cheshire NHS Trust are required to comply with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998 and The NHS Confidentiality Code of Practice.

Caldicott guardian

To help with this, we have appointed someone who is called a Caldicott guardian, and who has responsibility to ensure the protection of patient confidentiality throughout the trust in accordance with your legal rights.

Our Caldicott guardian is: 

Dr Robert Stead,
Medical Director,
Macclesfield District General Hospital,
Ingersley Building,
Victoria Road,
Macclesfield,
Cheshire SK10 3BL

This role is supported by a data protection officer.

Our Data Protection Officer is:

Jean King
Information Governance Manager
Macclesfield District General Hospital,
Education and Training Building,
Victoria Road,
Macclesfield,
Cheshire SK10 3BL

What happens to information held about me?

Giving patients the best care possible can sometimes mean sharing personal information with other sources, for example, other trust departments or GP practises directly concerned with your treatment. Whenever information is shared, East Cheshire NHS Trust staff adhere to strict codes of confidentiality. 

Clinical information is held about you to ensure that clinicians have a complete and continuous record about your past, current and future treatment.

As well as clinical information we also hold your name, address and date of birth to identify who you are. You are given a unique patient identifier which is your hospital number and NHS number. This is how we locate your records and is used, where possible, in communications about you. The computerised and paper records held about you are solely for the purpose of your health and well being.

It is shared with other health professionals involved in your care and, in certain circumstances; we are required by law to report information to the appropriate authorities. 

This information is only provided after formal authority has been given by a qualified health professional.  For example:

• Notification of new births.
• Where we encounter infectious diseases which may endanger the safety of others eg. meningitis or measles.
• Where a formal court order has been issued.

Nationally issued guidance

• Access to health records by diagnostic staff 2011
• Requesting amendments to health and social records 2010

What else can my information be used for?

Clinical Audit

During or following treatment your information will be used for clinical audit to review current standards of care against best practise care. Audit results are discussed by clinicians, and can be published and/or presented but always in an anonymised format so that you cannot be identified.

Research

Your information could be used for research but only with your consent. Research seeks to investigate new treatments, interventions and management procedures so that patient care is continually improved.

National registers

Your information is sometimes passed for entry to national registers eg The diabetic register, cancer register, transplant databases and other national and local databases held (sometimes on other sites) about various illnesses. This information is used for management purposes, and from a public health perspective, to identify what types of illnesses the general public suffer from.

Improving the NHS

Your information is used to help manage the NHS. It is passed in an anonymised format, and in some cases, in an identifiable format for national and local returns. These returns are interrogated for waiting times, quality of information and care, and treatment information.

Teaching purposes

Your information could be used to educate doctors, nurses, pathologists and other professionals involved in patient care.

How do I access my information?

If you want to ask us for information which we may hold about you personally then this will be dealt with under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998. This is an entitlement called 'subject access'. You are entitled, subject to certain exemptions to anything which is limited to you as a person such as health records, employment and training records whether as a patient, employee or partner of any kind.

If you wish to make a Subject Access Request you should write to the Information Governance Department or complete an application form. 

Staff in the Information Governance Department are happy to answer any general enquiries by telephone.