This notice describes how
we may use your information to protect you and others during the COVID-19
outbreak. It supplements our main Privacy Notice.
The
health and social care system is facing significant pressures due to the
COVID-19 outbreak. Health and care information is essential to deliver care to
individuals, to support health and social care services and to protect public
health. Information will also be vital in researching, monitoring, tracking and
managing the outbreak. In the current emergency it has become even more
important to share health and care information across relevant
organisations.
Existing law which allows
confidential patient information to be used and shared appropriately and
lawfully in a public health emergency is being used during this outbreak. Using
this law the Secretary of State has required NHS Digital; NHS England and
Improvement; Arms Length Bodies (such as Public Health England); local
authorities; health organisations and GPs to share confidential patient
information to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak. Any information used or shared
during the COVID-19 outbreak will be limited to the period of the outbreak
unless there is another legal basis to use the data. Further information is
available on gov.uk here and some FAQs on
this law are available here.
During this period of
emergency, opt-outs will not generally apply to the data used to support the
COVID-19 outbreak, due to the public interest in sharing information. This
includes National Data Opt-outs. However in relation to
the Summary Care Record, existing choices will be respected. Where data is used
and shared under these laws your right to have personal data erased will also
not apply. It may also take us longer to respond to Subject Access requests,
Freedom of Information requests and new opt-out requests whilst we focus our
efforts on responding to the outbreak.
In order to look
after your health and care needs we may share your confidential patient
information including health and care records with clinical and non clinical
staff in other health and care providers, for example neighbouring GP practices,
hospitals and NHS 111. We may also use the details we have to send public
health messages to you, either by phone, text or email
During
this period of emergency we may offer you a consultation via telephone or
videoconferencing. By accepting the invitation and entering the consultation
you are consenting to this. Your personal/confidential patient information will
be safeguarded in the same way it would with any other consultation.
We will also be required
to share personal/confidential patient information with health and care
organisations and other bodies engaged in disease surveillance for the purposes
of protecting public health, providing healthcare services to the public and
monitoring and managing the outbreak. Further information about how health and
care data is being used and shared by other NHS and social care organisations
in a variety of ways to support the COVID-19 response is here.
NHS England and
Improvement and NHSX have developed a single, secure store to gather data from
across the health and care system to inform the COVID-19 response. This
includes data already collected by NHS England, NHS Improvement, Public Health
England and NHS Digital. New data will include 999 call data, data about
hospital occupancy and A&E capacity data as well as data provided by patients
themselves.
All the data held in the platform is subject to strict controls that meet the
requirements of data protection legislation.
In
such circumstances where you tell us you’re experiencing COVID-19 symptoms we
may need to collect specific health data about you. Where we need to do so, we
will not collect more information than we require and we will ensure that any
information collected is treated with the appropriate safeguards.
Click here to return to the main Fair Processing notice.
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