We aim to provide everyone who comes into contact with our services the highest possible quality of health care. To do this we must keep records about you, your health and the care we have provided or plan to provide you.

We are committed to using records about you in a way which respects your rights and promotes your wellbeing. We work to keep your personal information secure and confidential. We undertake an annual assessment called Data Security and Protection Toolkit to demonstrate that this is so.

Why do we collect information about you?

The colleagues who look after you use your records to:

• Provide a good basis for all the health decisions we make
• Make sure your care is safe and effective
• Work effectively with others to provide your care

For this reason we need the information we hold about you to be as accurate and up to date as possible. So please let us know if any of your personal details change.

Shared decision making

We work to involve you in decisions about your care and provide you with clear, comprehensive information to support you to make choices about your care.

We also have a range of ways of listening to you and using your experiences to make sure we continue to provide the highest possible standards of patient care and experience.

Keeping your information safe

Access to your clinical records is limited to clinical teams who are working with you. We are moving to use new technology as it becomes available if we believe it will enhance our ability to deliver better services, and responds to people's needs more quickly. We use electronic patient records to securely store clinical information which is only accessed by individuals directly involved in your care. More recently we began using Skype for Business (formerly Microsoft Lync) to conduct virtual consultations with clinicians where this is appropriate for both clinician and patient. You are still able to access a clinician in person should you prefer. We have also begun to use a company called DOCMAIL to deliver high quantity letters, e.g. appointments. The company fully complies with the Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulations. We rigorously ensure any systems we use conform to NHS information governance standards and that the appropriate level of encryption and security standards are met.

What else we might use this information for?

We may also need to use records about you to:

• Check the quality of the care provided (this is called clinical audit)
• Protect the health of the general public
• Ensure that we provide the best health care as cost effectively as possible
• Help us manage and develop services by using monitoring
• Investigate any incidents which occur, or any concerns or complaints that you may have about your care. This may involve liaising with other services involved in your care, and in some circumstances, other NHS bodies may be involved in regulating the services we provide.
• Give essential learning opportunities for our staff to develop and improve their skills and knowledge
• Supervise staff
• Support research to find the best approaches to care treatment

You may be receiving care from other people as well as the NHS (like social services). We may need to share some information about you so we can all work together for your benefit. We will only use or pass on information about you if you have agreed to us doing so and if others involved in your care have a genuine need for it. When we pass on any information we will ensure that it is kept confidential and secure.

We will not usually disclose information to your family or carer without your agreement. This will be discussed with you and, with your agreement, we will keep your relatives, friends or carers up to date with your care and treatment.

Your rights

The General Data Protection Regulations provide you with a number of rights in relation to the information that we hold.  You can read more about these rights in the Privacy Notice section.

How to find out more

If at any time you would like to know more about how we use your information you can speak to the person in charge of your care or contact:

Resolution Team
Locala Health and Wellbeing
1st Floor, Beckside Court
Bradford Road
Batley
WF17 5PW

Tel: 030 3003 4529 (Option 1)

Email: [email protected]