Your doctor, nurse or any other health and social care professional needs to keep records on their interactions with you.

This makes The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust the Data Controller.

Our registered address is Moorgate Road, Rotherham, S60 2UD.

The records may be written or held on computer systems and will include:

• Your basic details, such as address and next of kin contacts

• Details about the treatment, care and support that you need and receive

• Results of investigations, such as x-rays and laboratory tests

• Relevant information from other health and social care professionals, relatives or those who care for you and know you well.

  
  

  How your information is used?

  Your information helps us to manage the care you receive to make sure that:

• Everyone involved in your care has accurate and up-to-date information to assess your needs and provide support

• Full information is available should you need to see another doctor or be referred to a specialist

• There is information to help us decide if you’re receiving the right type of care and support

• Your concerns can be fully investigated if you need to complain.

  Please let us know if any of your information changes, particularly if you move house. We can then make sure all correspondence is sent to the right address.

  Why do we hold this information?

• To look after the health of individuals served by the Trust

• To support the management and financing of the care provided

• To prepare statistics on performance and review and plan services

• To train and teach health and social care professionals

• To audit our accounts and services

• To investigate complaints, legal claims or untoward incidents

• To conduct research and development.

      

  How do we keep your information confidential?

  At Trust Board level, we have a Senior Information Risk Owner who is accountable for the management of all information assets and any associated risks and incidents and a Caldicott Guardian who is responsible for the management of patient information and patient confidentiality.

  We have a Data Protection Officer who ensures the Trust is accountable and compliant with the Data Protection Act 2018 (GDPR).

  The Data Protection Officer details are:

  Email: rgh-tr.trft.dpo@nhs.net

  Our promise to you is that we are holding your information in strict confidence.

  Everyone involved in your care has a legal duty to keep information about you confidential and access to it is strictly controlled. We will make sure that your right to confidentiality is upheld unless we have a legal duty to release information or we have obtained your consent to do so.

  We will pass on information about your health, diagnosis and treatment to your GP. We may also pass on information to other individuals or organisations involved in your care, including Social Services, to help in arranging care for you following treatment in hospital. We only pass on information about you if there is a genuine need to know or we have your permission, and anyone who receives the information is also under a legal duty to maintain confidentiality.

  We will not give out your information to third parties except under exceptional circumstances, such as when the health and safety of others is at risk or where the law requires us to do so, for example infectious diseases (e.g. measles or meningitis, but not HIV/AIDS).

  We may be required to share your information as part of our regular inspections by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). To read their Privacy Notice, click here https://www.cqc.org.uk/about-us/our-policies/privacy-statement

  To view the Trust's Policy For The Use And Protection of Patient Information click here.
  
  

  Access to your records

  The Data Protection Act 2018 (GDPR) allows you to find out what information we hold about you. You can request informal access to your records by speaking to the professional staff involved in your care. If you think some of the information in your records is inaccurate you are entitled by law to ask for it to be corrected.

  In special circumstances the law allows us not to show you your information if we consider it harmful to you, or another person’s physical and/or mental wellbeing. For formal access to your records you must make a request in writing to the contact below. For further information, please see our Data Protection Policy.

  Medical Records Administration Team
  The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust
  Moorgate Road
  Rotherham
  S60 2UD

  Telephone 01709 427299

  Email: rgh-tr.sarsteam@nhs.net

  Your right to withdraw consent for us to share your personal information

  You have the right to restrict how and with whom we share the personal information in your records that identifies you. This must be noted explicitly within your records in order that all healthcare professionals and staff treating and involved with you are aware of your decision. By choosing this option, it may make the provision of treatment or care more difficult or unavailable. You can also change your mind at any time about a disclosure decision.

  How the NHS and care services use your information

Whenever you use a health or care service, such as attending Accident & Emergency or using Community Care services, important information about you is collected in a patient record for that service. Collecting this information helps to ensure you get the best possible care and treatment.

The information collected about you when you use these services can also be used and provided to other organisations for purposes beyond your individual care, for instance to help with:

• improving the quality and standards of care provided

• research into the development of new treatments

• preventing illness and diseases

• monitoring safety

• planning services

This may only take place when there is a clear legal basis to use this information. All these uses help to provide better health and care for you, your family and future generations. Confidential patient information about your health and care is only used like this where allowed by law. 

Most of the time, anonymised data is used for research and planning so that you cannot be identified in which case your confidential patient information isn’t needed.

You have a choice about whether you want your confidential patient information to be used in this way (National Data Opt Out). If you are happy with this use of information you do not need to do anything. If you do choose to opt out your confidential patient information will still be used to support your individual care.

To find out more or to register your choice to opt out, please visit www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters.  

You can also find out more about how patient information is used at:

https://understandingpatientdata.org.uk/what-you-need-know (which covers how and why patient information is used, the safeguards and how decisions are made).

You can change your mind about your choice at any time.

Data being used or shared for purposes beyond individual care does not include your data being shared with insurance companies or used for marketing purposes and data would only be used in this way with your specific agreement.

Health and care organisations must now have systems and processes in place so they can be compliant with the national data opt-out and apply your choice to any confidential patient information they use or share for purposes beyond your individual care. Our organisation is compliant with the National Data Opt-Out policy.

Further information

If you would like to know more about how we use your information or if you have any concerns about how your information is used, please speak to the professional staff involved in your care or the Caldicott Coordinator on (01709) 427637. If you are not happy with their response, please contact our Patient Services Team using the details on the right. 

View our GDPR compliance statement

Control of Patient Information (COPI) Notice

Covid-19 – Notice under Regulation 3(4) of the Health Service Control of Patient Information Regulations 2002 

The health and social care system is taking action to manage and mitigate the spread and impact of the current outbreak of Covid-19. Action to be taken will require the processing and sharing of confidential patient information amongst health organisations and other bodies engaged in disease surveillance  for the purposes of research, protecting public health, providing healthcare services to the public and monitoring and managing the Covid-19 outbreak and incidents of exposure. This will remain in force until at least 30th September 2020.

NHSX National Covid-19 Chest Imaging Database (NCCID)

The National Covid-19 Chest Imaging Database (NCCID) is a joint initiative established by NHSX, the British Society of Thoracic Imaging (BSTI), Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust and Faculty to create a centralised UK database of chest X-ray, CT and MRI images in order to support a better understanding of the Covid-19 disease and develop technology that will enable the best care for patients who are hospitalised with a severe infection.

The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust is taking part in this initiative as we believe this has the potential to enable faster patient assessment in A&E, save Radiologists’ time and increase the safety and consistency of Covid-19 care across the country.

The initiative is carried out in line with GDPR Article 6(1)(d) - The data processing is necessary in an emergency situation to protect the life or safety of any person. Covid Purpose supported by COPI Reg’s Notice to identify Chest X-ray or CT or MR Image for inclusion.

Attend Anywhere - Patient Video Consultation

The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust is committed to rolling out the web-based video consultation platform called ‘Attend Anywhere’, for video consultations. This is in the context of the coronavirus outbreak (Covid-19) and the Trust’s role as a category one responder under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. The Attend Anywhere platform has been used in Scotland since 2017 to provide patient consultations via video. The platform is being successfully used in 18 NHS trusts in England as part of an ongoing video scale up pilot run by the National Improvement team in NHS England and NHS Improvement.

OX Waiting Room

OX Waiting room is part of the virtual consultation system that allows patients to be admitted to an online consultation based on appointments booked within the Trust clinical systems.

Yorkshire and Humber Care Record (YHCR)

The Trust participates in the YHCR. This gives other NHS and Social Care organisations such as your GP, the ability to view the latest information we hold about you in our clinical systems. This is only used with your consent at the time of your consultation. The expectation in the future is that this facility will be used country-wide, so wherever you require medical treatment, the clinician will have access to your most recent information instead of waiting for this to be sent to them. 

Freedom of Information (FOI)

As a patient you can have access to your records (Email: rgh-tr.sarsteam@nhs.net).

You can also have more information such as details of our performance, our spending and our meetings. If you can’t find what you are looking for please ask the department you have been dealing with or check our read our Freedom of Information policy and advice.  You can be assured that other individuals will not be able to gain access to your confidential records by making an FOI request.

The Rotherham Hospital and Community Charity

The Rotherham Hospital and Community Charity supports and enhances the work of The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust. 

Together with your help, we raise money to fund the extra special resources, equipment and projects which the NHS would ordinarily not be able to fund for our patients and their families – from state-of-the-art equipment to toys for the children we care for.

Our promise to you is that we are holding your information in strict confidence.

Everyone involved in the charity has a legal duty to keep information about you confidential and access to it is strictly controlled. We will make sure that your right to confidentiality is upheld unless we have a legal duty to release information or we have obtained your consent to do so.