Privacy Notice

Westcliffe Health Innovations Ltd. (WHI)

Protecting your Confidentiality – Privacy Notice

Your information, what you need to know:

This privacy notice is intended to explain why we collect information about you, how that information may be used and how we keep it safe and confidential.

Why we collect information about you:

Healthcare professionals who provide you with care are required by law to maintain records about your health and any treatment or care you have received within any NHS organisation.
These records help to provide you with the best possible healthcare.
We collect and hold data for the sole purpose of providing healthcare services to our patients.  In carrying out this role we may collect information about you which helps us respond to your queries or secure specialist services.

We may keep your information in written form and/or in digital form. The records may include basic details about you, such as your name and address.  They may also contain more sensitive information about your health and information such as outcomes of investigations and procedures.

Details we collect about you

Healthcare professionals who provide you with care maintain records about your health and any treatment or care you have received previously (e.g. NHS Trust, GP Surgery, Walk-in clinic, etc.). These records help to provide you with the best possible healthcare.


Records which this hospital may hold about you may include the following:

  • Details about you, such as your address and next of kin
  • Any contact the hospital has had with you, such as appointments, outpatient visits,
    procedure appointments, etc.
  • Notes and reports about your health
  • Details about your treatment and care
  • Results of investigations, such as laboratory tests.
  • Relevant information from other health professionals, relatives or those who care for you

How we keep your information confidential and safe

Everyone working for the WHI is subject to the Common Law Duty of Confidence. Information provided in confidence will only be used for the purposes advised with consent given by the patient, unless there are other circumstances covered by the law.

The NHS Digital Code of Practice on Confidential Information applies to all our staff and they are required to protect your information, inform you of how your information will be used, and allow you to decide if and how your information can be shared. All our staff are expected to make sure information is kept confidential and receive annual training on how to do this.

NHS health records may be electronic, on paper or a mixture of both, and we use a combination of working practices and technology to ensure that your information is kept confidential and secure. Your records are backed up securely in line with NHS standard procedures. We ensure that the information we hold is kept in secure locations, is protected by appropriate security and access is restricted to authorised personnel.


We also make sure external data processors that support us are legally and contractually bound to operate and prove security arrangements are in place where data that could or does identify a person are processed.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and will only use information collected lawfully under:

  • Data Protection Act 1998
  • General Data Protection Regulation 2018
  • Human Rights Act
  • Common Law Duty of Confidentiality
  • NHS Codes of Confidentiality and Information Security
  • Health and Social Care Act 2015

We maintain our duty of confidentiality to you at all times. We will only ever use or pass on information about you if others involved in your care have a genuine need for it. We will not disclose your information to any third party without your permission unless there are exceptional circumstances (i.e. life or death situations), or where the law requires information to be passed on.

How we use your information

Under the powers of the Health and Social Care Act 2015, NHS Digital can request personal confidential data from GP Practices without seeking patient consent. Improvements in information technology are also making it possible for us to share data with other healthcare providers to provide you with better care.

You can object to your personal information being shared with other health care providers but if this limits the treatment that you can receive then the doctor will explain this to you at the time.

To ensure you receive the best possible care, your records are used to facilitate the care you receive. Information held about you may be used to help protect the health of the public and to help us manage the NHS.

Clinical Audit

Information may be used for clinical audits to monitor the quality of the service provided. Some of this information may be held centrally and used for statistical purposes. Where we do this we take strict measures to ensure that individual patients cannot be identified e.g. the National Endoscopy Audit.

Clinical Research
Occasionally your information may be requested to be used for research purposes. We will always gain your consent before releasing any information for this purpose.

Safeguarding
To ensure that adult and children’s safeguarding matters are managed appropriately, access to identifiable information will be shared in some limited circumstances where it’s legally required for the safety of the individuals concerned.

We will never share your information outside of health partner organisations without your explicit consent unless there are exceptional circumstances such as when the health or safety of others is at risk, where the law requires it or to carry out a statutory function.

Access to your information
Under the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2018 everybody has the right to see, or have a copy, of data we hold that can identify you, with some exceptions. You do not need to give a reason to see your data.

If you want to access your data you must make the request in person or in writing.  You will be asked to provide identification evidence for this information.  Under special circumstances, some information may be withheld. If you wish to have a copy of the information we have about you, please contact the hospital manager.


Change of Details

You must tell the person treating you if any of your details such as your name or address have changed or if any of your details are incorrect in order for this to be amended. Please inform us of any changes so our records for you are accurate and up to date.

Mobile Numbers & Email Addresses
If you provide us with your mobile phone number, we may use this to send you reminders about your appointments. Please let us know if you do not wish to receive reminders on your mobile.

If you provide us with your email address, we may use this to send you reminders to make an appointment for a review. Please let us know if you do not wish to receive correspondence by email.

Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we handle your personal data, please contact us first so we can try to resolve the issue.
If you have questions or concerns about how your information is used, or if you wish to raise a GDPR concern, please contact: Evalian Limited – Data Protection Officer (DPO) Service Provider:  dpo@evalian.co.uk.

Further Information

Further information about how the NHS uses personal information and your rights in that respect can be found here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/privacy/privacy-notice/your-information/

The NHS Constitution

The NHS Constitution establishes the principles and values of the NHS in England. It sets out the rights patients, the public and staff are entitled to. These rights cover how patients access health services, the quality of care they’ll receive, the treatments and programmes available to them, confidentiality, information and your right to complain if things go wrong.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-nhs-constitution-for-england