Royal Papworth Hospital is dedicated to providing the very best of care to our patients and is therefore committed to continuous service improvement.
When using our service, whether as in inpatient or outpatient, important information about you is collected in a patient record to ensure that the care we provide is well informed and accurate.
This information is vital for Royal Papworth, as we could not provide tailored care plans without it, however it 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, both by Royal Papworth Hospital and across the NHS nationally.
- To identify and development new treatments (research)
- Preventing illness and diseases
- Monitoring safety
- Planning services
Where possible, which is in the majority of cases, the data used for these purposes has been anonymised to ensure that you cannot be identified from the information used, however in some instances your identifiable and / or sensitive, confidential data may be necessary.
Processing or sharing your data will only ever take place when there is a clear legal basis to use this information (and it is allowed by law) and is done so in order to help monitor the NHS to ensure a safe and efficient health service for all patients, now and in the future.
The legal basis for processing such data are:
‘Personal Data (Data that identifies you)
- Article 6(1)(e): processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller’
‘Special Categories of Personal Data (Data that is considered sensitive and confidential, such as the contents of your health record)
- Article 9(2)(h) allows for processing for management of health and social care based on member state law: which is provided for in the Data Protection Act 2018: Schedule 1 Paragraph 2 (2) (f): The processing is necessary for the management of health care systems or service or social care systems or services and is processed by or under the responsibility of a health professional or a social work professional, or by another person who owes a duty of confidentiality under an enactment or rule of law’”
You have a choice about whether you want your confidential patient information to be used in this way. If you are happy with this use of information you do not need to do anything. If you decide to opt-out, your data will still be used to support your care and whatever you decide, you are free to change your mind at any time.
How do I opt out or find more information?
To find out more or to register your choice to opt out, please visit www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters. On this web page you will:
- See what is meant by confidential patient information
- Find examples of when confidential patient information is used for individual care and examples of when it is used for purposes beyond individual care
- Find out more about the benefits of sharing data
- Understand more about who uses the data
- Find out how your data is protected
- Be able to access the system to view, set or change your opt-out setting
- Find the contact telephone number if you want to know any more or to set/change your opt-out by phone
- See the situations where the opt-out will not apply
Alternatively you can opt-out or change your choice by calling NHS Digital using the details below:
NHS Digital Contact Centre
0300 303 5678
(Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays)
Or by post, by sending a form that can be found here:
https://www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/manage-your-choice/other-ways-to-manage-your-choice/