Please click here for the COVID19 Supplementary Privacy Notice.

Privacy notices

General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (GDPR)

The General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (GDPR) came into force on 25 May 2018 and it applies to Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust as Data Controller. The legislation will replace current data protection law, giving more rights to individuals and more obligations to organisations processing personal data.

As Data Controller, we determine the purpose and manner of processing personal data for both employees and patients. Where we are responsible for processing personal data on behalf of another data controller we act as a Data Processor.

The Trust has robust processes and systems to support compliance with the new laws, which includes keeping you informed about how your data is used.

The Trust’s policy on the implementation of the GDPR can be found here.

Read more about the legal basis for processing personal and special category date under GDPR here.

Collecting your information

Why do we collect information about you?

The purpose of the NHS is to provide you with the highest quality of health care, and to help us achieve this we must keep records about your health, treatment and care we have provided or plan to provide.

These records are called your healthcare records and may be stored in paper format or electronically.  They include:

  • personal details about you, such as name, date of birth, address, NHS number, next of kin, ethnicity, and next of kin
  • Details of your hospital appointments/visits
  • Notes and reports about your health, treatment and care
  • Results of x-rays, scans and tests
  • Relevant information from people who care for you such as healthcare professionals
  • information based on the professional opinion of the staff caring for you

It is extremely important that your personal details are accurate and we will often check with you at appointments or visits that these details are correct.

We collect this information to ensure we are providing you with the right care and, should you see another health professional or be referred to another part of the organisation, accurate and up to date information is shared to enable a continuation in the quality of care you receive.

If you are employed by Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust we will have your education, training and employment details, and your financial details.

Who do we collect information from?

Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust will collect data about you in a variety of ways. The main source of collection is directly from you and this is likely to be done either face to face, during a telephone call, or via email.

We may receive information from other organisations that are also required by law to share information about you with us.  An example of this could be the Trust receiving a referral for you from your GP, another Trust or any health or social care provider.

Our Trust and our staff may have access to specific clinical systems from other organisations such as the Summary Care Record, in order to access information about you that is relevant to your care. All systems are auditable and access is on a strictly need to know basis.

How long do we keep your information?

We keep your information in accordance with the National Guidance. All our records are destroyed in line with the NHS Retention Schedule, which sets out the appropriate length of time each NHS record is retained.

Records are destroyed confidentially once they reach their retention. We do not keep your records for longer than is necessary.

For further information please see Record Management Code for Practice for Health and Social Care 2016, retention schedules.

Sharing your information

Who do we share your personal information with?

Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust works closely with other organisations to support patient care. This means that information will be shared between hospitals and other organisations that may be caring for you. These may include:

  • your GP
  • other hospitals
  • your pharmacy
  • Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG)
  • NHS regulatory authorities;
  • The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA);
  • Out of Hours Health Care services;
  • NHS walk-in centres;
  • Ambulance Services;
  • NHS common services agencies such as dentists;
  • Local Authority departments, including Social Services, Education and Housing;
  • Voluntary sector providers who are directly involved in your care;

The sharing of sensitive personal information is strictly controlled by law. Generally your information will only be seen by those involved in providing or administering your care.

When information is shared, it is transferred securely in line with the requirements of the GDPR, and anyone who receives information from us is also under a legal duty to keep it confidential and secure.

We have to share some information for statistical, research or audit purposes and in these instances we take strict measures to ensure that individual patients cannot be identified and where appropriate anonymisation and pseudonymisation techniques will be used to protect your identity.

If you do not wish your personal data to be used in this way, please contact us. You have the right to object in certain circumstances, but this must be assessed as it may affect our ability to provide you with care or advice.

Sharing your information without consent

We will normally ask you for your consent to share information about you. There are times however when we may be required by law to share your information without your consent. These may be:

  • where there is a serious risk of harm or abuse to you or other people (including child protection or safeguarding vulnerable adult concerns)
  • where a serious crime is being investigated or where it could be prevented;
  • notification of new births;
  • where we encounter infectious diseases that may endanger the safety of others;
  • where a formal court order has been issued;
  • where there is a legal requirement to do so.

Using your information

How do we use your personal information?

The Trust processes personal information about:

  • patients;
  • next of kin;
  • suppliers;
  • employees (including students, apprentices, potential employees and volunteers);
  • complainants, enquirers;
  • survey respondents;
  • professional experts and consultants;

Health professionals caring for you manage information about your health and the care you receive from the NHS. This information is recorded in a healthcare record which is held either manually or electronically. It is important as it helps to ensure that you receive the best possible care from us. Your information is used in the following ways to guide and administer the care you receive:

  • To ensure that your health professional has accurate and up to date information to provide a good basis for any treatment or advisory services we provide to you.
  • To ensure that full and correct information is available to other healthcare providers from whom you may be receiving treatment.
  • To ensure your treatment is safe and effective, and the advice we provide is appropriate and relevant to you.
  • To ensure that there is a good basis for referring to and checking on the type and quality of treatment you have received in the past.
  • To ensure that your concerns can be properly investigated should you wish to raise a complaint.

Your rights

Your rights in relation to my personal information

You have a number of rights in relation to your personal information. These are described in detail below:

The right of access

You have a right to request a copy of any of your information held by the Trust. Alternatively, you can request to view the information that relates to you, free of charge.

The Trust does have the right to charge an administration fee in situations where requests are repetitive or if it is deemed to be excessive. You are required to prove your identity at the time of making your request and provide specific details in relation to the information you require access to.

Subject Access Request under GDPR will be processed within 30 days. However, this can be extended by up to a further two months; in particular if there are significant personal data to review. If this is the case, you will be contacted within 30 days.

A Subject Access Request (SAR) can be submitted in relation to your healthcare record.

If you would like further information about accessing your healthcare record please contact the Health Records Manager below:

Tel: 01922 721172 ext. 6879

wht.healthrecordsaccess@nhs.net

Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust
Walsall Manor Hospital
Moat Road
Walsall
WS2 9PS

The right to object

The right to object means that data should stop being processed if requested. This only applies where data is obtained with your consent. Generally, we rely on our legal basis to process your data and not consent and therefore for healthcare purposes, this right may not apply. However, if your data is used for any other reason this right may apply to you.

The right to rectification

If you believe your personal information may be inaccurate or incomplete, you can make a request to have your information reviewed.

The right to erasure

The right to erasure is also known as the ‘right to be forgotten’. This allows you the right to have your personal data erased. Generally, this right is not available within healthcare data due to the information we process often being essential to us in continuing to provide you with services. You will be notified where the right is available for specific processing activities.

The right to restrict processing

This right enables you to request a restriction or limit to the processing of your personal data. The right is closely linked with the right to rectify and the right to object and will only apply if:

  • You believe your personal data is inaccurate and it is verified by the Trust;
  • The data has been unlawfully processed;
  • The personal data is no longer needed but we need to keep it in order to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim.

The right to object

The right to data portability enables you to obtain and reuse your personal data across different services. The process should allow for moving, copying or transfer of personal data from one IT environment to another in a safe and secure way, without hindrance or usability. The right to data portability is not an absolute right and generally will not apply to your healthcare records unless the processing is based on your consent, or processing is carried out by automated means.

Making a complaint

If you have any questions or complaints about your care, please speak to your health professional in the first instance. If this is not resolved to your satisfaction you can contact Patient Relations.

The Data Protection Officer (DPO) is a point of contact for advice and guidance in relation to your rights. The DPO is responsible for monitoring the Trusts compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) 2016 as well as any policies the Trust has in relation to the protection of personal data.

The DPO shall perform their duties in an independent manner with due regard to the risk associated with processing operations, taking into account the nature, scope, context and purposes of processing.

The Data Protection Officer is:

Sharon Thomas
Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust
Walsall Manor Hospital
Moat Road
Walsall
WS2  9PS

Tel: 01922 721172 ext. 5806

You also have the right to complain directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office if you feel the Trust has not responded effectively. The Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioners Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
SK9 5AF

Tel: 0303 123 1113
Website: https://ico.org.uk/

Cookies

When someone visits www.walsallhealthcare.nhs.uk we collect anonymous information to help us provide better customer service. For example, we keep track of the domains from which people visit and we also measure visitor activity on the website, but we do so in ways that keeps the information anonymous.

We use the information that we collect to measure the number of visitors to the different areas of our site, and to help us make the site more useful to visitors. This includes analysing these logs periodically to measure the traffic through our servers, the number of pages visited and the level of demand for pages and topics of interest. The logs may be preserved indefinitely and used at any time and in any way to prevent security breaches and to ensure the integrity of the data on our servers.

We collect the anonymous information we mentioned above through the use of various technologies, one of which is called “cookies”. A cookie is an element of data that a website can send to your browser, which may then be stored on your hard drive. For example, on a website with a login system (if users register for it), cookies are used to save the visitor’s password so that it does not have to be entered at each new visit.

This anonymous information is used and analysed only at an aggregate level to help us understand trends and patterns. None of this information is reviewed at an individual level. If you do not want any transaction details used in this manner, you can disable your cookies.

Recruitment privacy notice

Definitions

‘We’ / ‘Us’ / ‘The Trust’ means Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust.

Links to other sites/Databases

We are not responsible for the privacy practices of NHS Jobs (https://jobs.nhs.uk or Trac (https://apps.trac.jobs/)

Collection of personal information

Your data will be held securely and in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 (GDPR) (DPA), the EU Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC, the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council (GDPR), the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, the Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practice) (Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000, the Electronic Communications Data Protection Directive 2002/58/EC, the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 and all applicable laws and regulations relating to Processing of Personal Data and privacy, including where applicable the guidance and codes of practice issued by the Information Commissioner.

The Trust processes personal data and sensitive personal data (as described in the Data Protection Act 2018 (GDPR) (DPA) the EU Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC, the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council (GDPR), this is to support the Recruitment process when transferring data and information from NHS Jobs into Trac and ESR.

Personal data is data that relates to an identifiable living person (‘data subject’).

We are processing this information at your request prior to you potentially entering into a contract of employment. Following your contract commencement, your personal information will be collated, stored and sent to your line manager. Also, this information will be stored in the Electronic System Records (ESR)

Special Categories of personal data we may process include:

  • Race or ethnicity
  • Physical or mental health
  • Sexual orientation and sexual life

Additional information that is considered sensitive is:

The commission or alleged commission of an offence, or proceedings or sentence relating to offences or alleged offences

We may be required to do this by employment law relating to access your capacity to work, to monitor that equality law is being met through the recruitment process and to comply with any safeguarding laws relating to the role you are applying for

The Trust will also collect and collate the following data for appointed candidates only;

  • References
  • ID (Photo Graphic ID, Proof of Address and Right to Work documents
  • Disclosure and Barring Service Checks (convictions, reprimands and cautions)
  • Occupational Health Screening
  • Bankruptcy and Insolvency register check (Directors only for Fit and Proper Persons)
  • Disqualified Director’s check (Directors only for Fit and Proper Persons)

As per the NHS Employment Check Standards, the above is essential for the Recruitment process.

Sensitive information

We will use your particularly sensitive personal information in the following ways:

We will use information about your disability status to consider whether we need to provide appropriate adjustments during the recruitment process, for example whether adjustments need to be made during a test or interview.

We will use information about your race or national or ethnic origin, religious, philosophical or moral beliefs, or your sexual life or sexual orientation, to ensure meaningful equal opportunity monitoring and reporting. This information will not be available to anyone involved in the selection process and will not be published except a part of a set of anonymised statistics.

Use of your information

By using NHS Jobs and Trac, you agree that we may collect, hold, process and use your information (including personal information) for the purpose of providing you with the NHS Jobs and Trac service and:

  • informing you about the outcome of your application;
  • informing you about the outcome of your interview
  • keeping you updated on the progress of your conditional offer of employment
  • conducting market research in terms of understanding retention within the Trust
  • carrying out technical and statistical analysis to measure the performance of our services and ensuing we are compliant with the NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard

Sharing your information

Trac has an interface to the Electronic Staff Record System (ESR) which is a payroll and human resources system used by most NHS organisations and by a number of other organisations providing NHS services.

The data you submit to NHS Jobs and Trac may be transferred to ESR for the purposes of:

  • establishing the human resources and payroll record; completing the recruitment process or parts of the process on ESR;
  • or for reporting purposes such as equal opportunity monitoring.
  • The data you submit to NHS Jobs as part of your job application may be downloaded and transferred to a third-party system (Trac) where an employer chooses to complete the recruitment process using a different system.
  • If you apply for a job on NHS Jobs then the Trust will have access to your application and any other material you submit in support of the application for example, your accompanying CV.
  • The Trust may copy and hold some or all of this data locally in their own systems to facilitate their administration of the recruitment exercise.

We have an obligation to inform you how we are processing your application before you apply including but not limited to:

  • automatic decision making on selection,
  • updating information the employing organisation has downloaded from NHS Jobs and/or Trac
  • withdrawing an application the Trust has downloaded from NHS Jobs and/or Trac
  • how the Trust handles attachments that accompany the application form
  • what the Trust uses the Equality and Diversity data for
  • how the Trust handle any safeguarding concerns
  • transferring of your application to a 3rd party recruitment agency should the agency be used for recruitment purposes i.e. psychometric testing

We also have an obligation to provide any relevant privacy notice(s) when a request for an offline application is made.

If you have agreed to accept SMS texts via Trac and/or NHS Jobs these will only be sent when invited to an interview and a further (reminder) text is sent 2 days before the interview is scheduled to take place.

We will not sell or share your information for marketing purposes.

Note that summary (high level) non-identifiable data is being shared with NHS Digital for NHS vacancy monitoring purposes only.

We will not transfer your personal data outside of the UK

We reserve the right to disclose your personal information to comply with applicable laws and government or regulatory bodies’ lawful requests for information.

Data retention

Job applications and adverts are retained on NHS Jobs and Trac for up to 460 days after the closing date, depending on the relevant advert’s or recruitment’s closing date, and then deleted. If you need to access an application form and accompanying CV/attachments or an advert and attachments relating to the vacancy, we recommend you make a copy and retain it within 400 days of the advertisement’s closing date as this is the minimum period we will retain the data.

An audit log will be retained for 24 months to allow our processes to be independently checked.

Removal of your account

If you are a jobseeker and no longer wish to retain your account on NHS Jobs and/or Trac then please contact the NHS Jobs Helpdesk (helpdesk@nhs.jobs<) or Trac helpdesk (info@trac.jobs) and advise them of your wish to have your account removed completely.

If you have an employer’s user account then please contact the Trust administrator directly (recruitment.team@walsallhealthcare.nhs.uk). Please note that once the account has been deleted the data will no longer be retrievable.

Keeping your personal information secure

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal information from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal information to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need-to-know. They will only process your personal information on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

Storage and destruction

We will retain your personal information for six months after we have communicated to you our decision about whether to appoint you. This is so that we can show; in the event of a legal claim, that we have not discriminated against candidates on prohibited grounds and that we have conducted the recruitment exercise in a fair and transparent way. After this period, we will securely destroy your personal information unless your application had been successful and you have started employment with us. The data then transfers to ESR

Changes to this privacy notice

If we change this privacy notice, we will communicate the revised privacy notice with an updated effective date.

Staff privacy notice

If successful in obtaining employment with Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust then please refer to the staff privacy notice.

Rights

The information you provided will be managed as required by Data Protection law.

You have the right to:

  • Receive a copy of the information the Trust has on you
  • Request your information be changed if you believe it was not correct at the time you provided it
  • Request that your information be deleted if you believe NHS Jobs, Trac and/or the Trust are processing it for longer than is necessary after 25 May 2018. This request can be declined if valid reasons not to are concluded

Who to contact

Details of NHSBSA processing are shown on our website at https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/our-policies/data-protection

To make use these rights or have any concerns about our professing of your information then please contact the NHSBSA Data Protection Officer:

Head of Information Governance
NHS Business Services Authority
Stella House
Goldcrest Way
Newburn Riverside
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE15 8NY

nhsbsa.dataprotection@nhs.net

You also have the right to contact the Data Protection Regulator about any concerns you may have about the use of your information. They can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

https://ico.org.uk/

For further information on how the Trust handles your data, how the data is stored and what your data is used for please contact Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust data protection officer at:

Sharon Thomas – Data Protection Officer
Corporate Governance Manager

sharon.thomas@walsallhealthcare.nhs.uk

Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust
Walsall Manor Hospital
House 20, New Manor Court
WS2 9PT

Tel: 01922 721172 ext. 5806

National data opt-out privacy notice

How the NHS and care services use your information

Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust is one of many organisations working in the health and care system to improve care for patients and the public.

Whenever you use a care or health service, such as using community care services or attending Accident & Emergency, 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. 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. On this site 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

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

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. Data would only be used in this way with your specific agreement.

We have put systems and processes in place so we can apply your national data opt-out choice to any confidential patient information we may use or share with other organisations for purposes beyond your individual care.

National data Opt Out

The national data opt out was introduced in May 2018, enabling patients to opt out from the use of their data for research or planning purposes, in line with the recommendations of the National Data Guardian in her Review of Data Security, Consent and Opt-Outs.

You can view or change your national data opt out choice at any time by using the online services at www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters or by calling 0300 3035678.

Click here [link to Privacy Notice) to find out more about how Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust uses your information.

How your data is used

Your health and care information is used to improve your individual care. It is also used to help us research new treatments, decide where to put GP clinics and plan for the number of doctors and nurses in your local hospital. Wherever possible we try to use data that does not identify you, but sometimes it is necessary to use your confidential patient information.

What is confidential patient information?

Confidential patient information identifies you and says something about your health, care or treatment. You would expect this information to be kept private. Information that only identifies you, like your name and address, is not considered confidential patient information and may still be used for example, to contact you if your GP practice is merging with another.

Who can use your confidential patient information for research and planning?

It is used by the NHS, local authorities, university and hospital researchers, medical colleges and pharmaceutical companies researching new treatments.

Making your data opt-out choice

You can choose to opt out of sharing your confidential patient information for research and planning. There may still be times when your confidential patient information is used: for example, during an epidemic where there might be a risk to you or other people’s health. You can also still consent to take part in a specific research project.

Will choosing this opt-out affect your care and treatment?

No, your confidential patient information will still be used for your individual care. Choosing to opt out will not affect your care and treatment. You will still be invited for screening services, such a screening for bowel cancer.

What you should do next?

You do not need to do anything if you are happy about how your confidential patient information is used.

If you do not want your confidential patient information to be used for research and planning, you can choose to opt out securely online or through the telephone service.

Employee Privacy Notice

Staff Privacy Notice