Health Records

This section explains why information is collected about you by Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust and the ways in which this information may be used.

You may also want to read the following:

Why we collect information about you

Your doctor and other health professionals caring for you keep records about your health and any treatment and care you receive from the National Health Service. These help ensure that you receive the best possible care from us. They may be written down (manual records), or held on computer.

The records may include:

Basic details about you, such as date of birth, address and next of kin
Information about contacts we have had with you, such as clinic visits
Notes about your health
Details about the treatment and care you receive
Results of investigations, such as X-rays and laboratory tests
Relevant information from other health or social care professionals, or those who care for you and know you well

How your records are used to help you

Your records are used to guide professionals in the care you receive to ensure that:

Your doctor, nurse or any other health or social care professionals involved in your care has accurate and up-to-date information to assess your health and decide what care you need
Full information is available if you see another doctor, or are referred to a specialist or another part of the NHS
There is a good basis for assessing the type and quality of care you have received
Your concerns can be properly investigated if you need to complain

How your records are used to help the NHS

Your information may also be used to help us:

Make sure our services can meet patient needs in the future
Review the care we provide to ensure it is of the highest standard
Teach and train healthcare professionals
Conduct health research and development
Audit NHS accounts and services
Prepare statistics on NHS performance
Investigate complaints, legal claims or untoward incidents

For some uses, such as decisions about treatment, it is important that we are able to identify you from the information held. For others, such as statistical uses, stringent measures are taken to ensure that individual patients cannot be identified.

Where it is not possible to use anonymised information, personally identifiable information may be used for essential NHS purposes. These may include research and where the law requires information to be passed on in the wider public or public health interest.

How we keep your records confidential

Everyone working for the NHS has a legal duty to keep information about you confidential.

You may be receiving care from other organisations 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 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 third parties without your permission unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as when the health or safety of others is at risk or where the law requires information to be passed on.

Anyone who receives information from us is also under a legal duty to keep it confidential.

Information that we have to share

We are required by law to report certain information to the appropriate authorities. Occasions when we must pass on information include:

Notification of births and deaths
Where we encounter infectious diseases which may endanger the safety of others
Where a formal court order has been issued
To help prevent, detect or prosecute serious crime

How you can get access to your own health records

The Data Protection Act 1998, which came into force on 1st March 2000, allows you to find out what information about you is held on computer and in certain paper records. This is known as “right of subject access”. It applies to your health records.

If you wish to see your Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust health records you should make a written request to the Health Records Officer. You are entitled to receive a copy but should note that a charge will usually be made. You should also be aware that in certain circumstances your right to see some details in your health records may be limited in your own interest of for other reasons.

Further information is available on our webpages

Reference: Data Protection Act 1998: London. The Stationery Office

Health Records

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About the Trust

Ashford Hospital

St Peter's Hospital