During the course of your treatment we collect information about you. This information is used to help the staff treating you and to assist the hospital and NHS to manage and provide health services in the future.
We keep all your personal information confidential but are required by law to: Report births and deaths, Report infectious diseases that may endanger others, Obey the terms of a formal court order, Help prevent, detect or prosecute serious crime.
Further advice as to why information about you is collected, and the ways in which this information may be used can be found on our website by clicking here.
Confidentiality – access to health records
The Trust is required to keep patients’ health records confidential. This is a legal and ethical obligation.
If you would like to discuss your records please ask the Nurse in Charge.
The Data Protection Act (1998) allows you to obtain a copy of information about you held on computer databases and in certain manual records. This is known as “right of subject access.” You may obtain a copy of (or access to) your health records using this legislation. If you want access to your records you should make a written request to the Health Records Department. You should note that a charge will usually be payable for this.
In certain circumstances your right to see some details in your health records may, in your own interest or for other reasons, be limited or withheld.
Confidentiality – consent
We will at all times keep information about you confidential. This means that, unless you give permission, health professionals cannot discuss your treatment and progress, or the risks of proposed treatment, with your close relatives and friends.
If you decline to share information about your condition with your family and friends, you should note that they will be unaware of any significant risks that you might face.
