Privacy

As a patient, relative or carer, we need your information to be able to identify you and to ensure that we can give you the correct treatment. We need to keep a record of the treatment you have had and who has helped you.

The information we keep about you helps all the staff in the hospital or in the community who provide your care to ensure that you get the best possible care and treatment.

We will hold:

• Your name
• Your date of birth
• Your current and previous addresses
• The name and address of your nearest relative
• Information about your health problems
• Other information about you and your family and who you live with
• Your occupation
• What is important to you

We keep your information in both paper records and on computers.

The law requires us to keep your information for set amounts of time after we have finished seeing you. This will be dependent upon the treatment you have had.

If you are an adult when we start seeing you, we will keep your information for 8 years from the date we last see you.

We keep records of pregnancy for 25 years after the birth of the last child.

If you are a child/young person, then we will keep your information until you reach the age of 25

Some records are kept longer than this depending upon what they are about. Please ask if you are unsure how long we will keep your records.

We will share your information will all those who will provide you with care, including;

• Doctors
• Nurses
• Other hospitals
• Ambulance services
• Social workers
• Teachers
• Local councils
• Voluntary services
• Nursing homes
• Integrated Care Boards
• NHS England

We will always try to tell you who we will be sharing your information with. In the North East we use the Great North Care Record (GNCR) to share your information. Further information on the GNCR can be found here: https://www.greatnorthcarerecord.org.uk

We will use your information in a way that follows data protection laws and Trust policies and procedures. 

Everyone working for the NHS must keep your information secure and only look at it when they are providing you with care and treatment. 

We make sure that paper records are kept locked away when not in use.

We make sure that our computers do not let anyone see information about you unless they are the staff that are helping you.

We protect your information by following data protection laws:

• UK General Data Protection Regulation (UKGDPR)
• Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018

We also follow the 10 National Data Guardian (NDG) standards for data security. These standards are designed to protect sensitive data, and also protect critical services which may be affected by a disruption to critical IT systems (such as in the event of a cyber attack).  

You can have a copy of the information we hold about you. There is no charge for the first copy we give you and we will give it to you within 30 days where we can.

If you have a lot of records, we may take a little longer but we will always tell you about this.

To ask for a copy, please contact:

If you live in Sunderland

Access and Disclosure Team

Medical Records Department 

South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust 

Sunderland Royal Hospital 

Kayll Road 

Sunderland 

SR4 7TP 

Or email: stsft.srhaccesstomedicalrecords@nhs.net 

If you live in South Tyneside or Gateshead or wish to access records for Sunderland Community Services

Access and Disclosure Team 

Medical Records Department 

Ingham Wing 

South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust 

Harton Lane 

South Shields 

NE34 0PL 

Or email: stsft.stdhaccesstomedicalrecords@nhs.net 

You can ask for a copy of all of the information that we hold on you. If we believe that certain information in the your record might cause serious harm to your physical or mental health or to that of another person they may not give you that piece of information.

We must make sure that the information in your records is correct. If the information is factually wrong then we will change or remove it. However, if it is factually correct but you don’t agree with it, we will not change it but we will ensure that the fact you disagree with it is recorded.

The law requires us to keep records about you and the treatment we have given you.

We can only delete or destroy these records if:

• they have reached the end of the period that we have to keep them for
• the record is factually wrong
• we shouldn’t have collected the information in the first place

You can ask us not to use your records for some things, like training or research and we will not use them.

You can ask us not to share your records with others who would care for you. This may impact on the care that they can give you. Unless it is essential to share the information, we will not share it.

If you have any questions about how we use your information please speak to the doctors,nurses or other staff caring for you.

You can also contact our Data Protection Officer or Caldicott Guardian. Their details are below:

Data Protection Officer

Our Data Protection Officer (DPO) is responsible for making sure we follow Data Protection law.  The DPO is the person to contact if you:

• would like to know more about how we use your information
• need information in any accessible format or language
• if you do not want to have your information used in any of the ways described.

Their contact details are:

James Carroll
Data Protection Officer
South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust
Trust Headquarters
Sunderland Royal Hospital
Kayall Road
Sunderland
SR4 7TP

Or email: stsft.dpo@nhs.net 

Caldicott Guardian

The Caldicott Guardian is the person who makes the final decision on how, what, when and why we will use your personal information.. 

Our Caldicott Guardian is Dr Lawrence Gnanaraj. He is also Associate Medical Director.  

Independent advice

If you need independent advice about data protection, privacy and information-sharing issues, or if you want to make a complaint you can contact the Information Commissioner:

The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Phone: 08456 30 60 60 

Website: www.ico.org.uk

• Patient privacy notice
• Staff privacy notice

• Cabinet Office: National Fraud Initiative (NFI) Privacy Notice

• Data protection individual rights 

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