ESHS Your information your rights

Your Information Your Rights This leaflet describes how Essex Sexual Health Service collects, uses,retains and discloses personal information. Different organisations sometimes use different terms and it can be referred to as a privacy statement, a fair processing notice or privacy policy.

Who are we?

Provide, as lead provider, is responsible for the delivery of the Essex Sexual Health Service (ESHS) across Essex*. Provide is working with a number of organisations with extensive experience of innovative sexual health delivery, geographical insight, and specialist knowledge to ensure that all aspects of a focused, specialist and general service delivery are available, accessible, safe, efficient and responsive.

Provide is a Community Interest Company (social enterprise). We deliver a broad range of health and social care services in the community and are committed to making sure that they are safe, responsive, and of high quality.

Provide is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to process personal and special categories of information under the Data Protection Act and our registration number is Z2604172.

The sexual health services in Essex are commissioned by Essex County Council. *Excluding Southend and Thurrock areas.

Why we keep personal information about you

How do we collect information about you?

We aim to provide you with the highest quality care. To do this, we must keep records about you and the care we provide for you.

When you contact us for the first time (by phone, our website, or visiting one of our clinic locations), you will be asked to provide us with some information including your name, some contact details and some information about your sexual history. If you want to be anonymous, you can be. You do not have to give your real name, or tell staff who your GP is if you do not want to.

Our staff are trained to handle your information correctly and protect your privacy. We aim to maintain high standards, adopt best practice for our record keeping, and regularly check and report on how we are doing. Your information is never collected for direct marketing purposes and is not sold on to any other third parties.

Your information is not processed overseas.

Information is held for specified periods of time as set out in the Records Management Code of Practice for Health and Social Care.

If you visit us again you will be asked to check that the details we hold about you are accurate and up-to-date, including your contact details.

Please inform us if any of the information we hold about you is incorrect.

What information do we keep about you?

The information we hold may include: Basic details, such as your name, address and next of kin.

Contacts we have had with you, such as clinic visits.

Notes and reports about your health and any treatment or care you needed.

Details about your treatment and care.

Results of laboratory tests and home tests requested through the service.

Assessment records based on medical and sexual history.

How do we hold your information?

The ESHS keep separate electronic medical records and will only share information about you with your GP or other professionals if you agree to this. Even if you are under 18 we will keep your medical records confidential unless there is a legal reason to do so (see ‘How do we use your information?’ below).

Anonymised information may also be used to help us: Obtain payment for the care we provide.

Make sure our services meet patient needs in the future.

Review the care we provide to ensure it is of the highest standard.

Teach and train healthcare professionals.

Prepare statistics on our performance.

There may also be situations where we are under a duty to share your information, due to a legal requirement. This includes, but is not limited to, disclosure under a court order, sharing with the Care Quality Commission for inspection purposes, the police for the prevention or detection of crime, or where there is an overriding public interest to prevent abuse or serious harm to others.

Who can see your information?

The ESHS is delivered by the following organisations: Provide CIC.

How do we use your information?

Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust.

Information collected about you to deliver your health care is also used to assist with:

Colchester Hospitals University NHS Trust

Making sure your care is of a high standard.

Assessing your condition against a set of risk criteria to ensure you are receiving the best possible care.

Reporting and investigation of complaints, claims and untoward incidents.

Reporting events to the appropriate authorities when we are required to do so by law.

The legal basis for the processing of data for these purposes is that as a provider of NHS care we have a public duty to care for our patients, as guided by the Department of Health. Data protection law says it is appropriate to do so for health and social care treatment of patients, and the management of health or social care systems and services.

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Terrence Higgins Trust.

Brook Young People.

Healthy Living Partnership.

This means that your information may be shared between healthcare professionals delivering the ESHS in these organisations in order to deliver your care. Your information will only be accessed by those who have a legitimate need to know and who are involved in your care.

We will only share your information with your GP or other health professionals outside of the ESHS where you give us permission to, unless we have a legal duty to as described above.

Use of third party companies To enable effective running of the service the ESHS may share your information with external companies to process your data on our behalf.

The ESHS share your information with the following third parties: University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust

www.uhmb.nhs.uk Provide pathology services to the ESHS. This means they undertake specific tests and examinations on clinical samples sent to them by the ESHS. Their clinical laboratory helps in the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of diseases and medical conditions.

The Doctors Laboratory

www.tdlpathology.com Provide pathology services when you request a home test through our website. This means they undertake specific tests and examinations on clinical samples sent to them.

Their clinical laboratory helps in the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of diseases and medical conditions.

SXT Health CIC

www.sxt.org.uk ESHS have signed up to the Interactive Digital Contact Slip provided by SXT Health CIC to allow any patient’s diagnosed with an STI to securely and anonymously inform any partners through a secure online system. Patients may inform partners themselves (patient referral) or supply details for a healthcare worker to notify the partner without disclosing their identity (provider referral). We will never do this on your behalf unless directed to do so by you. ESHS does not share any information to SXT Health CIC that can identify you nor identify you to any partners that you inform.

We make sure that any third party your information is shared with complies with the same high levels of data security and maintain strict confidentiality through the use of contractual clauses and / or through Information Sharing Agreements.

Your rights Data protection laws give individuals rights in respect of the personal information that we hold about you. These are: 1 To ask for access to your information (see our Access to Your Information page on our website).

2 To ask for your information to be corrected if it is inaccurate or incomplete (see our Access to Your Information page on our website).

3 To ask for your information to be deleted or erased. Please note that this does not apply to your health or care record, or where we process information for public health or scientific research purposes.

4 To ask us to restrict the use of your information in some circumstances.

5 To request your personal information to be transferred to other providers on certain occasions.

6 To object to the use of your personal information. In certain circumstances you may also have the right to ‘object’ to the processing (ie sharing) of your information where the sharing would be for a purpose beyond your care and treatment (eg as part of a local/regional data sharing initiative).

This so-called ‘Data Opt-out’ initiative, developed by Dame Caldicott, commenced in March 2018 and will conclude in March 2020.

Further information can be found on the following website: https://digital.nhs.uk/national-data-opt-out

Please visit our website for further details on this. Should you have any further queries on the uses of your information, please speak to your health professional, our Customer Services Team, our Data Protection Officer – Richard.Bradley4@nhs.net Should you wish to lodge a complaint about the use of your information, please contact our Customer Service Team.

If you are still unhappy with the outcome of your enquiry you can write to: The Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF. Telephone: 01625 545700.

If you need this leaflet in braille, audio, large print or another language, please contact our Customer Service Team on: 0300 303 9951/51 or by email at: provide.customerservices@nhs.net Provide Corporate Offices 900 The Crescent Colchester Business Park Colchester Essex C04 9YQ

T: 0300 003 1212 E: enquiries@eshs.org.uk www.eshs.org.uk

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