Data Protection

National Data Opt Out

Southend-on-Sea City Council National Data Opt Out Compliance Statement

What is the National Data Opt Out?

Whenever you use a health or care service, 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. Examples of this might be to help with improving the quality and standards of care provided, research into the development of new treatments, preventing illness and diseases, monitoring safety, and planning services. 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. Sometimes it is necessary to be able to identify the patient concerned. Where this is the case, you have a choice about whether you want your confidential patient information to be used in this way.

The national data opt-out allows patients to choose not to have data which identifies them used for research or planning purposes. This is in line with the recommendations of the National Data Guardian. 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.

Compliance statement

Southend-on-Sea City Council is required to have systems and processes in place so we can be compliant with the national data opt-out.

This applies to the disclosure of confidential patient information for purposes beyond individual care across the health and adult social care system in England.

We must be able to apply your choice to any confidential patient information we may use or share for purposes beyond your individual care.

At present we do not process confidential patient information other than for the purposes of direct care. The national data opt-out does not therefore apply to the use of your data and we are compliant with the policy. We can however advise you where you can access National Data Opt-out information should you require it.

If we start to use confidential patient information, for purposes beyond direct care in line with the National Data Opt requirements, in the future, we will revise this statement to demonstrate how we comply with the opt-out requirements.

The national data opt-out is a service that allows patients to opt out of their confidential patient information being used for research and planning. For more information on this, please see the NHS website.

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