Privacy Notice Staff

We recognise the importance of protecting personal and confidential information in all that we do, and take care to meet our legal and other duties, including compliance with the following:

• Data Protection Act 2018
• Human Rights Act 1998
• Access to Health Records Act 1990
• Freedom of Information Act 2000
• Health and Social Care Act 2012, 2015
• Public Records Act 1958
• Copyright Design and Patents Act 1988
• Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regs 2004
• Computer Misuse Act 1990
• Common Law Duty of Confidentiality
• NHS Care Records Guarantee for England
• Social Care Records Guarantee for England
• International information Security Standards
• Information Security Code of Practice
• Records Management Code of Practice for Health & Social Care 2016
• Accessible Information Standards
• General Data Protection Regulations 2018

Your information could be collected in a number of different ways. This could be directly from you – in person, over the telephone or on a form you have completed, such as a job application, contractual documentation or timesheet.

Details might also come from an external source such as NHS Jobs, your professional body, current or previous employers, the Disclosure and Barring Service, or government bodies like HM Revenue and Customs, the Department for Work and Pensions, or the UK Visas and Immigration.

We will only process your personal data where we have your consent or where the processing can be legally justified under UK law. These include circumstances where the processing is necessary for the performance of staffs’ contracts with us or for compliance with any legal obligations which applies to us as your employer.

This includes, but is not limited to:

• Staff administration (inc. payroll and pensions)
• Education, training and development
• Information and database administration
• Business management and planning
• Accounting and auditing
• Criminal prosecution and prevention
• Health administration and services
• National fraud initiatives
• Quality monitoring (such as staff surveys)
• Used for modelling the future provision of health and social care services within Cornwall

By signing your contract with the trust, you consent to us holding and processing any information about you which you provide to us, or which we may acquire as a result of employment.

Under the Data Protection Act 2018, strict principles govern our use of information and our duty to ensure it is kept safe and secure. Your information may be stored within electronic or paper records, or a combination of both. All our records are restricted so that only those individuals who have a need to know the information can get access. This might be through the use of technology or other environmental safeguards.

Everyone working for the NHS is subject to the Common Law Duty of Confidentiality. This means that any information that you provide to us in confidence will only be used in connection with the purpose for which it was provided, unless we have specific consent from you or there are other special circumstances covered by law.

Under the NHS Confidentiality Code of Conduct, all of our staff are required to protect information, inform you of how your information will be used, and allow you to decide if and how your information can be shared.

Every NHS organisation has a senior person that is responsible for the overall protection, security and confidentiality of information. This person is known as the Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO), and within our trust this role sits with our Director of Performance - Paul Cooper. You can find more details online:
https://www.cornwallft.nhs.uk/meet-the-board

To support you in your employment and to enable us to meet our legal responsibilities as an employer, sometimes we will need to share your information with others. Some of the reasons for this are included under ‘Why do we collect your information and how it is used?’

Unless there is a valid reason permitted by law, or there are exceptional circumstances (such as a likely risk to the safety of you or others), we will not disclose any information to third parties which can be used to identify you without your consent. All information sharing with third parties is covered by a sharing agreement to ensure that only relevant information is shared, and this is done in a secure way which complies with the law.

We outsource a limited number of administration and IT support services to external organisations, including payroll and occupational health. These companies are based within the European Economic Area and all services are provided under specific contractual terms, which are compliant with UK data protection legislation.

Sometimes we are required by law to disclose or report certain information, which may include details which identify you. For example, sending statutory information to government organisations such as HM Revenue and Customs, or releasing information to the police or counter fraud. Where mandatory disclosure is necessary only the minimum amount of information is released.

There may also be occasions when the trust is reviewed by an independent auditor, which could involve reviewing randomly selected staff information to ensure we are legally compliant. You can ‘opt out’ of having your information used in any mandatory audits by contacting our Information Governance team with your name, address, date of birth and staff number (if known).

You have the right to refuse (or withdraw) consent to information sharing at any time. However, this may not be possible if the sharing is a mandatory or legal requirement imposed on the trust. Any restrictions, and the possible consequences of withholding your consent, will be fully explained to you as the situation arises.

Only organisations with a legitimate requirement will have access to your information and only under strict controls and rules.

Under the terms of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulations 2018, you have the right to request access to the information that we hold about you.

To support you through the process, we have published policy and guidance on the Trust website, available at:  Subject Access Request Policy and Procedure

You can also request further information or an application form, by one of the following means:

Post: The Subject Access Request Team, Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Large Meeting Room, Camborne Redruth Community Hospital, Barncoose Terrace, Redruth, Cornwall, TR15 3ER

Tel: 01209 204008, 01209 204009 or 01209 244010

Email:  cpn-tr.subjectaccessrequest@nhs.net

If you have any queries or concerns regarding the information that we hold about you or you have a question regarding this privacy notice, please contact our Information Governance team:

Post: Information Governance Department, Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Suite 6, Carew House, Beacon Technology Park, Dunmere Road, Bodmin, Cornwall, PL31 2QN

Tel: 01208 834495

Email:  cpn-tr.InfoGov@nhs.net

All our records are destroyed in accordance with the IGA Records Management Code of Practice for Health and Social Care 2016, which sets out the appropriate length of time each type of NHS record is retained. We do not keep your records for longer than necessary.

All records are appropriately reviewed once their retention period has been met, and the Trust will decide whether the record still requires retention or should be confidentially destroyed. All decisions and destructions will be documented.

The Trust welcomes complaints as a way of learning from people’s experiences and improving our services.

If we haven’t been able to resolve your concerns locally or through PALS, then you may wish to make a formal complaint. We welcome complaints as a way of learning from people’s experiences and improving our services.

The PALS team can give you help, advice and support in making a complaint. Also, they can put you in contact with local advocacy services if you feel you need some support to make your complaint.

As a Trust, we take complaints very seriously. All complaints are treated in confidence. We aim to resolve complaints quickly and fairly and will try to rectify any mistake or misunderstanding straight away.

• It is helpful if you make a complaint as soon as possible. Usually we will investigate complaints that are:
• made within 12 months of the event, or
• made within 12 months of you realising you were unhappy about a specific situation or event
• Complaints are not kept in healthcare records and will not affect on-going or future treatment in any way.

Contact Information

PALS Office
Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Room 11
Banham House
Bodmin Hospital
PL31 2QT
Telephone :
01208 834620

Email:  cpn-tr.Palscft@nhs.net

What happens when you make a complaint?

• We will try to contact you to talk to you about your complaint, or we will write to you and ask you to contact us so we can talk about the issues raised – this usually occurs within 3 working days
• If you are raising concerns on behalf of someone who has received care from us, then we will need to ask their permission to share with you any confidential and personal information
• We will discuss how you wish us to handle your complaint
• We will discuss how long it is likely to take in order to investigate and respond to the issues you have raised
• If the issues also involve another local NHS organisation or Local Authority, with your permission, we will work together to provide you with one response
• We will provide you with an explanation of the points you have raised, details of what we have found out and, if required, what we will be doing to put things right

What if I am still unhappy?

If you feel that you need support in making your complaint, then you can contact Health Complaints Advocacy Service (HCAS), the independent complaints advocacy service who will be able to help you. HCAS can be contacted through:

Health Complaints Advocacy Service (HCAS)
c/o The Advocacy People
PO Box 375
Hastings
TN34 9HU

Tel: 0330 4409000
Email:  Info@theadvocacypeople.org.uk
website: www.theadvocacypeople.org.uk

If you are unhappy with the outcome of your complaint, you can ask the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) to review this matter. The Ombudsman will only consider complaints that have already been investigated by the Trust. You can contact the PHSO by contacting their complaints helpline on: 0345 015 4033 or visiting their website:  www.ombudsman.org.uk

We will occasionally update this Privacy and Fair Collection webpage to reflect company and customer feedback. We therefore encourage you to periodically review this webpage in case of any changes.