Privacy: My Care Record

My Care Record provides health and care professionals with electronic access to records of participating partner organisations using new and existing secure computer systems. Details of partner organisations involved are listed on the My Care Record website.

What services are covered by this privacy notice?

The people caring for you need access to your health and care record in order to make the best decisions about your diagnosis and treatment. This could include GPs, hospital-based clinicians, nurses, health visitors and social workers.

Patient information and care records are usually made available through traditional methods such as secure post, fax or email, which can be slow and, at times, unreliable, and possibly prolonging diagnosis and treatment.

What personal information do we hold?

We will be able to access the following information from partner organisations:

• patient details and summary – name, address, NHS number and phone number
• medical conditions
• treatment provided and contact the patient has had with the organisation
• care plans
• emergency department treatment
• discharge summaries
• medication (current, past and issues)
• medical reports – such as endoscopy
• results of investigations, such as x-rays, scans and laboratory tests

Adult Social Care will only share the following information:

• name and contact details
• marital details
• race or ethnic origin
• religious or other beliefs of a similar nature
• date of birth
• NHS Number
• communication needs
• care plan details

Who else might we share your personal information with?

Each partner organisation participating is responsible for the information they share/access within the shared environment, including personal and special category data incorporated from patient records held by partner organisations.

All partners are subject to a number of legal obligations to ensure that the processing of personal information remains lawful. This includes, legislation, standard, statutory and non-statutory guidance. For a full list, visit the My Care Record website.

Health and care professionals view your information to give you the best quality care they can. If you still want to object, please contact the organisation who holds the records which you do not want to be shared. For further details on how to opt out of sharing your information, visit the My Care Record website.

How do I opt out of Adult Social Care sharing my information with partners via My Care Record?

You can choose to opt out of having us share your information with partners by completing the quick form below:

Opt out

Who is the data controller for processing?

Essex County Council is Joint Data Controller for processing of the shared data, within the shared environment. Each partner organisation participating is responsible for the information they choose to share with other partners. A full list of partners can be found on the My Care Record website.

The Council will only access personal data in accordance with our statutory duties, in particular, the Care Act 2014, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Mental Health Act 1983, this is not an exhaustive list.

We may use your information for the prevention and detection of fraud and crime, this may include sharing your personal information with external agencies that could lead to some services being declined.

Read more about how your information is processed.

What is the legal basis for our use of your personal information?

The information below show the legal basis we are relying on to use your personal or special category (sensitive) personal information. You can see a list of the full legal conditions we may rely on by looking at our full privacy notice.

Here is a list of the legislation we rely on when using your personal information to meet our legal obligations or public tasks.

Personal information

Our legal basis' for using your personal information are to, exercise our tasks in the public interest and to protect your vital interests.

Special category (sensitive) personal information

Our legal basis' for using your special category information are substantial public interest and the delivery of health and social care services.

Will my personal information be accessible outside the UK?

No personal information is routinely sent or held outside the UK. Should the transfer of personal information outside of the UK become necessary, it will only take place if permitted by law, and then only where there are appropriate safeguards in place to protect the information.

How long will we keep your personal information?

Personal data is stored securely for the duration specified by the NHS Digital / Information Governance Alliance (IGA) Retention Schedule. Once information that is held has been identified for destruction it will be disposed of in the most appropriate way for the type of information it is.

Your rights

The law gives you a number of rights to control what personal information is used by us and how it is used by us.

You can obtain further information about these rights from the Information Commissioner’s Office.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint in relation to this summary notice, the full privacy notice or our processing activities with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

All partner organisations have complaints procedures. If you wish to make a complaint, please contact your direct care provider such as your GP, hospital consultant, social worker or speak to their PALS (Patients Advisors and Liaisons Services) / Complaints department. Patients also have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office regarding breaches of confidentiality.

Contact us

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, you can contact our Data Protection Officer.

Or the transparency team for access to the information held by Essex County Council.