Privacy - Brighton Sexual Health and Contraception Service

Our Contact details

By post

Department of Sexual Health & Contraception, Claude Nicol Centre, University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust, Royal Sussex County Hospital, Eastern Road, BRIGHTON, East Sussex, BN2 5BE, GB

Telephone

01273 523388

What information we collect, use, and why

Everyone working in the NHS is bound by a legal duty of confidentiality to protect your personal information. This is not just a requirement of our employment contract but also a requirement within the common law duty of confidence and data protection law.

We recognise that information collected in sexual health services is sensitive and personal and we only collect and store information that is needed to ensure that you have the correct tests, investigations, treatment and care. We will only share information with other healthcare professionals (for example, your GP or other healthcare professionals in the hospital) if it is necessary for your care. We will only do that with your consent.

When you visit us, we allocate you a unique clinic number which, in combination with your date of birth, we use for any communication outside the clinic, for example, to identify your laboratory tests or for your prescriptions.

The information we record will not be shared with others caring for you outside our sexual health service unless you give your explicit consent. There may be rare occasions when we share information with other support agencies, e.g. social services, when we are worried about your safety, but we will always inform you in advance of any actions we might take.

We record information on secure and dedicated Electronic Patient Records (EPR) which have no links to other medical health records such as those kept within main hospital records or your GP care record.

We collect or use the following information to provide patient care, services, and pharmaceutical products:

Name, address and contact details
Gender
Pronoun preferences
Date of birth
NHS and Hospital number
Health information (including medical conditions, allergies, medical requirements and medical history)
Information about care needs (including disabilities, home conditions, medication and dietary requirements and general care provisions)
Test results (including psychological evaluations, scans, bloods, x-rays, tissue tests and genetic tests)
Racial or ethnic origin
Health information
Sex life information
Sexual orientation information

We collect or use the following information for safeguarding or public protection reasons:

Name, address and contact details
NHS number
Hospital number
Emergency contact details
Health information (including medical conditions, allergies, medical requirements and medical history)
Information about care needs (including disabilities, home conditions, dietary requirements and general care provisions)
Test results (including psychological evaluations, scans, bloods, x-rays, tissue tests and genetic tests)
Racial or ethnic origin
Health information
Sex life information
Sexual orientation information

Information shared securely with UKHSA

HIV and STI data, which does not include information that could be used to identify you, is shared securely with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)

This helps experts understand trends, for example numbers of people being tested for HIV and other STIs, and whether the number of new diagnoses is increasing or decreasing. The UKHSA also aims to detect outbreaks of disease and epidemics as rapidly as possible to protect the wider community.

Information shared with Law Enforcement

There are rare times when we must share information because we are required to do so by law, for example where there is a court order. Where information is required by law you cannot object to information sharing.

We will always inform you in advance of any actions we might take in these circumstances.

We collect the following personal information to comply with legal requirements:

Name
Contact information
Health and safety information
Safeguarding information
Racial or ethnic origin
Health information
Sex life information
Sexual orientation information

Research

Information relating to HIV and STIs is important for some research studies, for example to study new treatments. Whenever possible, data used for research is anonymised so that you cannot be identified. You cannot opt out of anonymous information being used for research.

If identifiable information is required, then you will always be asked for your explicit consent.

With your permission we collect or use the following personal information for medical research or archiving purposes:

Names and contact details
Address
Recorded images such as photographs, X-rays or scan images
Personal information used for administration of the research
Personal information used for the purpose of research
Personal information used for medical investigations
Records of consent, where appropriate
Racial or ethnic origin
Health information
Sex life information
Sexual orientation information

Queries, complaints or claims

We collect or use the following personal information for dealing with queries, complaints or claims:

Names and contact details
Address
Racial or ethnic origin
Health information
Sex life information
Sexual orientation information

Lawful bases and data protection rights

Our lawful bases for the collection and use of your data are:

to provide patient care, services and pharmaceutical products
for safeguarding or public protection reasons
to comply with legal requirements
for medical research or archiving purposes
dealing with queries, complaints or claims

Our lawful bases for the collection and use of your personal information are:

Consent – we will have permission from you after we have given you all the relevant information. All your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.
Contract – we must collect or use the information so we can enter into or carry out a contract with you. All your data protection rights may apply except the right to object.
Legal obligation – we must collect or use your information so we can comply with the law. All your data protection rights may apply, except the right to erasure, the right to object and the right to data portability.
Vital interests – collecting or using information is needed when someone’s physical or mental health or wellbeing is at urgent or serious risk. All your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object and portability.
Public task – we must collect or use your information to carry out a task laid down in law, which the law intends to be performed by an organisation such as ours. All your data protection rights may apply, except the right to erasure and portability.

Where we get personal information from

Directly from you
Regulatory authorities
Family members or carers
Other health and care providers
Social services
Charities or voluntary sector organisations
Schools, colleges, universities, or other education organisations

How long we keep information

The Records Management Code of Practice for Health and Social Care 2016 sets out what people working with or in NHS organisations in England need to do to manage records correctly. This Code of Practice is based on current legal requirements and professional best practice and was published on 20 July 2016 by the Information Governance Alliance (IGA). We will set a retention period for our research partners and any organisations that help us to provide your care. They must delete or return your data in line with the retention periods set out by the IGA.

Others we may share personal information with, but only with your explicit consent:

Other health providers (e.g. GPs and consultants)
Organisations we need to share information with for safeguarding reasons
Emergency services
Local authorities or councils

Duty of confidentiality

We are subject to a common law duty of confidentiality. However, there are circumstances where we will share relevant health and care information. These are where:

You have provided us with your consent (we have taken it as implied to provide you with care, or you have given it explicitly for other uses);
We have a legal requirement (including court orders) to collect, share or use the data;
On a case-by-case basis, the public interest to collect, share and use the data overrides the public interest served by protecting the duty of confidentiality (for example sharing information with the police to support the detection or prevention of serious crime);
In England or Wales – the requirements of The Health Service (Control of Patient Information) Regulations 2002 are satisfied.

How to raise a concern

If you have any concerns about our use of your personal data, you can make a complaint using:

the contact details at the top of this privacy notice
the ‘Feedback and complaints’ form on our Contact Us page

You can also contact the Data Protection Officer via email: [email protected]

If you remain unhappy with how we have used your data after making a complaint with us, you can also contact the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Helpline number: 0303 123 1113

Last updated

09 October 2024

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