Children’s Privacy Notice

• What do we collect?

  We collect information about you such as:

  • Your name
  • Why you are coming to see us
  • Your birthday and year you were born
  • Your address
  • The name of the person who will generally bring you to your appointments
  • Your family doctor (General Practitioner or GP)
  • The reason that you are coming to see us
  • Any information that your family doctor, you or your family gives us
  • What we do to care for you
• Why do we collect it?

  The Trust’s main purpose is to deliver healthcare to everyone including children. We collect the data we need to care for you in the best way.

  We ask for your address so that we know where we can contact you.

  We ask for your date of birth as your age may be important to your care.

  Each time you come to see us or stay with us we will write down things that you tell us, things that we tell you and any medicines we give you or exercises we ask you to do. That way, we can look back at what we have done for you to make sure we are treating you in the best way.

• What do we do with it?

  We keep the information we collect electronically (that is on a computer) and on paper. All of this information together is called your health record or we might call it your case notes.

  When you first see us, your health record will be given a number. Everyone’s health record number will be different.

  Anyone involved in caring for you at Southport and Ormskirk hospitals can see what has been collected. This way we can all make the right decisions about your care with all of the information you have given us.

• Who we share with

  We will share the information we record about you with your family doctor. That way they are kept up to date on what we are doing for you. Your parents/guardians should get a copy of any letters we send to your doctor about your care.

  We might share it with other health professionals involved in your care. We might share it with your school if we think it is important for them to know. If you have a social worker we will share it with them too.

  If you tell us something that makes us worried about your safety or the safety of someone else you know, we might have to share this with other people outside of the hospital – even if you don’t want us to. This is part of our job to keep you and others safe.

• Keeping your records safe

  Everyone working in our hospital understands that they need to keep your information safe. This is called keeping your information confidential or protecting your privacy. They have training every year to remind them of this.

  We tell them that they are only allowed to look at your  information  if  they  are  involved  in  your  care  or  to  help  us  run  our  hospital.

  They understand that they must keep any information safe, especially the information that identifies you; this might be your name or address and anything you come to see us about. We are not allowed to give any of this type of information to anyone who shouldn’t see it. This includes talking to them about it.

• We teach future doctors and nurses

  Students who are at university or college and want to work in a hospital sometimes spend time with us. This is so that we can teach them how to look after patients and their families. They are also told how to keep information we collect safe.

• Checking we are doing our best

  All hospitals are checked by organisations to make sure they are treating and caring for patients and families in the best way they can. The people who inspect us may ask to see a small number of health records. They check that notes are written clearly and are kept safe to ensure that we are recording and storing your information safely.

• Ensuring we use your information in the way we should

  We only collect and use your information in accordance with laws about protecting data. The ways in which we use your information have to be lawful: that means we must comply with the law.

  If you want further information, please visit the section Accessing Your Records and Exercising Your Rights. Alternatively,  email our Access to Health team at for information and the details required.

• How long do we keep the information for?

  All hospitals treating children must keep their information until the child’s 26th birthday. After this we will destroy it unless we feel it needs to be kept for your ongoing care or another reason.

  All patient records are retained and ultimately destroyed in accordance with what is called the NHS Records Retention Schedule, which sets out the length of time each type of record should be retained.

• If we have an incident or complaint

  Sometimes we need to use patient information to help us investigate incidents, complaints or legal claims.

• Am I able to see the information you collect about me?

  Yes! If you are in our hospital you may be able to see the records while you are with us. You or your family will need to ask your doctor or nurse first though as there may be things that we would need to explain to you such as abbreviations or medical words.

• Can I have a copy of my records?

  Yes. Your parent/ guardian will need to write to us (or they can email us) to tell us what they want to see. It may just be part of your record, your x-ray or a report. We will check they are who they say they are to make sure we are not sharing your information with anyone who shouldn’t see it. You may be able to request your health records yourself.

• If I think some of my information is wrong can I do anything about it?

  Yes. Your parent or guardian needs to contact the Access to Health Records team at  team telling them what it is that you think is wrong.

• What other rights do I have?

  You have a number of other rights in connection with your health records. Most of these are listed below. However, whether you are able to exercise these rights will depend on a number of factors. For more information on your rights, please contact [   ].

  • Right to be informed. Your right to be informed is met by providing this information and similar information when we see you
  • Right to erasure. You have the right to request that we delete information about you that we hold.
  • Right to restriction of processing. You have the right to request that we restrict how we use your information.
  • Right to object. You have the right to object to how we use your information.
  • Right to complain to the Information Commissioner. You have the right to complain to a body called the Information Commissioner’s Office if you are not happy with how we are using your information. The contact details for the Information Commissioner are: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow SK9 5AF.
• If I’m unhappy with the way you’ve used some of my information can I do anything?

  Yes. Let us know by emailing the Patient Experience and Complaint Team, telephone them on 01704 704958, or you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office using the details above.

• Keeping your information secure

  The Data Controller responsible for processing your information is: Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Southport and Formby District General Hospital, Town Lane, Kew, Southport, Merseyside, PR8 6PN.  Telephone 01704 547471.

  We have also appointed an individual called a Data Protection Officer to monitor how we comply with laws about the protection of your information.

  We hope this tells you what you need to know about the information we collect about you. If you want to know anything else please email us.

• Caldicott Guardian and Data Protection Officer

  The Caldicott Guardian and Data Protection Officer for the Trust are responsible for ensuring information about you is processed in a confidential, legal and appropriate manner.

  A Caldicott Guardian is a senior person responsible for protecting the confidentiality of people’s health and care information and making sure it is used properly. All NHS organisations and local authorities which provide social services must have a Caldicott Guardian. The Caldicott Guardian for the hospital is the Medical Director.

  Data Protection Officers (DPO) are responsible for overseeing how plans and policies about your information are treated and to make sure the hospital is obeying the new law.
  If you have any concerns about the use of your information you can contact these individuals:

  Data Protection Officer | IG@midmerseyda.nhs.uk
  Information Governance Team | IG@midmerseyda.nhs.uk