The following privacy notice applies to Adult Care, Housing, Public Health and NHS.
This includes Locality Case Management, Single Point of Access, Social Work Team Reablement, Providers Services and Adult Safeguarding, including Vulnerable Adult Team, Housing, Public Health and the National Health Service (NHS).
The Care Act (2014) places a duty on us to work closely with Health colleagues to ensure the best level of care is delivered to our citizens. To be able to do this we need to collect and share information.
Controlling and Processing Personal Data
Personal identifiable information of service users and carer/family is collected, processed and controlled by the Council's Adult Care, Housing and Public Health directorate.
The types of personal data which are collected include:
- Name, address, date of birth and contact details
- Ethnicity
- Referral, assessment and case information
- NHS number
- Relationships information
- Health information (such as long-term conditions, disabilities, diagnoses)
- Referral/assessment information
- Mental Capacity information
- Relationships information, including private and professional (for example other organisations and agencies involved in providing support)
- Financial information
- Next of Kin information
- Risks
Adult Care also holds sensitive data, including:
- Safeguarding and information about risk
- Data relating to criminal conviction and offences
All data above is treated confidentially and is kept secure. Access to your data is strictly controlled and sensitive data is held in a restricted way. The Council's IT Security and Confidentiality Policies ensure that your information is protected and involved to those that are directly involved in providing your care and support.
Other Data Controllers and Processors
Adult Care, Housing and Public Health shares data with a number of organisations and agencies that control and process data in order to provide a service. The agencies we might share the information with include:
- The Rotherham Foundation Trust
- Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Healthcare Trust
- City, District and Borough Councils
- Department of Work and Pensions
- Police
- Children and Family Services
- Education providers
- Commissioned Adult Care providers
- Direct Payment Support Services
- Courts
- West Yorkshire Financial Abuse and Exploitation Team [WYFEAT], part of West Yorkshire Trading Standards [WYTS]
- Cabinet Office
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG)
Some data collected by these organisations is mandatory, such as your NHS Number.
Data is shared with organisations and agencies verbally, via face to face and telephone communication and written correspondence, including secure email.
Information is shared on a need to know basis and will be shared only to health and social care professionals that are directly involved in your care and support. Sharing the data will enable such professionals to access up to date, relevant information about you, to provide you with the care and support you need.
Use of your NHS Number in Adult Care
If you are receiving support from Adult Care, then the NHS may share your NHS number with Adult Care. This is so that the NHS and adult care are using the same number to identify you whilst providing your care. By using the same number the NHS and Adult Care can work together more closely to improve your care and support.
Your NHS number is accessed through an NHS service called the Personal Demographic Service (PDS). Adult Care sends your basic information such as your name, address and date of birth to the PDS in order to find your NHS Number. Once your NHS number is retrieved from the PDS, it is stored in the Council's Adult Care Case Management System.
The NHS number has two uses as follows:
- It is a unique identifier which enables adult care information to be displayed in the Council's Adult Care Case Management System for the provision of direct care and support, provided by in-house or independent providers.
- It is used in an integrated care record system across a number of support services, including GPs, Hospitals, Community Matrons, District Nurses and Social Care Practitioners.
Benefits of Sharing Data
Sharing data across health and social care brings many benefits. A particular example is supporting hospital discharges by avoiding delays which can occur because details of social care involvement are not readily available to staff on the hospital ward. The hospital does not know who to contact to discuss the ongoing care that you may require.
The linking of social care and health information via the NHS Number will help hospital staff members to quickly identify if social care support is already in place and who the most appropriate contact is. Ongoing care can be planned earlier in the process, because hospital staff will know who to talk to.
The addition of the NHS Number to social care data will bring additional benefits, including:
- Better coordinated and safer care across health and social care enabled through the sharing of real-time information
- Better coordinated discharges from hospital into social care
- More time to spend on planning and coordinating social care because health staff can identify and involve social care staff earlier in the process
- Earlier intervention to maximise the opportunities of reablement services, leading to greater independence for you
- Less paperwork and more efficient use of social care resources.
Data is retained in the Adult Care Case Management System in line with the Council's data retention policies.
Download our data retention schedule
Opt-out
You have the right to object to the processing of your NHS Number in this way. This will not stop you from receiving care, but will result in the benefits outlined above not being realised. To help you decide, the Council will discuss with you how this may affect its ability to provide you with the care and support you need and any other options you have.
If you wish to opt-out from the use of your NHS Number for social care purposes, please talk with your social worker, by contacting Single Point of Access on 01709 822330 or via email or visiting our Main Reception at
Riverside House, Main Street, Rotherham S60 1AENext Steps Evaluation
The Next Steps evaluation privacy notice and leaflet can be downloaded here.