North West Boroughs Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is committed to protecting the privacy of all individuals using our website in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018. You can access our homepage and browse our website without disclosing personal data.  Please see the Trust's Privacy Notices for further information.

Information, including personal and sensitive details, is essential for us to provide effective healthcare. We sometimes need to collect, store and share this information, but must always respect an individual's right to privacy and to be informed about how the information will be used. 

The current Data Protection legislation – the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – was introduced in May 2018. The new legislation strengthens the previous legislation that had been in place for 20 years and brings it in line with modern society and technology. It aims to achieve a balance between the rights of individuals and the interests of those with legitimate reasons for using personal information. The act applies to all types of personal information, whether held on a computer system, other electronic media or paper records, and includes both facts and opinions about the individual.

The legislation places legal obligations on those who collect, store and share information (data controllers), and gives rights to those who are the subject of that information (data subjects).

To explain how we use information and comply with the legislation, we have produced a privacy notice for patients and staff. You can also view a visual, easy-read version of the guide:

• How we use your information - patient privacy notice 
  

• How we use your information - patient privacy notice (easy read version)
  

• How we use your information - staff privacy notice
  

• How we use your information - occupational health privacy notice
  
• How we use your informatoin - foundation trust privacy notice
  

To learn more about the legislation, visit the Information Commissioner's Office website. The full Data Protection Act is available on the Government's legislation website.

North West Boroughs Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office as a data controller (Registration Number: Z8591053).

The Trust's Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO) is Gail Briers, our Chief Nurse and Deputy Chief Executive. The SIRO has executive responsibility for the management of information risks and incidents and the protection and secure handling of all information within the Trust.