Connected Care (Berkshire)

The request was successful.

Dear West Berkshire Council,

I would like to make a request under the FOI Act.

For the purposes of the Act, please take the date of your receipt of this request as 9th March 2016.

I am interested in the relationship between your organisation and the Connected Care clinical data repository (Graphnet 3rd party database), which I will refer to as "CC" in this FOI request, and as mentioned in this article:
http://www.digitalhealth.net/shared_care...

I wondered if you were one of the "6 local authorities" mentioned in that report.

• Please could you tell me whether your organisation is already extracting and uploading personal confidential data about patients/clients to the CC database?

• If not commenced already, do you have plans to commence feeds into the CC database at anytime between now and 31st March 2017?

If the answer to both of the above is no, then thank you very much, ignore the remainder of this request, and please consider my request closed.

However, if your organisation is already uploading, or is planning to before March 31st 2017, then please can you provide me with the following:

• Any and all fair processing information (posters/leaflets/handouts) made available, or planning to be made available, to patients/clients informing them of this new use of their data

• Any and all policies on the implementation of CC feeds by your organisation

• The types/nature of information that you are, or will be, extracting and uploading to the CC database

I am aware of the opt-out arrangements available at contributing GP surgeries. However, I am interested in how patients can (or if they cannot) prohibit your organisation from extracting and uploading information to the CC database in the first place (processing of their data which would have no purpose or justification if they have already opted-out at their GP surgery).

• Please could you tell me process available to patients to express dissent to *you*, for this type of processing of their data, and so block extraction uploading of all their personal confidential data to the CC database by your organisation (in line with the DPA and NHS Constitution)

• Please could you tell me whether the data controller for the CC database informs you when patients have opted out of having a CC record (e.g. having opted out at their GP surgery), which would in theory allow you to switch of the feed to the CC database for that patient's information

I would be grateful if you would be kind enough to send me the requested information promptly and in any event not later than the twentieth working day following the date of receipt of my request.

I would be grateful if you would kindly acknowledge receipt of this request as recommended by the ICO (“It would be good practice to acknowledge receipt of requests and to refer to the 20 working day time limit, so that applicants know their request is being dealt with”).

Thank you once again.

Kind regards,

Dr Neil Bhatia

foi, West Berkshire Council

FoI/2016/250

 

Dear Mr Bhatia

 

Request for information: Connected Care (Berkshire)

 

Thank you for your request received 09.03.2016; we will seek to respond
within twenty working days.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Jayne Mann   

Appeals Officer

Strategic Support, West Berkshire Council, Council Offices, Market Street,
Newbury, RG14 5LD

(01635) 519458 | Ext 2458 | [email address]

 

PLEASE NOTE:- MY EMAIL ADDRESS HAS CHANGED TO: [email address]

 

 

 

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foi, West Berkshire Council

FoI/2016/250

 

Dear Dr Bhatia,

 

Request for information: Connected Care (Berkshire)

 

Please see below the Council’s response to your request for information.

    

     • Please could you tell me whether your organisation is already
extracting and uploading personal confidential data about patients/clients
to the CC database?

No

    

     • If not commenced already, do you have plans to commence feeds into
the CC database at anytime between now and 31st March 2017?

Plans are being drawn up by the connected care project team but the
Council is unlikely to be feeding into the database before 31 Mar 2017

    

     • Any and all fair processing information(posters/leaflets/handouts)
made available, or planning to be made available, to patients/clients
informing them of this new use of their data.

This is being organised centrally by the Connected Care Project Team

    

     • Any and all policies on the implementation of CC feeds by your
organisation

These documents are being developed but are not yet published, as they are
still in draft form and require approval.

All documentation will be ‘signed-off’ by each individual contributing
organisation before publication, having been reviewed by the relevant
project group/board (e.g the IG Steering Group).

 

     • The types/nature of information that you are, or will be,
extracting and uploading to the CC database

 This has not yet been agreed and is only at the initial phase of
discussion. Therefore, we cannot respond to this question.

 

 I am aware of the opt-out arrangements available at contributing GP
surgeries. However, I am interested in how patients can (or if they
cannot) prohibit your organisation from extracting and uploading
information to the CC database in the first place (processing of their
data which would have no purpose or justification if they have already
opted-out at their GP surgery).

This is part of the consent model – which is not finalised. Therefore your
will need to re-direct this question to the NHS Connected care Project
team.

    

     • Please could you tell me process available to patients to express
dissent to *you*, for this type of processing of their data, and so block
extraction uploading of all their personal confidential data to the CC
database by your organisation (in line with the DPA and NHS Constitution)

Please see the answer above to previous question

    

     • Please could you tell me whether the data controller for the CC
database informs you when patients have opted out of having a CC record
(e.g. having opted out at their GP surgery), which would in theory allow
you to switch of the feed to the CC database for that patient's
information

Please see the answer above to previous question

 

If you are unhappy with the way your request has been handled, you may ask
for an internal review. You should contact David Lowe, Scrutiny &
Partnerships Manager, Strategic Support, Council Offices, Market Street,
Newbury RG14 5LD, email [1][email address]  if you wish to
request a review. If you are not content with the outcome of the internal
review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information
Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted
at:

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

 

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Suzi Kenchington 

Information Support Officer

Strategic Support,

West Berkshire Council, Council Offices, Market Street, Newbury, RG14 5LD

email:  [2][email address]

' 01635 519860 (external)      '  2860 (internal)      

P Do you really need to print this email?

 

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Dr Neil Bhatia left an annotation ()

More information about NHS data sharing, including:

• care.data
• The Summary Care Record,
• The Hampshire Health Record
• The Berkshire Health Record (Connected Care)
• The Manchester Care Record
• The Stockport Health and Care Record
• The Salford Integrated Record
• The West Cheshire Care Record
• The North Staffs and Stoke-on-Trent Shared Record
• The Dorset Care Record
• Secondary uses of your information
• Local data streaming initiatives

can be found at:

www.nhsdatasharing.info