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Privacy statement

Thank you for taking part in research for the research team at NHS England.

Introduction

This privacy statement relates to services provided by NHS England.

This is a privacy statement for the research team at NHS England. It is for use by patients, patient representatives and NHS staff members that have opted in to user research activities and/or agreed to be part of our user research panel.

As a research panel member, you will have the opportunity to take part in online surveys, one-to-one interviews, web usability tests and discussion groups. We may follow up with you to ask about how your experience using NHS services.

The research team at NHS England understands your needs as an individual to ensure that your data is being used and held in a responsible way and we aim to reassure you that every reasonable step is being taken to secure your personal information.

Please ensure that you read this statement carefully and contact the research team at NHS England team at ucd@nhs.net if you have any questions or concerns relating to this privacy statement.

This privacy statement explains the following:

  • who we are
  • what information we collect
  • how we use your information
  • what legal basis we have for processing your personal data
  • when we share your personal data
  • where we store and process personal data
  • how we secure personal data
  • how long we keep personal data for
  • your rights in relation to personal data
  • how to contact us
  • how to make a complaint

Who we are

The research team is a programme service at NHS England.

Data protection officers (DPOs) can help you in regards to how we use your data.

The Data Protection Officer for NHS England can be contacted at: england.dpo@nhs.net

What information do we collect?

When you complete the research team at NHS England patient surveys, we collect your IP address/Location.

As part of the survey, we may also ask you questions about:

  • your age
  • your gender
  • the area of the country you live in
  • disabilities or long-term impairments
  • assistive equipment you use with your device

You may be asked to become a member of our patient user research panel which means we may contact you in the future to take part in further user research activities. If you choose to participate in our patient user research panel, we will collect further information, including:

  • your name
  • your email address
  • a contact telephone number

How we use your information

We use your information so that the research team at NHS England can improve our services. We use the data we collect to:

  • inform developments to our products,
  • understand how different groups of patient experience NHS services,
  • gain knowledge of NHS services are managed by NHS organisation types in different locations (for example, hospitals, GP surgeries, Clinical Commissioning Groups),
  • help improve the user experience of the services we provide.

Legal basis for processing your data

Under General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation, the legal basis for us processing your data is public task. This means that we process your data in the public interest and benefit.

In this case, it is for research purposes to assist the continued improvement of NHS systems.

When we share your personal data

For members of the patient user research panel, we may request to share your details with other research teams within NHS England, if we feel that you would be a suitable candidate for their user research. Details would only be shared with authorised members of the NHS England research team, but only with your permission.

We won't share your information with any other organisations for marketing, research or commercial purposes. We will not pass on your information to any organisation outside of NHS England.

We will not identify you personally in any findings or reports.

The results of the surveys may be published by NHS England to improve NHS services. Published results will remain anonymous - nobody will be able to identify you in any results.

Where we store and process personal data

We store your data on servers in the UK. Currently there are no plans for this to change.

How we secure personal data

We take the security of your personal information seriously. We have set up security measures, policies, and procedures such as:

  • all our survey data is stored securely in line with the General Data Protection Regulations,
  • only allowing access to survey data to specific NHS England staff,
  • compulsory information governance training completed every year for all NHS England staff members and contractors.

While in transit, the information you share with us by completing a survey is done so using a secure, encrypted HTTPS connection. We have procedures in place to keep your information secure once we have it.

However, no software or application can be completely secure, and we are unable to guarantee the security of your information it is transferred. If you have any concerns that your information could have been compromised, please contact ucd@nhs.net

How long we keep personal data for

We store personal data from our surveys for a maximum of two years after the project is completed, after this time it will be deleted.

If you wish to have your data omitted, restricted, erased, rectified or if you wish to have a copy of your responses from the results of a survey then please contact the named individual listed in your initial survey invitation.

Your rights in relation to personal data

We respect your rights to access and control the personal data that we hold about you, as required by Data Protection Legislation. This includes:

  • right to be informed
  • right to get access to it
  • right to rectify or change it
  • right to restrict or stop processing it

You can exercise these rights at any time by emailing the NHS England user research team on ucd@nhs.net. Any requests for information will be acknowledged within one working day.

If you are part of a patient user panel and no longer wish to take part, you can withdraw your information by contacting us on ucd@nhs.net. You do not have to provide a reason to withdraw.

How to contact us

If you have any questions or concerns about this privacy statement or the way in which we process your data, please contact us on ucd@nhs.net.

To know how your data will be collected, processed, and stored, and for what purposes, you can contact our Data Protection Office:

By email:
enquiries@nhsdigital.nhs.uk

By post:
Information Governance Compliance Team
NHS England
7 Wellington Place
Whitehall Road
Leeds
LS1 4AP

How to make a complaint

We ask that you try to resolve any issues with us first, although you have a right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at any time about our processing of your personal information.

If you wish to make a complaint about how we have managed your data, contact details for the Regulator are provided below:

The ICO is the UK regulator for data protection and upholds information rights. Contact the ICO

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
WSK9 5AF
https://ico.org.uk