Privacy, confidentiality and information sharing

Mindworks Surrey is the Emotional Well-being and Mental Health (‘EWMH’) service which aims to support children and young people’s emotional wellbeing and mental health in Surrey. It is delivered by an alliance of organisations of which Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is the lead organisation in the alliance

Established on 1st April 2021, the service is delivered by Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust as the main contractor, in partnership with a consortium of other health and social care providers and third-sector agencies. 

Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust; Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust; Barnardo’s; The National Autistic Society; Learning Space Dorking and Surrey Wellbeing Partnership. 

It’s so we can provide you with the best possible care. But to do this, we need to keep and update your records and the care we provide for you. 

Your records may be on paper, but usually, they will be held online. 

Only the people who are helping and supporting you, as part of your health and care will see or update your records. 

This may be your doctor, carer, or the health worker that you see; this can include mental health social workers and some administrative staff. But we are all trained to make sure your records are updated accurately, and all take our legal duty seriously so your privacy is protected. 

Sometimes, to make sure you get the best care from us, we work with teams from other health and care organisations. They may be voluntary charities, other health providers, or the local council/Police. Remember, we will only share what is needed for your care. Under the law, there may be times when we must share information but are not required to seek your consent. Such as:

• If there is a concern you are putting yourself, or another person (or child) at risk of serious harm.
•  Where we have been instructed to do so by the Court or part of the investigation of a serious crime.
• If you are subject to the Mental Health Act (1983), there are cases where your ‘nearest relative’ must receive information, even if you object.
• For public health reasons or other legal reasons, we have to notify the relevant authorities e.g., certain infectious diseases.

Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, as the lead organisation within Mindworks Surrey, have a public duty under the law to care for the people who use services and their personal health data.

• We work strictly within the guidelines set out by data protection legislation and the NHS, such as the NHS Caldicott Principles.
• If any of our healthcare partners are not in the UK, we will tell you.
• We will not share or sell your health records for marketing purposes or share them with third parties.

We have health records so we (and you) can see what is happening as part of your health and care support. Your records also help us to:

• Check and monitor the quality of the care we are providing you.
• If we do make an error, your records will show where we went wrong so we can learn from it.
• It also helps us to plan for the future and make sure we get the right staff in the right areas to give you the support and care you will need. 

The legal basis for the processing of personal data is that the NHS is an official authority with a public duty to care for its patients, as guided by the Department of Health and data protection law. The legislation says it is appropriate to do so for the health and social care treatment of patients, and the management of health or social care systems and services. Where we use your personal information for other reasons beyond those stated, we will discuss it with you with details available on our website.

We only record the key items for your health care, this will include details about you, such as:

• Your NHS number
• Your name and address
• When you were born
• Notes on care, treatment, and, support you are getting or had, as a patient, appointment, or visit (such as from a carer). And who you have told us we can contact, in the event of an emergency.

We only keep your details for as long as necessary, which is set out under NHS guidelines: ‘Records Management Code of Practice for Health and Social Care 2016’. A copy may be downloaded from the Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust website.

You have a right to see all the records we hold about you (paper and digital), unless:

• It has been provided by someone else and we don’t have their permission to share it. 
• It relates to criminal offences or the detection/prevention of crime.
• It could cause harm (physical or mental harm) to you or someone else.

Under current data protection legislation, you have rights regarding your data: 

• The right to be informed 
• The right of access 
• The right to rectification 
• The right to erasure 
• The right to object 
• The right to data portability 
• The right to restrict processing 
• Rights about automated decision-making and profiling

Further details about your data rights are available from the Information Commission’s Office or our website (search for ‘Data rights’) 

If you would like further information on how we use the information we keep about you, please ask your care coordinator.

For details on accessing your records, please refer to our Access to Health Records Guidance and Application Form which may be accessed by:

• Email records.team@sabp.nhs.uk 
• Call 01372 216265
• Visit the Surrey and Borders Partnership website

Our Data Protection Officer Louis Lay can be contacted at dpo@sabp.nhs.uk.

If you are still not satisfied with the outcome you can write to:

• Telephone 0303 123 1113
• Visit The Information Commissioner's website

Please follow this link for detailed information about confidentiality, data protection, information holding, and sharing.