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Data Protection Notice

The following notice applies from 2 November 2023.

1. About NHS Ayrshire & Arran

NHS Ayrshire & Arran is a public organisation created in Scotland under section 2 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 (the 1978 Act). Our headquarters are:

Ayrshire and Arran NHS Board
Eglinton House,
Ailsa Hospital, 
Dalmellington Road,
Ayr
KA6 6AB

Main Switchboard: Telephone 01292 51360

As the ‘data controller’ for the personal data* we hold about you, NHS Ayrshire & Arran decides how your personal information is used/processed and what it is used/processed for.

The Board is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office as a data controller – Z8437002.

This data protection notice provides more details about this, together with information on how to get in touch with us if you need to know more.

* Personal data is information relating to a living person who can be identified from that data. Identification can be based on the information alone, or in conjunction with any other information. The processing of personal data is governed by the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) in conjunction with the Data Protection Act 2018.

2. About the personal information we use

We will only collect the personal data we need to provide you with relevant information, services and treatment. We use personal information on different groups of individuals including:

  • Patients and their legal representatives
  • Staff, volunteers, students and applicants
  • Contractors
  • Suppliers
  • Complainants, enquirers
  • Survey respondents
  • Professional experts and consultants
  • Individuals captured by CCTV

The personal information we use includes information that identifies you like your name, address, date of birth and postcode.

We also use more sensitive types of personal information (special category), including information about racial or ethnic origin; political opinions; religious or philosophical beliefs; trade union membership; genetic and biometric data, health; sex life or sexual orientation. 

The information we use can relate to personal and family details; education, training and employment details; financial details; lifestyle and social circumstances; goods and services; visual images; details held in the patient record; responses to surveys.

3. Our purposes for using personal information

Under the 1978 Act NHS Ayrshire & Arran has the statutory responsibility to provide or arrange for the provision of a range of healthcare, health improvement and health protection services. We are given these tasks so that we can help to promote the improvement of the physical and mental health of the people of Ayrshire and Arran and assist in operating a comprehensive and integrated national health service in Scotland.

We use personal information to enable us to:

  • provide healthcare services for patients (including reminding you of appointments)
  • data matching under the national fraud initiative
  • research and development
  • supporting and managing our employees
  • manage our accounts and records

We also employ the use of CCTV systems for crime prevention. 

4. Our legal basis for using personal information

NHS Ayrshire & Arran, as data controller, is required to have a legal basis when using personal information. When using personal information our legal basis is usually that its use is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest, or in the exercise of official authority vested in the data controller as per Article 6(1) (e) of the UK GDPR, and the task or function has a clear basis in law. The main laws relating to the provision of Health Care are:

  • The National Health Act 1978
  • The Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014
  • The Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011

In some situations, we may rely on a different legal basis; if we are relying on a different basis you will be informed and/or signposted to the relevant privacy notice.

Examples of when we may rely on a different legal basis to process your personal data are;

Where we have a specific legal obligation that requires the processing of personal data, the legal basis we are relying on is Article 6(1)(c) – processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject. This is where we disclose personal information to comply with a legal request (e.g. a court order).

Another example would be for compliance with a legal obligation to which NHS Ayrshire & Arran is subject to, for example under the Public Health etc (Scotland) Act 2008 we are required to notify Health Protection Scotland when someone contracts a specific disease.

When we are using more sensitive types of personal information, including health information, the legal basis would routinely rely on are:

On rare occasions we may rely on your explicit consent as our legal basis for using your personal information. When we do this, we will explain what it means, and the rights that are available to you. Where you have provided consent, we will make it clear to you that you have the right to withdraw your consent at any point.

You should be aware that we will continue to ask for your consent for other things like taking part in a drug trial, or when you are having an operation. This consent relates to your willingness to participate in a specific activity, or receive a particular service or treatment and is not linked to the lawful basis upon which we rely to process your personal data under data protection legislation. 

5. Who provides the personal information?

When you do not provide information directly to us, we receive it from other individuals and organisations involved in the delivery of health and social care services in Scotland. These include:

  • other NHS Boards
  • primary care contractors such as GPs, dentists, pharmacists and opticians,
  • other public bodies e.g. Local Authorities, regulators or law enforcement bodies
  • suppliers of goods and services.
  • a patient gives your contact details as an emergency contact or next of kin.

If it is not disproportionate or prejudicial, we’ll contact you to let you know we are processing your personal information. ​

 6. Sharing personal information with others

Depending on the situation, where necessary we will share appropriate, relevant and proportionate personal information in compliance with the law, with the following:

  • Our patients and their chosen representatives or carers
  • Staff
  • Primary care contractors such as GPs, dentists, pharmacists and opticians
  • Current, past and potential employers
  • Healthcare social and welfare organisations
  • Suppliers, service providers, legal representatives
  • Auditors and audit bodies
  • Educators and examining bodies
  • Research organisations
  • People making an enquiry or complaint
  • Financial organisations
  • Professional bodies
  • Trade Unions
  • Business associates
  • Police or other law enforcement agencies
  • Security organisations.
  • Central and local government.
  • Voluntary and charitable organisations.

7. Transferring personal information abroad

NHS Ayrshire & Arran do not routinely transfer any data outside of the UK, but when information is transferred outside the UK we will do so in full compliance with the NHS Scotland Information Security Policy. NHS Ayrshire & Arran will ensure that data is only transferred to countries where appropriate data protection safeguards are in place.

8. Retention periods of the information we hold

Within NHS Ayrshire & Arran we keep personal information as set out in the Scottish Government Records Management: HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE CODE OF PRACTICE (SCOTLAND) 2020. The Code of Practice sets out minimum retention periods for information, including personal information, held in different types of records including personal health records and administrative records. As directed by the Scottish Government in the Records Management Code of Practice, we maintain a retention schedule as part of our Records Management policy detailing the minimum retention period for the information and procedures for the safe disposal of personal information.

9. How we protect personal information

We take care to ensure your personal information is only accessible to authorised people. Our staff have a legal and contractual duty to keep personal health information secure, and confidential. The following security measures are in place to protect personal information:

  • All staff undertake mandatory training in Data Protection and IT Security
  • Compliance with NHS Scotland Information Security Policy
  • Organisational policy and procedures on the safe handling of personal information
  • Access controls and audits of electronic systems

10. Your rights

This section contains a description of your data protection rights within NHS Ayrshire & Arran. The lawful basis for processing/using your personal data directly impacts which rights are available to you, depending on the legal basis being applied some rights will not apply.

The right to be informed

NHS Ayrshire & Arran must explain how we use your personal information. We use a number of ways to communicate how personal information is used, including:

  • This Data Protection Notice
  • Information leaflets
  • Discussions with staff providing your care

The right of access

You have the right to access your own personal information.

This right includes making you aware of what information we hold along with the opportunity to satisfy you that we are using your information fairly and legally.

You have the right to obtain:

  • Confirmation that your personal information is being held or used by us
  • Access to your personal information
  • Additional information about how we use your personal information

Although we must provide this information free of charge, if your request is considered unfounded or excessive, or if you request the same information more than once, we may charge a reasonable fee.

To access your health record you can make a request in writing to either, depending on where you received your treatment:

Medico-Legal Administrative Services
University Hospital Ayr,
Dalmellington Road,
Ayr
KA6 6DX
Telephone: 01292 616452

or

Medico-Legal Administrative Services
University Hospital Crosshouse,
Crosshouse,
Kilmarnock 
KA2 0BE
Telephone: 01563 827076

Alternatively you can email: SubjectAccessRequest@aapct.scot.nhs.uk

For access to any other personal information held about you please contact:

Information Governance
14 Lister Street
Crosshouse Hospital
KA2 0BE
Telephone: 01563 826813 or 825897
Email: InformationGovernance@aapct.scot.nhs.uk

If you would like to access your own personal information contained within your employee record and/or other associated employee information, you can do this by contacting:

Department of Organisation and HR Development
Mark Hogarth, Human Resources Manager
64 Lister Street,
University Hospital Crosshouse,
Kilmarnock,
KA2 0BE
Telephone: 01563 825954 / 07825 227915
Email: mark.hogarth@aaaht.scot.nhs.uk

Please note, emails from your private email address may not be secure. 

Once we have received your request and you have provided us with enough information for us to locate your personal information, we will respond to your request without delay, within one month (30 days). However, if your request is complex, we may take longer, by up to two months, to respond. If this is the case, we will tell you and explain the reason for the delay.

The right to rectification

If the personal information we hold about you is inaccurate or incomplete you have the right to have this corrected.

If it is agreed that your personal information is inaccurate or incomplete, we will aim to amend your records accordingly, normally within one month, or within two months where the request is complex.  However, we will contact you as quickly as possible to explain this further if the need to extend our timescales applies to your request.  Unless there is a risk to patient safety, we can restrict access to your records to ensure that the inaccurate or incomplete information is not used until amended.

If for any reason we have shared your information with anyone else, perhaps during a referral to another service for example, we will notify them of the changes required so that we can ensure their records are accurate. 

If on consideration of your request NHS Ayrshire & Arran does not consider the personal information to be inaccurate then we may add a comment to your record stating your concerns about the information. If this is case, we will contact you within one month to explain our reasons for this.

If you are unhappy about how NHS Ayrshire & Arran has responded to your request for rectification, we will provide you with information on how you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, or how to take legal action.

The right to object

When NHS Ayrshire & Arran is processing your personal information for the purpose of the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority you have the right to object to the processing and also seek that further processing of your personal information is restricted. Provided NHS Ayrshire & Arran can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for processing your personal information, for instance; patient safety or for evidence to support legal claims, your right will not be upheld.  

Rights in relation to automated decision-making and profiling

NHS Ayrshire & Arran do not currently make any decision based solely on automated processing or profiling.

Other rights

There are other rights under current Data Protection Law however these rights only apply in certain circumstances. For further information on these rights, please visit ico.org.uk/for-the-public.

The right to complain

NHS Ayrshire & Arran employ a Data Protection Officer to check that we handle personal information in a way that meets data protection law.  If you are unhappy with the way in which we use your personal information, please tell our Data Protection Officer using the contact details below.

Head of Information Governance & DPO,
14 Lister Street
Crosshouse Hospital
Tel: 01563 8(26813) or 01563 8(25897)
Email: InformationGovernance@aapct.scot.nhs.uk

Please see the NHS Scotland policy on how we handle your personal health information.

Please note emails from your private email address may not be secure.

You also have the right to complain about how we use your personal information to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).  Details about this are on their website at https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/how-to-make-a-data-protection-complaint/.  You also have the right to seek independent judicial remedy through the courts.

11. Translation Service/ Accessibility (if applicable)

All of our publications are available in different languages, larger print, braille (English only), audio tape or another format of your choice.

Contact to discuss your requirements:

Information Governance
14 Lister Street
Crosshouse Hospital
KA2 0BE
Tel: 01563 8(26813) or 8(25897)
InformationGovernance@aapct.scot.nhs.uk

12. Research & Innovation

NHS Ayrshire & Arran is a research active organisation. We work closely with other health and social care organisations, academic partners and industry to review, inform and improve health, care and services through research. As a publically funded organisation, the research and innovation undertaken in NHS Ayrshire & Arran must be in the public interest and necessary for scientific research.

We may use information contained in clinical records for research on health conditions, treatments and care, to audit our services against agreed standards and to help develop and improve our services.

When we do this, there are processes in place to make sure that patient confidentiality and security issues are considered appropriately. Uses of patient information for research and development are always in the public interest and subject to strict transparency, proportionality, minimisation and anonymisation principles, in line with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) guidance.

Some research and innovation may process personal information without patient consent. In Scotland, the Public Benefit and Privacy Panel may review the legal basis, transparency and safeguards required for this to be approved.

For individual Health Boards, approval for participation in national research and development work or work within the Health Board itself is approved by the Board’s Caldicott Guardian, a senior person responsible for protecting the confidentiality of patient’s health and care information and making sure it is used properly.

Research can include the provision of data, including identifiable data, to national registries for long-term analysis of trends in particular conditions for the benefit of everyone. It can also include the aggregation (bringing together) of data from different parts of the health and social care system. However, the outputs of research are always anonymous, are not used to make decisions about you personally and safeguards will be put in place to help ensure the use of your data will never be harmful to you.

Health Boards may also take part in clinical trials however your consent will always be obtained in order for you to take part in a clinical trial. Once the information is used as part of the research study, your rights to access, change or move information may not apply because the integrity, reliability and accuracy of the research could be affected. If you withdraw from a study it may not be possible to remove information about you that has already been obtained.

The legal basis for carrying out Research and Development work with patient information is UKGDPR Article 6(1)(e) and UKGDPR Article 9(2)(j) in accordance with Schedule 1 Part 1 Paragraph 4 of the Data Protection Act 2018.