COVID-19 and your information – for staff

 

Introduction

 

This privacy notice is to make it easier to understand and provide you with more information about how the Trust may seek to collect and hold information about you in relation to the unprecedented challenges we are all facing during the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). The Trust may seek to collect and process your personal data in response to the recent outbreak of Coronavirus, which is above and beyond what would ordinarily be collected from our staff and their dependents, to ensure their safety and well-being. Such information will be limited to what is proportionate and necessary, considering the latest guidance issued by the Government and health professionals, in order to manage and contain the virus. It will enable us to effectively fulfil our functions to keep people safe, put contingency plans into place to safeguard those who are vulnerable and aid business continuity. Where the information is to be used to make organisational decisions, steps will be taken to anonymise the data wherever possible.


 

 

The Trust is required to share the outcomes of COVID-19 tests to allow for greater understanding of COVID-19 and risks to public health, trends in COVID-19 and such risks, and controlling and preventing the spread of COVID-19 and such risks.

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Recipients of your data may include:


Public Health England

NHS England and NHS Improvement

NHS Digital

Your GP


For use of your personal information, the Trust is reliant upon the following legal basis:

GDPR Article 6 1(e) processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.

Regulation 3(1) of COPI (Control of Patient Information) Regulations 2002 Notice to support the Secretary of State’s response to COVID-19 (COVID-19 purpose)


For use of "special category information" (e.g. information regarding your health) the Trust is reliant upon the following legal bases:

GDPR Article 9 2(h) processing is necessary for purposes of occupational medicine, and

GDPR Article 9(2)(i) processing is necessary for reasons of public interest in the area of public health and

GDPR Article 9 2(g) processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest, on the basis of Union or Member State law which shall be proportionate to the aim pursued, respect the essence of the right to data protection and provide for suitable and specific measures to safeguard the fundamental rights and the interests of the data subject.


Data Protection Act 2018 – Schedule 1, Part 1, (2) (2) (f) – Health or social care purposes

Existing law which allows confidential patient information to be used and shared appropriately and lawfully in a public health emergency is being used during this outbreak. Using this law the Secretary of State has required NHS Digital; NHS England and Improvement; Arm’s Length Bodies (such as Public Health England); local authorities; health organisations and GPs to share confidential patient information to respond to the Covid-19 outbreak.


Your information will be retained in line with the Records Management Code of Practice for Health and Social Care 2016. Any information used or shared during the Covid-19 outbreak will be limited to the period of the outbreak unless there is another or continued legal basis to use the data.


 

Carrying out an asymptomatic Lateral Flow Test may confirm whether you currently have Coronavirus. This is so that you can:



We currently use PCR swab testing for confirmation of symptomatic cases.


Both Lateral flow and PCR tests could be used in an outbreak management situation.


What data is collected?

 

If you take the test, we are required under The Health Protection (Notification) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020/117 Regulations to notify Public Health England of the results of all diagnostic Covid-19 tests for the purposes of understanding COVID-19 and risks to public health, trends in COVID-19 and such risks, and controlling and preventing the spread of COVID-19 and such risks. This will include:

Why is this data collected?

 

Data is collected for the following purposes:



Where possible, your test result will be linked to your GP record. This will be done by NHS Digital, who will be acting jointly as Data Controllers with the Department of Health & Social Care. This will enable your GP to be informed of your test result without you needing to do anything. 

 

We will also be required to share personal information with health and care organisations and other bodies engaged in disease surveillance for the purposes of protecting public health, providing healthcare services to the public and monitoring and managing the outbreak and or the purposes of the National Flu Vaccination Programme,


Covid Vaccination bookings - NHS England has put in place a centralised service system to book appointments and automatically send letters to groups of people selected because of health condition or age. NHS employers are required to share vaccination status of staff and sufficient personal data to support central monitoring of flu vaccination uptake and the administration of the Covid-19 vaccination.


Data to support the booking of vaccinations at BHT Hospital Hubs is collected on the PathEKS portal which is administered by East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust as data processors. All the data held in the platform is subject to strict controls that meet the requirements of data protection legislation.


The welfare and safety of all our employees is our main priority as an employer and the Trust has a duty of care to ensure the health, welfare and safety of all staff. To achieve this, managers will carry out risk assessments for their staff, and the risk assessment will be stored securely and confidentially by your manager. Information from this risk assessment will also be stored securely by Occupational Health.