Privacy Notice for Children and Young People
This notice explains what happens to the information that Macclesfield Hospital collects about you whenever you come to see us at the hospital.
If you need help in understanding anything in the notice, you can ask a grown-up whom you trust to go through it with you.
What do we collect?
We collect personal information about you such as:
▪ Your name and address
▪ Your birthday and the year you were born
▪ Why you are coming to see us at the hospital
▪ The name of the person who usually brings you to your appointments
▪ Your doctor (General Practitioner or GP)
▪ Any information that you or your family or your doctor has given us about you
▪ What we do to care for you
Why do we collect your personal information?
The hospital’s main purpose is to provide health care to everybody, including children.
We collect the information we need to care for you in the best way.
We ask for your address so that we know where to contact you.
We ask for your date of birth as your age may be important to your care.
Every time you come to see us or stay in hospital, we will write down what you tell us, what we tell you, the medicines we give you or exercises we ask you to do.
This is so that we can look back at what we have done for you to make sure we are treating you in the best way.
What do we do with your personal information?
We keep the information we collect on paper and on a computer and this makes up what we call your health record or your case notes.
When you first come to see us, your health record will be given a number.
Everyone’s health record number will be different.
Anyone involved in caring for you at Macclesfield Hospital can see what has been collected.
This is so we can all make the right decisions about your care with all the information you have given us.
Can we share your personal information?
We will share the information we record about you with your doctor.
This is how your doctor is kept up to date about what we are doing for you.
Your parents/guardians should get a copy of any letters we send to your doctor about your care.
We might share it with other health professionals involved in your care.
We might share it with your school. If you have a social worker we will share it with them too.
If you tell us something that makes us worry about your safety or the safety of someone else you know, we might have to share it with other people outside the hospital – even if you don’t want us to.
This is part of our job to keep you and others safe.
Keeping your records safe
Everyone working in our hospital understands that they need to keep your information safe.
This is called keeping your information confidential or protecting your privacy.
Our staff have training every year to remind them how important it is to keep your information private.
We tell our staff that they are only allowed to look at your records if they are involved in your care or to help us run the hospital.
They understand that they must keep any information safe, especially any information that identifies you, like your name or address and why you come to see us.
We are not allowed to give this sort of information to anyone who shouldn’t see it or to talk to them about it.
Student doctors and nurses
Students at universities or colleges who want to work in hospitals sometimes spend time with us.
This is how we teach them how to look after our patients and their families.
They are also told how to keep information safe.
Checking we are doing our best
All hospitals are inspected to make sure they are treating and caring for patients and families in the best way they can.
The people who inspect us may ask to see a small number of our health records.
They make sure that notes are written clearly and that we are storing your information safely.
How long do we keep your personal information for?
All hospitals treating children must keep their information until the child’s 25th birthday.
It will be destroyed after that unless we feel it needs to be kept for your ongoing care or any other reason.
Incidents and complaints
Sometimes we need to use patient information to help us investigate incidents, complaints or legal claims.
You and your parents or guardians will be told if we need to use information for this reason.
Can I see the information you collect about me?
Yes, you can.
If you are in our hospital you may be able to see the records while you are with us.
You or your parent or guardian would need to ask your doctor or nurse first because there may be abbreviations or medical words which we need to explain to you.
Can I have a copy of my records?
Yes, you can.
Your parent or guardian would need to tell us what you or they want to see.
It may be the whole of your records, or just part of it, for example, an x-ray or a report.
They can telephone us, write to us, or send us an email.
We will make sure we are sharing the information with your family and not with anyone who shouldn’t see it.
You may be able to request your health records yourself.
Can I do anything if I think some of my information is wrong?
Yes, you can.
Your parent or guardian needs to contact the Information Governance department at the hospital to tell them what you think is wrong.
Can I do anything if I’m unhappy about the way you’ve used my information?
Yes, you can.
Let us know by emailing the Information Governance department or you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) by telephone at 0303 123 1113 or look on the website at https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/ for other information or ways to contact the ICO.
Caldicott Guardian and Data Protection Officer
The Caldicott Guardian and Data Protection Officer make sure that information about you is used confidentially and kept safe.
You can contact the Caldicott Guardian at ecn-tr.caldicottguardian@nhs.net and the Data Protection Officer at ecntr.dataprotection@nhs.net.
We hope we have explained everything you need to know about the information we collect about you.
If there is anything else you want to know, please email us at ecntr.informationgovernance@nhs.net.
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