Privacy notice: Adult Social Care and Commissioning

1. Introduction

This Privacy Notice explains types of personal information we may collect about you when you interact with us. It also explains how we will store and handle that information, as well as keep it safe and secure.

We will keep our privacy notice under regular review and will advise you of any updates on our website.

This Notice was last reviewed in June 2019.

2. Who we are

For the purposes of Data Protection legislation, South Tyneside Council is the Data Controller.

3. What type of personal information do we collect?

We may collect the following types of personal information:

Name
Address
Telephone number
Email address
National Insurance number
NHS Number
Date of Birth
Sex
Ethnicity
Religion
Health conditions - physical, mental health or learning disability
Employment
Contact details about family members

The information we collect about you would include, but is not limited to:

Name
Date of birth
NHS number
Address
Ethnicity
Next of kin
Contact details (phone/mobile/email)
Physical or mental health condition

We may ask you further details where required and appropriate:

Religious or other similar beliefs
National Insurance number
Language
Gender
Accommodation status
Nationality
Sexual orientation
Marital status
Financial information

4. How do we collect personal information?

We may collect your personal information in a number of ways, for example:

In person
In writing - for example letter or email, by yourself or a third party
Telephone calls
Online forms
Referrals or enquires from another organisation or team within the Council
Family members, solicitors, advocates or insurance companies acting on your behalf
Video calls - we may use WhatsApp to facilitate video calls where required, however no additional information will be stored resulting from these conversations
Enquiries received from the following organisations:
- Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
- Police forces
- Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
- Home Office
- HM Revenues and Customs (HMRC)
- Coroner's Office
- General Medical Council (GMC)
- Children and Family Court Advice and Support Service (Cafcass)
- NHS
- Health Care Professional Council (HSPC)
- Probation Service

5. Why do we collect your personal information?

The local authority has a legal obligation and statutory duty to provide social care to adults in certain circumstances including the provision of information and advice. To do this we may need to collect information which may be considered very sensitive. To enable us to provide you with appropriate advice, guidance and support in relation to receive Adult Social Care services.

We may also use your data:

to check and, if needed, update your customer record details
for administrative purposes and customer service
to contact you to take part in independent research or surveys and ask your opinion about our services to ensure we understand how we can deliver a better service to our service users.

6. Who might we share your personal information with?

We will not share your personal information with any other third parties unless you have specifically asked us, or we have a legal obligation to do so.

Adult Social Care and Commissioning may need to share your information with the following recipients to ensure you receive the appropriate and/or required support:

private and independent providers to deliver care, under the Care Act (2014)
internal sections such as financial assessments, housing, legal department etc.
health care agencies, general practitioners, acute health services, specialist health professionals as appropriate etc) to ensure full range of health and social care services are accessed, and vulnerable person's needs are met and the person is protected under the Care Act (2014), Mental Health Act (1983), and Mental Capacity Act (2005)
carers to support with delivering care, under the Care Act (2014)
police to protect adults under the Care Act (2014), Mental Health Act (1983), and Mental Capacity Act (2005)
local government Ombudsman to investigate complaints
court of protection for court proceedings
department of transport, for statistical monitoring of blue badges
magistrates for issuing of warrants under the Mental Health Act (1983)
others in the local authority, to monitor spending, to help with training care staff, help with research and planning, and to help to investigate any worries or complaints you may have about your care
statutory agencies such as the Care Quality Commission, police, ambulance services etc.

We will share information to provide health and social care professionals directly involved in your care access to the most up-to-date information about you. It will do this by sharing appropriate information between health and social care services at the time of patient contact. Access to information is strictly controlled, based on the role of the professional.

Great North Care Record

South Tyneside Council Adult Social Care is now a partner in the Great North Care Record (GNCR), and is now required to request and share your information from and with other relevant parties who are part of your care provision and ongoing support. This includes NHS Providers (such as General Practitioners, Acute Health Providers, Ambulance Services and Mental Health Care Providers) and adult social care.

Full details of the member organisations of the GNCR, what data may be viewed across the GNCR network, and what are the benefits to being part of the GNCR are available from the GNCR website -www.greatnorthcarerecord.org.uk.

If you wish to opt-out of your data being shared via the GNCR, or you wish to speak to someone about this use of your data you can contact the GNCR helpline on 0344 811 9587.

Please note that this will only prevent your information from being shared via the GNCR and will not opt you out of sharing with those organisations who are currently providing you with your care, or may provide it in the future. Your consent is not required to do this as it is necessary to ensure you receive the safest and highest quality of care and treatment.

Exclusion from the GNCR may have a detrimental effect on the service we can provide to you.

We will always seek to comply with your request, but in some circumstances there may be additional reasons where the sharing of your information may be necessary, for example a Court Order or where information is required to be shared should there be a concern that yourself or others are at risk of harm.

7. How long will we keep your personal information?

Unless specified in the legislation cited above, data will be deleted in line with the Limitation Act 1980 (Section 2).

The service has a Retention Policy which specifies how long records should be kept and is available upon request. If you would like a copy or have a specific enquiry, please send your request to letstalk@southtyneside.gov.uk

8. What is our legal basis for using your personal information?

To use your personal information there must be a lawful basis to do this, such as, through a contract, performing a public task or where there is a legal obligation.

To ensure that we meet all of our legal and statutory duties including, but not limited to, those which apply under the following legislation and/or contractual agreements:

Care Act 2014
Health & Social Care Act 2008
Care Quality Registration Regulations 2009
Children's Act 2004
Mental Capacity Act 2005
Housing Act 2004
The Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009
Support plan
Other contracts and agreements setting out the terms and conditions of services provided to you by the Adult Social Care department.
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FoIA)
Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR)
General Data Protection Regulations 2018

9. How do we keep your personal information secure?

The council's IT security and confidentiality policies ensure that your information is protected, and available only to staff directly involved in your care.

10. Is your personal information used overseas?

We will not process your personal information outside of the European Economic Area (EEA).

11. What are your rights?

Your individual rights are set out in law. Subject to some legal exemptions, you have the following rights:

Right to be informed
Right of access
Right to rectification
Right to erasure
Right to restrict processing
Right to data portability
Right to object
Rights in relating to automated decision making and profiling

12. Contact us

If you would like to exercise your rights in relation to your personal information, or you feel that something has gone wrong with your personal information, you can contact us in either of the following ways:

By email: data.protection@southtyneside.gov.uk

By telephone: 0191 424 6539

In writing:

South Tyneside Council
Information Governance
Town Hall and Civic Offices
South Shields
NE33 2RL

If you feel that the Council has not handled your information correctly you can contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). The ICO is the Government's Independent Body responsible for overseeing data protection. In most cases the ICO will only review cases that have exhausted the Council's internal procedures.

The ICO's contact details are as follows: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF. More information can be found on the ICO's website at www.ico.org.uk.