Personal data is another way to describe personal information. It is any information that is about you that allows you to be identified. Personal data covers simple information such as your name, email and phone number, but it also covers more detailed information such as reference numbers, your location, and other identifiers used by computers.
To find out more about how HC-One uses your personal information please click on the sections below.
The majority of personal information we collect about you, will come from you visit our homes.
Depending on your ongoing interactions with us we may collect more information about you, for instance if you are providing regular maintenance or inspecting our homes.
By law, we have to keep certain personal information so that we know who has visited our home and when, but also the purpose of your visit.
HC-One may collect these kinds of personal information about you:
• Basic information, such as name, address, phone number, and email;
• Employment information, such as who you are employed by and your role;
• Emergency Contact Information about your family or employer, so we know who to contact in an emergency;
• Visual images, such as copies of identification or CCTV footage of you in our homes;
• Information we receive from other sources, such as your employer, other agencies or legal representative;
• Letters and emails, we have sent to you about your interactions with HC-One;
• Dates and times of your visits to our premises.
Collecting sensitive information about you
Whilst it would be uncommon to collect sensitive information about you, HC-One may sometimes need to collect some information which is particularly sensitive. This type of information is called special category personal data. The law says we can only collect and use this kind of information for very specific legal reasons, such as keeping you, our Residents and Colleagues safe when you are on our premises and helping other organisations with their functions, such safeguarding. HC-One will only collect and use this information where it is essential for our work.
Types of special category personal data that HC-One may collect and use:
• Information about pre-existing health conditions which could affect your visit;
• Information if you suffered an accident when on our premises;
• Information that we need in order to keep our Residents safe.
Collecting information from other people
Sometimes, HC-One may need to collect your data from other people. These will include:
• Your employer
• Government departments;
• National regulators;
• Your Doctor;
• The Emergency services; or
• HC-One suppliers and local services.
We need to use personal information to ensure we are delivering kind, person-centred care to our residents, which includes keeping them safe. The information we use will sometimes be held on a computer. People will only be allowed to access your information when they are involved in your visit, such as Home and Area Managers.
Your personal information can be used for any of the following purposes:
• Knowing when you visited our premises and are safe to do so;
• Disclosing information to an appropriate regulator to inform them of certain incidents as required under the law;
• Communicating with you. This may include responding to emails or calls from you;
• Disclosing information to your employer should your behaviour fail to meet acceptable standards
• Disclosing information to a Coroner, the Police or Safeguarding where they need to conduct a formal investigation;
• Helping to keep you, your Colleagues and our Residents safe.
Legal reasons for obtaining and using your personal information
HC-One must have a legal reason to collect and use your information. We will use different reasons, depending upon its purpose. This must be explained to you when, or as soon as possible after, we collect your information, or when it is given to us by someone else. The reasons we use are:
• In order for HC-One to comply with our legal obligations with regards to health and safety;
• In order to protect your life in an emergency;
• In order to act in the public interest;
• In order to fulfil HC-One's accepted interests; or,
• Where we have your permission to use your information.
Where HC-One must use information that is particularly sensitive, HC-One must have additional legal reasons to collect and use your information. These are:
• In order to protect the health and safety of everyone, including you;
• In order to protect your life when you cannot give permission;
• In order to act in a significant public interest, such as safeguarding;
• In order to allow fairness in legal matters;
• We have explicit consent to use your information.
On occasions, HC-One may be asked to give your personal information or need to collect it from other organisations. These can include:
• Your employer
• Government departments;
• National regulators;
• Your Doctor;
• The Emergency services; or
• HC-One suppliers and local services.
Any companies we employ who use your personal information are responsible to you through legal agreements with HC-One around Data Protection.
Click [here] to see the organisations we work with along with links to the Privacy Statements of some of these organisations.
HC-One will only seek consent/permission to collect, use and share your personal information where you have freedom of choice about how your information is used, such as when you are completing a survey or questionnaire.
Where you do not have such freedom over how your information is used, we will use a different legal reason to collect, use and store your information.
If you decide not to provide us with your information, this can make it difficult for us to assist you during your interactions with us.
We will normally only share your personal information with your knowledge and where it is needed and when we have a legal reason.
Please remember that occasionally, HC-One will be legally required to share certain personal information with a third party by law, and sometimes without your knowledge. For example, we are required by law to tell the care regulators if certain incidents have happened. We will always look to provide this information in a way that reduces any risks to your privacy, but this is not always possible.
Further information about your specific data protection rights can be found here
Most information relating to a person’s care is stored within the UK only. These will be in hardcopy, or electronic systems.
However, in some cases, our suppliers may store your personal information outside of the UK. For more details on the companies we use click here.
Personal information that we are no longer using is kept securely only for as long as it is needed, or is required by law, before being safely destroyed.
The duration for which your personal information is kept will depend on our reason for collecting it and is defined in HC-One’s “Records Retention and Destruction Schedule Procedure”.
Keeping your personal information secure is an important principle of Data Protection, and we take the following steps to protect your information which includes:
• Necessary measures to ensure personal information is protected;
• All electronic data transferred through our systems is encrypted;
• Information is not used for any purpose other than as agreed upon in our terms and conditions;
• Protect your data from loss.
Our systems are checked and audited regularly by experts to ensure they meet all privacy standards, are protected through strong passwords and encryption and comply with our general data protection security and protection policies.
As part of keeping everyone who lives and works in our homes safe, and to meet government regulations, HC-One now requires proof of
exemption from vaccination) from anyone visiting a home who is an individual who is not:
• • living in the home,
• • providing emergency assistance in the home,
• • provide urgent maintenance assistance to the home,
• • a member of the emergency services in execution of their duties in the home,
• • a friend or relative of someone living in the home,
• • visiting someone who is living in the home who is dying,
• • a person to provide bereavement comfort or support to someone living in the home, or
• • under the age of 18.
If you do not meet one of the above categories, you will be asked to provide proof of vaccination to enter the home. The information you provide will be held in order for HC-One to comply with legislation, and will be held securely in the care home.
This information will be shared with our regulators when they visit a service to show our compliance with the law. Failure to supply the requested information would be an appropriate reason for not granting an individual entry to our homes, unless they are exempt.
HC-One uses CCTV in some of its care homes in order to provide reassurance to Residents and their Relatives, protect homes from unlawful intrusion and assist whistleblowers who may have raised concerns. Cameras are only to be used in communal areas, other than in exceptional circumstances. All HC-One homes using CCTV will:
• Consult with all relevant third parties prior to installation;
• Have considered the impacts and risks of CCTV, which will have been agreed by the Data Protection Officer;
• Have appropriate signs informing all who enter that CCTV is in use in the home;
• Have appropriate security of the CCTV equipment, including encryption to prevent unlawful access to any footage
If you have concerns about the use of CCTV, please speak to the Home Manager in the first instance.
Only where you choose to, we may use your personal information to keep you updated about HC-One and our homes. This can be sent to you by email, telephone, text message and post. This will usually be information, news and offers about our services.
We do not want to send you information that you do not want, so if you change your mind, you can tell us to stop sending you information by using the link in our email, or the contact details below.
We will never share or sell your personal information to any third parties for marketing purposes.
HC-One uses social media to keep Relatives, who aren’t always able to visit, up to date with what is going on in our homes. We will never use photographs of Residents, their families or our staff without seeking permission to do so.
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
If you need to contact us about anything relating to your personal information, or would like to be provided with a copy, you can speak to us by:
Writing to us: The Data Protection Officer
HC-One
Southgate House
Archer Street
Darlington
DL3 6AH
Emailing us: [email protected]
Telephoning us: 01325 351100
HC-One must by law have a Data Protection Officer (DPO) who ensures that
HC-One only uses your data according to the law. Our DPO is Russell Wynn and our deputy DPO is Louise Garrett-Cox. Should you need to speak to them, please use the details above.
We may change this Privacy Notice from time to time. This may be necessary, for example, if the law changes, or if we change our business in a way that affects how we protect your information.
Any changes will be made available on the General Privacy Policy page on our website.
If you have any concerns about the way in which we are using your personal information, please contact our Data Protection Officer using the details above, and we will endeavour to address your concern.
However, you do also have the right to complain about how we treat your personal information to the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”).
Information Commissioners Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
[email protected]
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Fax: 01625 524510