Council Meeting
9th June 2021
Present
Dr Chris Bunch (Chair), Dr Faouzi Alam, Carey Bloomer, Prof. Martin Crook, Dr Arjun Dhillon, Helen Dyer, Dr George Fernie, Christopher Fincken, Mr Adrian Marchbank, Allison Newell, David Riley, Col Rob Russell.
Guests
Dr Nicola Byrne, Laura Erskine, Dr Shah Faisal, Dr Charles Young.
Observers
Carl Beesley, Dr Julian Collinson, Paul Houseman, Dr Gail Miflin, Dr Erum Nomani, Christine Patch, Dr Gabrielle Tamura-Rose, Ross Thornton.
Apologies
Gill Bennet, Sandra Cornwall, Dr Alex Crowe, Prof. Paul Dargan, Marjorie Gillespie, Andrew Harvey, Stephen Hinde Dr Julian Marks, Dr Matt Noble, Dr Cait Taylor, Gill Weatherill.
Declarations
Can be found on register of interests. No new interests to add.
Action log
The Chairman reviewed the action log. Of the three open actions one was agreed to be closed, with additional information being shared with the Council. Two remain open pending further information. There are also two ongoing reminders on the action log.
Chairman’s update
The Chairman updated Council on his recent activities and the meetings he has attended. Dr Bunch attended a meeting with various ambulance services about pre-hospital care feedback from hospitals they deliver patients to, the importance of which is recognised, and discussions are continuing.
Dr Bunch updated the group on two sector specific Caldicott Guardian virtual workshops which had taken place since the last Council meeting, explaining that they were well received and that combining these with location-based workshops is useful.
Finally, Dr Bunch informed the Council that his work concerning confidentiality and the use of medical devices/apps for clinical care is ongoing and that conversations with key stakeholders are continuing.
Requests for advice to the Council
The Council discussed requests for advice including a request from a Caldicott Guardian regarding the sharing of patient HIV status, and the framework in which to consider such disclosures.
Full details of requests for advice can be provided upon request and are often also available to view as discussion topics on the digital health Caldicott Guardian forum.
Introduction to the new National Data Guardian
Dr Nicola Byrne joined the meeting to introduce herself to the Council in her role as the National Data Guardian for Health and Social Care. Dr Byrne outlined the tremendous importance of the role of the National Data Guardian, and how her interest in protecting the confidentiality of patients has always been integral to her success in both the clinical and technical roles she has held.
As well as outlining some of her key objectives for the year, Dr Byrne invited questions from the Council. Many of the questions put forward for Dr Byrne centred on the need to balance a commitment to share while at the same time being the “Guardian” of data. Dr Byrne summarised by stating that in order to achieve that it was important to resist oversimplifying what is an extremely complex landscape, and that only by dealing in its complexity would we be able to support a safe, effective and continuously improving health and social care system.
The Council were thankful to Dr Byrne for attending and enthused to understand how they can support the NDG with her important work moving forward.
Primary Care Support England
Dr Charles Young (Senior Medical Officer and Caldicott Guardian for Capita), Dr Shah Faisal (Chief Medical Officer and Caldicott Guardian Representative) and Laura Erskine (Clinical Director and Caldicott Guardian Lead) joined the meeting to discuss the work of Primary Care Support England (PCSE). Charles and his team presented some of the key areas of work they are involved in, both within PCSE and other business units within Capita. Charles discussed in some detail the governance and reporting structures within Capita and he and his team presented a comprehensive overview of how they manage patient confidentiality throughout the lifecycle of their business processes.
Charles invited questions from the Council, and he and his team sought guidance on scenarios they are presented with on a regular basis when processing patient information. The Council were most interested to hear about how the Caldicott Guardian function has been implemented by Capita and were encouraged to see such a considered and comprehensive approach.
GP Planning for Data and Research
The Chairman informed the Council of the delay which has been announced to provide more time to speak with patients and doctors among others to further strengthen the plan.
Dr Arjun Dhillon (Clinical Director and Caldicott Guardian for NHS Digital) provided an overview of the current situation and invited suggestions as to how best to involve and engage with the UKCGC on this moving forward. It was suggested that informing Caldicott Guardians via the UKCGC newsletter may be a good start to encourage a dialogue with the wider Caldicott Guardian community.
The Council thanked Dr Dhillon for keeping them informed and are keen to support ongoing work in keeping with the new Caldicott Principle 8 that there should be ‘no surprises’ for patients and the public in terms of how health and care data is used.
Other business
Allison Newell (Caldicott Guardian for the NHS Business Services Authority) requested a view from the Council on how best to approach requests for medical information to be removed from ill health retirement assessments. Key messages from the Council were to consider (on a case-by-case basis) the reasons for such requests, the legal reasons for holding as well as removing information, and to ensure an adequate risk assessment is carried out before a final decision is made.
The next meeting will be held virtually on 12th August 2021.