Council Meeting
9 December 2021
Present
Dr Chris Bunch (Chair a.m. session), Dr Arjun Dhillon (Chair p.m. session), Carey Bloomer, Prof. Martin Crook, Helen Dyer, Dr George Fernie, Christopher Fincken, Mr Adrian Marchbank, Allison Newell, David Riley, Dr Cait Taylor.
Guests
Magi (Ifeoma) Nwolie (NHS Digital), Michael Eden (Public Health England).
Observers
Dr Erum Nomani (Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust), Sophie Reed (Milestones Trust), Ross Thornton (Office of the National Data Guardian), Carl Beesley (Office of the National Data Guardian), Qamar Akhtar (Wm Morrison Pharmacy), Sandra Lomax.
Apologies
Dr Faouzi Alam, Shabnam Ali, Gill Bennett, Dr Julian Collinson, Sandra Cornwall, Andrew Harvey, Mr Rhidian Hurle, Dr Julian Marks, Alison Metcalfe, Prof. Robert McClelland, Dr Matt Noble, Col Rob Russell.
Declarations
Can be found on register of interests. No new interests declared.
Action log
The action log was reviewed. One action remains open pending further discussion. There are also two permanent reminders on the action log. All other actions were agreed as having been completed prior to this meeting.
Requests for advice to Council
The Council discussed recent requests for advice with a focus on handling requests for information from the police and the framework in which to consider such disclosures. Full details of requests for advice can be provide upon request and are often also available to view as discussion topics on the Digital Health Caldicott Guardian forum.
Chair’s update
The chair updated the Council on his recent activities and the meetings he has attended recently including:
regular meetings with Dr Nicola Byrne (National Data Guardian)
the National Data Guardian Panel and Steering Group meetings in October and November
interviews for the new Council chair to which Dr Arjun Dhillon has now been appointed
Multi Agency Advisory Service (MAAS) meeting to discuss the regulation of artificial intelligence in medical applications
continuing discussions regarding medical apps with the ICO and MHRA
The National Data Guardian published new guidance about the appointment of Caldicott Guardians on 27 August 2021. The UKCGC secretariat is keeping a log of any queries they receive and has published a Frequently Asked Questions document on the website.
The chair thanked members and the NDGO for their kind words following his final update as chair and is looking forward to continuing to support and facilitate lively and informative discussion as vice-chair.
UKCGC Chair Appointment
The chair of the Council apprised Council on the appointment process for his successor and confirmed the successful candidate as Dr Arjun Dhillon. Council once again thanked Dr Chris Bunch for his years of service to the Council in his role as chair and for the important work he has undertaken to develop and support the Caldicott Guardian community.
NHS National Disease Registration Service
Magi Nwolie (NHS Digital) and Michael Eden (Public Health England) presented an overview of the NHS National Disease Registration Service (NDRS). The presentation discussed the transition of the NDRS to NHS Digital and explained the governance functions of the service, including communication of transparency materials and the opt out process.
Council was most interested to hear about the transition, the regulations underpinning the service, and the ongoing work to ensure transparency and accountability obligations are met.
Council thanked them for their time and for providing a useful and informative presentation.
Direction UKCGC 21-24
Dr Arjun Dhillon set out his interest in the role of Chair of the UKCGC, the importance of Caldicott Guardians and the role of the Council in supporting the aims of the National Data Guardian.
An overview of plans to develop the Caldicott Guardian network further were outlined before inviting questions and discussion from Council.
Dr Dhillon thanked Dr Chris Bunch for all he has accomplished during his time as Chair of the Council.
Research approvals and Caldicott Guardians
Caldicott Guardians in the NHS are often asked to review, and in some circumstances approve, research proposals on behalf of the organisations they work for.
Council members were asked for advice regarding what a Caldicott Guardian should consider when reviewing and advising on research proposals.
Council members outlined some of their own experiences, explaining key details they look for, the importance of engagement with other teams such as information governance and outlined some of the national processes that should be considered.
Other business
UKCGC Events and Workshops
Helen Dyer welcomed suggestions from Council for future events, workshops, and activities. Helen will work with Council to develop and progress these in 2022. Council agreed that focused activities would be useful for Caldicott Guardians and would forward their ideas and suggestions.
Caldicott Guardian e-Learning
Council was reminded that Caldicott training for all staff has now been published on e-learning for Healthcare and feedback on the module would be much appreciated.
Work is underway on a Caldicott Guardian training module for senior managers responsible for appointing Caldicott Guardians. Support in developing content for the module was requested. Council was informed that the UKCGC Secretariat would contact them with further details as to how they can help.
Next meeting
The next meeting will be held virtually on Wednesday 16 February 2022.