Council Meeting
16 July 2024
Present
Dr Arjun Dhillon (Chair), Dr George Fernie (Vice-Chair), Dr Neil Bhatia, Dr Chris Bunch, Prof Martin Crook, Helen Dyer, Christopher Fincken, Darren Lloyd, Mr Adrian Marchbank, Allison Newell, Dr Matt Noble, Dr Erum Nomani, David Riley, Surgeon Commander Jason Smith
Guests
Raz Edwards (Chair, National SIGN)
Observers
Lise Estcourt, Emily Pickett, Claire Rafferty, Maurice Smith, Dr Gabrielle Tamura Rose, Graham Turner
Secretariat
Ryan Avison, Helen Bauckham
Apologies
Rhidian Hurle
Declarations of interest
Can be found on register of interests. No other new interests were declared.
Notes of previous meeting and matters arising
Council reviewed the notes of the 23 May 2024 Council meeting and accepted them as an accurate record. There were no matters arising.
Action log
The UKCGC Chair and Council members reviewed the action log. An update was provided by the Chair on the four open actions.
Chair and Vice Chair’s report
Recent UKCGC Meetings: UKCGC Chair and Vice-chair met with John Hodson to discuss how Caldicott Guardians can be more engaged with the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT).
Chair and Vice-chair attended NDG Panel: the UKCGC Chair and Vice-chair attended the National Data Guardians (NDG) Panel meeting on 09 July 2024 virtually. The purpose of this NDG Panel meeting was to discuss NDG strategic objectives and measures for impact.
Requests for advice to Council
Council discussed recent requests for advice. The Chair noted that requests were mostly routine questions where the secretariat signposted inquirers to the relevant guidance.
Updates from National Strategic Information Governance Network (SIGN)
Raz Edwards (National SIGN Chair) provided an overview and updates from the National Strategic Information Governance Network (SIGN). National SIGN brings together Chairs of regional SIGNs from across England to collaborate and drive shared understanding and best information governance practice in health and social care.
Raz provided an update on the national SIGN’s current priorities, including publishing national role profiles for information governance staff and advising on new developments with the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) with the Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF) overlay.
The national SIGN recently surveyed their members to understand the Caldicott Guardian (CG) role in organisations. The survey gathered the networks’ views on available training for CGs and the CG function within their organisation. The survey insights highlighted the diverse experiences of CGs in the network and the essential role CGs play in protecting the confidentiality of people’s health and care information and making sure it is used properly.
Council members acknowledged and discussed the importance of collaboration between CGs, Data Protection Officers (DPOs), and Senior Information Risk Owners (SIROs), emphasising the need for regular communications among these roles within the organisation.
Council members thanked Raz for her presentation and updates, and offered to keep in close communication with national SIGN.
Engagement with Caldicott Guardians
The UKCGC Chair and Vice-Chair led an internal discussion with Council members on how to enhance engagement with Caldicott Guardians (CGs) across health and social care organisations. It was noted that while the UKCGC offers accessible resources and support for CGs, engagement with UKCGC remains limited to a small number of CGs.
Council members proposed the development of a CG appraisal, where CGs would report on and discuss their contributions and effectiveness as a CG to their organisation. This appraisal process could help organisations recognise the value added by their CGs. However, concerns were raised about who would be responsible for conducting these appraisals, the implications for non-compliance, and the lack of existing benchmarks or appraisal forms for CGs.
Several Council members highlighted the importance of actively reaching out to newly registered CGs to offer support. Council members also acknowledged the disparity in engagement between health-based and local authority CGs, partly due to the health-centric nature of existing guidance. It was emphasised that UKCGC’s engagement approach must reflect the needs and perspectives of all four nations, considering the unique contexts of the devolved nations. The group discussed the need to better understand the varied requirements and activities of CGs across different sectors, recognising that a one-size-fits-all approach will not be effective.
The discussion also covered the need for improved resources and accessible support mechanisms for CGs. Council members suggested enhancements to the UKCGC website, specifically to make it more user-friendly for new CGs. The idea of a commissioned survey was debated, with some Council members noting that this might only attract responses from already engaged CGs. Instead, a stratified survey or an independent review was suggested to gather more comprehensive insights and add gravitas to the findings.
Council members acknowledged the necessity of working closely with the CG community to mature the UKCGC’s engagement strategy. This includes developing a detailed plan, addressing gaps in resources and accessibility, and considering the commissioning of an independent survey/review. Several Council members expressed their willingness to participate in a working group to advance these initiatives.
Other Business
No other business.
Next meeting
The next meeting will be held in-person (and virtually) on 18 September 2024 from 13:00-16:30pm.