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This leaflet may not be reproduced in whole or in part, without the permission of Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust.

This leaflet explains why we keep personal information about you and why we may need to share it.

This leaflet explains

  • how we use information that we hold about you
  • who we might share it with
  • and what your rights are

If you are not sure about anything in this leaflet, please speak to a member of staff.

The Trust needs to keep information about you, your health and treatment so that we can provide the best possible care for you.

Everyone who works in the Trust and within the wider NHS must keep information about you confidential. We do share information within the team that is caring for you, and sometimes with other professionals in other organisations that are providing care for you, like your General Practitioner and Social Services.

If we do share information with other organisations, we would normally talk to you about it first and ask for your permission.

The main organisations that we share information with are:

  • NHS Trusts and NHS Foundation Trusts
  • Integrated Care Boards
  • Social Services
  • General Practitioners
  • Ambulance Trusts

We may also share information with the following agencies, subject to strict agreements about how they will use it:

  • Social services
  • Education services
  • Local authorities
  • Care Quality Commission
  • Mental Health Tribunal Office
  • Voluntary organisations
  • Private sector service providers
  • Probation Service
  • Police

On very rare occasions we may also share information with other organisations because we feel that there would be a serious risk to you or to other people if we did not do so, or because there is a legal obligation, such as a court order, that means we have to disclose information.

Where you have indicated that you are happy for the Trust to do so, we may send you out a questionnaire or a survey to complete so that we can gather views of service users about the care they have recently received.

The Trust is involved in the NHS Patient Survey Programme. The surveys are used by the Trust to understand areas where services could be made better for service users. They will also be used by the CQC to build up a picture of what NHS services are like across the country.

There is no requirement for the Trust to seek your consent to send out a survey to you, however should you not wish receive such questionnaires and/or surveys please contact your clinical team.

We keep information both on paper and on computer. The kinds of details that we keep include:

  • basic information about you, such as your name, date of birth, address, next of kind
  • records of your contacts with professionals, such as clinic visits
  • notes and reports on your health and any treatment or care that you need• records of any tests or assessments that we carry out
  • records of the treatment and care that we provide for you
  • relevant information from other health professionals, members of your family or friends who care for you and know you well

It is important that we record everything about your health and the care that we provide for you. This means that:

  • we can see what treatments have helped you in the past
  • we can use the information to plan with you your treatment in the future
  • if you see a new doctor or other professional they know exactly what care and treatment you are already receiving
  • we can share information with other agencies if they are also involved in caring for you
  • if you have any concerns or complaints about your care we can investigate them properly.

We usually remove your name, address and date of birth before we share any information about you outside the team of professionals caring for you. We may then use this information to:

• carry out research to find the most effective treatments
• make sure our services are meeting the needs of patients
• train healthcare professionals
• feedback statistics about the care we provide to our commissioners, NHS England and NHS Improvement.

There will be times when staff from the Trust and external organisations will need to see information about you before it can be used for the things listed above. These people may not be involved in your care directly but working in your best interests. These people will keep all information they see confidential and you will not be identified from the work that they do.

You have a choice about how you want your confidential patient information to be used. You can opt out from the use of your data for research or planning purposes. If you’re happy for us to use your information for these purposes, you do not need to doanything.

If you choose to opt out, your confidential patient information will still be used to support your individual care. To find out more or to register your choice to opt out, visit: www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters.

You have the right, under the Data Protection Act 2018, to find out what information we hold about you, whether that is on computer or on paper records. If you want to do this, you should write to:

Disclosure Team
Medical Records Department St Nicholas Hospital
Jubilee Road
Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 3XT

Telephone: 0191 246 6896 
Email: disclosures@cntw.nhs.uk

There is no charge for providing you with copies of your records.

Sometimes you may not be able to see all of your records. This might be because they include information about other people, or because the medical professionals involved in your care believes it would be harmful to you or to someone else.

For further information please see the Trust’s leaflet called ‘How to access your health records’.

You have the right, under the Data Protection Act 2018, to find out what information we hold about you, whether that is on computer or on paper records. If you want to do this, you should write to:

Disclosure Team
Medical Records Department St Nicholas Hospital
Jubilee Road
Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 3XT

Telephone: 0191 246 6896 
Email: disclosures@cntw.nhs.uk

There is no charge for providing you with copies of your records.

Sometimes you may not be able to see all of your records. This might be because they include information about other people, or because the medical professionals involved in your care believes it would be harmful to you or to someone else.

For further information please see the Trust’s leaflet called ‘How to access your health records’.

If you want to make a comment, suggestion, compliment or complaint you can:

We are always looking at ways to improve services. Your feedback allows us to monitor the quality of our services and act upon issues that you bring to our attention. You can provide feedback in the following ways:

  • the quickest way for you to do this is to complete our short online survey at www.cntw.nhs.uk/yourvoice
  • complete a Your Voice survey, available on wards, reception areas or from staff
  • other options for sharing your feedback and experience www.cntw.nhs.uk/yourfeedback

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
PALS provide confidential advice and support, helping you to sort out any concerns that you may have about any aspect of your or your loved ones care.

We act independently when handling patient and family concerns, liaising with staff, managers and, where appropriate, relevant organisations, to negotiate prompt solutions. If necessary, we can also refer patients and families to specific local or national-based support agencies.

North of Tyne
Telephone: 0800 032 0202
Email: pals@nhct.nhs.uk
Post: FREEPOST PALS

South of Tyne
Telephone: 0800 328 4397
Text: 07825 061 035
Email: pals@cntw.nhs.uk

Post: Patient Advice and Liaison Service, Garden Lodge, Hopewood Park, Ryhope, Sunderland, SR2 0NB

9am – 4.30 pm, Monday to Friday

An answerphone is available at all times for you to leave a message. A member of the PALS team will aim to return your call as soon as possible.

  • CNTW(O)09 – Records Management Policy
  • CNTW(O)029 – Confidentiality Policy Protecting and Using Personal Information
  • CNTW(O)036 – Data Protection Policy

Further information about the content, reference sources or production of this leaflet can be obtained from the Patient Information Centre. If you would like to tell us what you think about this leaflet please get in touch.

This information can be made available in a range of formats on request (eg Braille, audio, larger print, easy read, BSL or other languages). Please contact the Patient Information Centre Tel: 0191 246 7288

Published by the Patient Information Centre
2025 Copyright: Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust
Ref: PIC/435/0625 June 2025 V8

www.cntw.nhs.uk
Tel: 0191 246 7288

Review date 2028