The COVID-RT Study - Transparency Notice

NHS Digital has been legally directed under the COVID-19 Public Health Directions 2020 to collect and analyse patient data, to support the response to the coronavirus pandemic. NHS radiotherapy treatment providers are required to supply this data to NHS Digital in accordance with the COVID-RT data provision notice issued which contains more information about the collection and the specific data to be collected

NHS Digital is collecting your data from providers of NHS radiotherapy treatment services in England.

We do this by issuing the organisations with a Data Provision Notice. This requires or requests those organisations to provide us with data where this is necessary for us to perform our functions under the Health and Social Care Act 2012

The personal data that will be collected from NHS radiotherapy treatment services are:

• Case No
• NHS number
• Date of birth
• Date of treatment decision (month)
• Clinical information about the patient’s tumour site, the type of radiotherapy treatment they received, when the treatment was received

NHS Digital is sharing data with Cancer Research UK, they will use this information to enable an evaluation of the impact of changes in radiotherapy treatments during the pandemic on patient outcomes.  The information has had personal data removed and is limited to:

• case No
• 5 year age band
• date of treatment decision (month)
• clinical information about the patient’s tumour site, the type of radiotherapy treatment they received, when the treatment was received

Data will be shared by NHS Digital for coronavirus purposes, where it is lawful for use to do so, including to support:

• analysis of the radiotherapy doses received, and
• patients’ overall treatment time

The data collected may also be linked with other data that NHS Digital holds, including to support:

• analysis of the survival outcomes for individual tumour sites, and
• understanding of how radiotherapy treatment and radiotherapy patient outcomes in England has been impacted by COVID-19

We will also publish data we have obtained for COVID-19 purposes which is anonymous, so that no individuals can be identified from that data. This will enable NHS and other organisations to use this anonymous data for statistical analysis and for planning, commissioning and research purposes as part of the response to coronavirus

We will retain your personal data for as long as is necessary for the purpose outlined above in accordance with the Records Management Code of Practice 2021 and NHS Digital’s Records Management Policy.

Other organisations with whom we share your personal data have obligations to keep it for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which we have shared your personal data. Information about this will be provided in their transparency or privacy notices which are published on their websites

NHS Digital only stores and processes your personal data for this service within the United Kingdom.

Fully anonymous data, for example, statistical data (which does not allow you to be identified), may be stored and processed outside of the UK

The health and social care system is taking action to manage and mitigate the spread and impact of coronavirus (COVID-19).

Action to be taken requires the collection, analysis and sharing of information, including confidential patient information where necessary and lawful, amongst health organisations and other appropriate bodies. This is due to the urgent need to protect public health and respond to the COVID-19 outbreak. 

To support the healthcare response to COVID-19, NHS Digital has been directed by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (the Secretary of State) and NHS England under the COVID-19 Directions to:

• establish information systems to collect and analyse data in connection with COVID-19; and
• develop and operate IT systems to deliver services in connection with COVID-19

To read more about the health and care information NHS Digital collects, our legal basis for collecting this information and what choices and rights you have, see how we look after your health and care information, our general transparency notice and our Coronavirus (COVID-19) response transparency notice.

We may make changes to this transparency notice. If we do, the ‘last edited date on this page will also change. Any changes to this notice will apply immediately from the date of any change.