Privacy statement for the urgent care self-service product

The urgent care self-service product, also known as Streaming and Redirection, is a kiosk based service, provided as a web application. Patients arriving at urgent care settings, such as accident and emergency (A&E) and urgent treatment centres (UTCs) can use the product to assess their symptoms.

This privacy statement tells you what information we collect when you use the urgent care self-service product. It also tells you:

• how we use your information
• who we share your information with
• how your data is kept secure
• about your rights to see or change information held about you

We’ll always tell you when we are collecting this information.

When you use the service we ask for:

• your postcode 
• your date of birth 
• first name
• last name
• telephone number

This information helps us find your NHS number.

We use the personal information you’ve given us to carry out a 'personal demographic service (PDS)' check. This means we try to find your NHS number and your GP details.

When you answer questions about your symptoms (called ‘triage’) we collect the answers. This is so we can recommend the right outcome for your health needs. This might include directing you to other urgent care services in the area. We also collect the outcome you reach. This information is shared with the local site (the urgent care setting you used the self-service tool in).

If you agree to use a recommended telephone assessment service we will also ask for your: 

telephone number
email address or mobile number so we can send a confirmation receipt (optional)

If you’re using the service on behalf of someone else we’ll ask for their details. We need this personal information so we can ask the right questions, and to give to the local provider of any healthcare you need. If the advice is for you to remain at the care setting you are in, your details will be sent automatically to the reception desk, where the site has enabled this functionality. 

If you’re advised to go to another service, we may send your details on to that service. We send your personal information, including your NHS number, and the answers to the questions you gave during the self-assessment. 

If you choose to get an email or text message confirming that your details have been sent to the receiving service, we use a secure government service called GOV.UK Notify. You can read about how your data is kept secure in the GOV.UK Notify privacy notice.

We might recommend that you should see a healthcare professional working outside the department in commissioned NHS services. This might be outside the NHS (for example, a pharmacist, or dentist), but will have been commissioned by the NHS to provide services. 

By agreeing to be referred to a healthcare professional you consent to the sharing of your personal information in a way which respects the Common Law Duty of Confidentiality.

If you are receiving care from a health or care organisation, that organisation may share your NHS number with other organisations providing your care. This is so that the health and care organisations are using the same number to identify you whilst providing your care. By using the same number the health and care organisations can work together more closely to improve your care and support.

Your NHS number is accessed through an NHS England service called the Personal Demographic Service (PDS). A health or care organisation sends basic information such as your name, address and date of birth to the PDS in order to find your NHS number. Once retrieved from the PDS, the NHS number is stored in our case management system. These data are retained in line with our record retention policies and in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, Government record retention regulations and best practice. Further information is available on our website.

We will share information only to provide health and care professionals directly involved in your care access to the most up-to-date information about you. Access to information is strictly controlled, based on the role of the professional, and where the user has a direct care relationship with you.

The use of joined up information across health and social care brings many benefits. One specific example where this will be the case is the discharge of patients into social care. Delays in discharge (commonly known as bed blocking) can occur because details of social care involvement are not readily available to the staff on the hospital ward. The hospital does not know who to contact to discuss the ongoing care of a patient. The linking of social care and health information via the NHS number will help hospital staff quickly identify if social care support is already in place and who the most appropriate contact is. Ongoing care can be planned earlier in the process, because hospital staff will know who to talk to.

You have the right to object to the processing of your NHS number in this way. This will not stop you from receiving care, but will result in the benefits outlined above not being realised. To help you decide, we will discuss with you how this may affect our ability to provide you with care, and any other options that you have.

If you wish to opt-out from the use of your NHS number in this way, please contact us.

Phone: 0300 303 5678

Calling this number should cost no more than calls to a normal landline number.

The telephone service is available 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, apart from on English bank or public holidays.

We convert your data into secure code (encrypt it) and store it on secure servers in the UK. Only approved people in the NHS with appropriate rights can see it. 

NHS England keeps referral information that can identify you for 8 years for clinical audit purposes only. It’s then securely destroyed.

8 years is the amount of time information is kept for clinical audit purposes in the NHS.

Providing care

If you are referred to a healthcare service or healthcare professional, we add your personal details to the answers you have given to create a clinical record. 

We will pass your answers and personal details to the healthcare service if you (or the person you are contacting us about), choose to be referred. 

This healthcare service might be outside the NHS, but commissioned by it.

That healthcare service may then go on to share your data with other healthcare providers. They will follow their own policies and data protection legislation if so.

By agreeing to be referred to another healthcare provider you are also agreeing that your data can be forwarded to them so they can provide care. If you’re using the service on behalf of someone else you should make sure that person has agreed their data can be shared in this way.

We collect details from your use of the tool and send it to the NHS Pathways Intelligent Data Tool (IDT). IDT is a data platform that indexes the real-time NHS 111/999 telephony and urgent care self-service tool data coming into NHS England. Before the data is used for analysis, it is fully anonymised so you cannot be identified. 

We might ask you to complete a survey when you’ve finished using the service. 

The survey is run by NHS England using a tool provided by a third party (Qualtrics). The survey will include information about how you used the urgent care self-service tool. It will not ask for any personal information. NHS England is responsible for your information and details of the survey will only be shared with NHS England staff or staff from the urgent care setting where you filled out the survey. 

NHS England will also share:

• anonymous information on how the service is used with the Department of Health and Social Care, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), integrated care boards (ICBs) and the National Clinical Assurance Group
• anonymous data with Public Health England (PHE) for detecting and monitoring clusters of disease (syndromic surveillance). You cannot be identified from this data. The information is used to monitor trends and plan responses to outbreaks of disease, such as coronavirus (COVID-19)
• your personal data with the providers of direct care if you are referred or need to be seen 
• findings and analysis of datasets outside NHS England. This data is used for operational reporting or dashboards that monitor service performance and local demand

We may pass on your personal information if we’re legally obliged to do so.

If you make a claim against us, we, and other third parties such as our solicitors, may need to look at this information.

We will not share your personal information with anyone else without your permission for any other reason.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care issued a direction to NHS Digital to establish and operate information systems to support the coronavirus pandemic.

These directions were extended in February 2022 and continue to be the basis for the collection of data. NHS Digital has now merged with NHS England and the directions have been amended accordingly.

All data agreements and sharing for coronavirus purposes have been arranged within these directions. 

The urgent care self-service product falls within these directions. 

If you have any questions or concerns about this privacy statement or about the way in which we process your data, please email: [email protected]

To know how your data will be collected, processed and stored, and for what purposes, you can contact our Data Protection Office to make a complaint by emailing [email protected] or by writing to:

Information Governance Compliance Team
NHS England
7 and 8 Wellington Place
Leeds
West Yorkshire
LS1 4AP

We ask that you try to resolve any issues with us first, although you have a right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at any time about our processing of your personal information. 

The ICO is the UK regulator for data protection and upholds information rights. 

Contact the ICO