Privacy policy

This Privacy Policy sets out the data processing practices carried out by this Healthwatch website. If you have any requests concerning your personal information or any queries with regard to these practices, please contact us.

Privacy Statement

This Privacy Statement sets out the data processing practices carried out by Healthwatch St Helens. We retain and use personal data (information that relates to and identifies living people) to help us carry out our role as the local independent champion for people who use health and social care services.

We will always make sure that your information is protected and treated securely. Any information that you give will be held in accordance with:

• Data Protection Act 1998

• As of 25 May 2018, the data protection legislation introduced under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Protection Bill, and latterly the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UKGDPR)

Information we collect

We collect personal information from visitors to this website through the use of online forms and every time you email us your details. We also collect feedback and views from people about the health and social care services that they access. In addition, we receive information about our own staff and people who apply to work for us.

• Information about people who use our website

• Information about people who share their experiences with us by other means

• Information about our own staff and people applying to work for us

Security

We are strongly committed to data security and we take reasonable and appropriate steps to protect your personal information from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or corruption.

We have put in place physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information you provide to us.

Only authorised employees and contractors under strict controls will have access to your personal information.

Information about people who use our website

Please note that this statement does not cover links within this website to other websites.

When you browse through the information on this website, it does not store or capture your personal information. We do log your IP address (as it is automatically recognised by the web server) but this is only so you can download this website onto your device rather than for any tracking purpose; it is not used for any other purpose.

We will only collect personal information provided by you, such as:

• feedback from surveys and online forms

• email addresses

• preferred means of communication.

Cookies

A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer’s hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.

We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about web page traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to members needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system.

Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website, by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer.

How we will use your personal information

Personal information about you can be used for the following purposes:

• in our day-to-day work;

• to send you our newsletter where you have requested it;

• to respond to any queries you may have;

• to improve the quality and safety of care.

This may include any personal information that you choose to share with us, but we will treat this as confidential and protect it accordingly.

We will never include your personal information in survey reports.

Information about people who share their experiences with us by other means

There are a number of ways that we collect feedback from people about their experiences of using health and social care services day to day. Our staff will visit different health and social care settings as part of their role to evaluate how services are being delivered. We also receive phone calls and requests for information directly from members of the public as part of our signposting service.

Where personally identifiable information is collected we will ensure that we have your consent to keep it and we will be clear on how we intend to use your information. We will aim to anonymise information where we can but there may be instances where this is not possible in order to make change happen on your behalf. There may be exceptional circumstances where we can and will keep the data without consent but we must have a lawful basis for doing so, such as for safeguarding purposes. We will inform you if this is the case.

We ensure that where consent is required it will be freely given, used only for agreed specific and unambiguous purposes and that you are well informed about how the information will be kept. This includes where it will be stored, details on security and for how long it will be kept. We will comply with current data protection legislation at all times.

Personal information may be collected with your consent through:

• Our signposting and advice service

• When we receive feedback by phone, outreach work or through surveys

• Enter and View activity

• Recruitment of staff

• Sign-up to our membership scheme

• Sign-up for our newsletter

Signing up to our newsletter

We use Halton & St Helens VCA to provide our newsletter service. By subscribing to this service you will be agreeing to them handling your data.

You can read Halton & St Helens VCA privacy policy here

Personal data received from other sources

On occasion we will receive information from the families, friends and carers of people who access health and social care services. We use this data to inform providers and commissioners to help them deliver services that work for you.

We will only process your personal data where there is a lawful basis to do so under current data protection legislation.

Publishing information

In most circumstances we anonymise our data to ensure that a person cannot be identified, unless this has been otherwise agreed and consent has been given.

Sharing your data with Healthwatch England

We are required to share information with Healthwatch England to ensure that your views are considered at a national level. This enables them to analyse service provision across the country and supply the Department of Health and national commissioners with the information you provide.
Find out more about Healthwatch England's purpose and what they do:

https://www.healthwatch.co.uk/what-we-do?

The information we provide to Healthwatch England contains no personally identifiable data. Any information that is used for national publications is anonymised and will only be used with the consent of a local Healthwatch.

How we share information with other organisations

We only share personal information with other organisations where it is lawful to so. Information is shared in order to fulfil our remit which is to pass on your experiences of care to help improve them on your behalf.

We work with Healthwatch England, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), local commissioners, NHS Improvement and our local authority to make this happen. We can also engage external suppliers to process personal information on our behalf.

We will only disclose your personal information where we have your consent to do so, or where there is another very good reason to make the disclosure, for example, we may disclose information to CQC or a local authority where we think it is necessary to do so in order to protect a vulnerable person from abuse or harm. Any such disclosure will be made in accordance with the requirements of the current data protection legislation.

Wherever possible, we will ensure that any information that we share or disclose is anonymised, so as to ensure that you cannot be identified from it.

Retention and disposal of personal data

We have a retention and disposal schedule which explains how long we keep different types of records and documents for, including records and documents containing personal data. Personal data is deleted or securely destroyed at the end of its retention period.

Your rights

Your right to access information about you

If you think we may hold personal data relating to you and want to see it please email [email protected], or write to Healthwatch St Helens, 2nd Floor, Beacon Building, College Street, St Helens WA10 1TF

Correcting or deleting your personal data

If you know that we are holding your personal data and believe that it may be wrong, or if you want it to be deleted or for us to stop using it, you have a right to request that it can be deleted or amended.

Please email [email protected]

Or write to us and send it by post to:

Healthwatch St Helens,  2nd Floor, Beacon Building, College Street, St Helens WA10 1TF

Complaints about how we look after or use your information

If you feel that we have not met our responsibilities under data protection legislation, you have a right to request an independent assessment from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). You can find details on their website.

Our contact details and key roles

Halton and St Helens Voluntary and Community Action is data controller for all of the personal data that you provide us with. Any issues relating to the processing of personal data by or on behalf of Healthwatch St Helens may be addressed to:
Halton and St Helens Voluntary and Community Action, St Maries, Lugsdale Road, Widnes, WA8 6DB

[email protected]