The ‘Care.Data’ Programme
The NHS in England is commissioning a new, modern data service from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) on behalf of the entire health and social care system. Known as ‘care.data’, the programme will eventually cover all care settings in England, including hospitals and GP practices.
Under the Health and Social Care Act 2012, NHS England has directed the HSCIC to collect information from all providers of NHS care including Townhead Surgery. This will start to happen in the autumn and initially will cover the period from April 2013 onwards.
Any data that is uploaded will not include your name but it will include your date of birth, gender, NHS number and your postcode. The data is pooled anonymously and we are assured that individual patients cannot be identified.
Sharing information can help improve understanding, locally and nationally, of the most important health needs and the quality of the treatment and care provided by local health services. It may also help researchers by supporting studies that identify patterns in diseases, responses to different treatments and potential solutions.
You have the right to prevent confidential information about you from being shared or used for any purpose other than providing your care, (except in special circumstances). If you do not want information about you to be shared as part of the care.data Programme, ask your GP or another member of the Practice Team to make a note of this in your records. Your choice will not affect the care you receive.
A leaflet about the Programme can be collected from the Surgery waiting rooms and further information about the care.data Programme including a copy of the leaflet and a frequently asked questions document is available via the links below: