Your information, our responsibility

It's your information, but it's our responsibility.

Why we keep information about you

Care professionals keep records about your health and the treatment you receive, which helps us to give you the best possible care according to your needs. These records are confidential, and unless the law requires or permits it, are used solely to support your care.

Information we keep about you includes:

  • General details (e.g. name, address, date of birth, NHS number etc.)
  • Contact we have had with you, such as clinic visits
  • Notes and reports about your health and the treatment and care you need
  • Details and records about the treatment and care you receive

How your records are used to help you

  • Care professionals will have access to accurate and up-to-date information to assess your health and decide what care you need now and in the future
  • Information is available should you see a different care professional
  • So we can assess the quality of the care that you received

How your records are used to help the NHS – your information can help us:

  • Look after the health of the general public
  • Review the care we provide to ensure high standards
  • Make sure our services can meet people’s needs in the future
  • Teach and train our current and future care professionals
  • Conduct health research
  • Investigate complaints, legal claims or incidents
  • Prepare statistics on NHS performance

Generally your information will only be accessible to those providing your care. If your information is used to help the NHS, we will remove any details that identify you. We will gain your permission before carrying out any research that involves you personally.

Sharing your information

During your treatment your records will be used by our care teams. In some circumstances we may need to share information about you with other care providers. If we have to share your information it will always be done confidentially and securely.

Organisations we work with:

  • Acute Trusts (hospitals)
  • General practitioners (GPs)
  • Social services and local authorities
  • Voluntary sector providers
  • NHS commissioning organisations (CCGs)

Your information, your rights and the law

You’ve probably heard about the General Data Protection Regulation – also known as GDPR and you may also know that in the UK this Regulation forms the Data Protection Act (2018). These laws not only tell us how we must protect and use your information within the law, they also give you rights that we must uphold, for example your right to ask for a copy of your information, to have errors corrected, and to be told in a clear and transparent way what we do with your information. You can find more about this on our website, or by contacting our Data Protection Officer.

How do we ensure your information is accurate?

We regularly check your information to ensure that it is accurate and complete, so don’t be surprised if our staff occasionally ask you to confirm things we already know or you have told us before. We also cross-check your information using national systems.

You can help us by telling us if you think any information we hold about you is incorrect. Let us and your GP know if things change, like moving house, changing your name or your phone number.

Keeping it confidential

Everyone working for Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has a duty to keep information about you confidential and secure. All our staff take annual training courses on Information Governance, and the need for confidentiality is echoed in our contracts of employment and the professional Codes of Conduct of our care staff.

If we want to use your information for anything other than providing you with care, we will ask your permission first. Only under exceptional circumstances will we use your information without gaining your consent. This might be in the case of an emergency, in the public interest, if you pose a danger to yourself or others, or if required by court order or an act of law.

Further information

If you would like to know more about how we use your information or if you have concerns about anything in this leaflet, please speak to the care professionals concerned with your care.

You can also contact:

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)

Data Protection Officer

Page last updated: 8th Sep 2025 3:14pm