PRIVACY POLICY

The Data Protection Act 1998 applies to the whole of the United Kingdom and seeks to ensure that confidential information held about individuals is protected by law. The Act came into force on 1 March 2000 and implements EU Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC. It sets rules for processing personal information and applies to paper records as well as those held on computers. The eight Data Protection Principles say that data must be: fairly and lawfully processed; processed for limited purposes; adequate, relevant and not excessive; accurate; not kept longer than necessary; processed in accordance with people’s rights; secure; and not transferred to other countries without adequate protection. The Act gives individuals (data subjects) the right to gain access to personal data about themselves, including health information.

I will endeavour to I protect the confidential information that I hold about you by storing it, transmitting it and disposing of it correctly. I will not leave any of your personal information lying around or on a computer screen where others might see it. I will not share your information with a third party without your express consent. I will thus minimise the chance of allowing unauthorised disclosure of confidential information and maintain the eight principles of the Data Protection Act 1998.

If I provide one-to-one support during either the antenatal or postnatal period I will supply you with a written copy of the care given/subjects covered for you to keep as part of your maternity record. I am required by law to keep a copy of such documentation for a minimum of 25 years and will do in a manner that complies with the Data Protection Act 1998.

I may keep information in a non-identifiable manner for audit purposes and to help me develop practices within Mother Nurture that support women and families in the best possible way.

Finally, I will maintain a secure database of your contact details to enable me to send you details of services and information that may be of interest to you. You can request that your contact details be removed from this database whenever you wish.

Further information on record keeping within midwifery are available in the Guidelines for records and record keeping (NMC 2002) which is available for downloading free of charge from the Nursing and Midwifery Council web site.

Information about the Data Protection Act 1998 can be obtained from the Office of the Information Commissioner