Privacy Notice – NHS Forth Valley

Data Protection Your Rights Equality & Inclusion Cookies Surveys Contact Information Children’s Privacy Notice Overseas Visitors Privacy Notice

This privacy notice applies to content published on the nhsforthvalley.com network of sites, including some which have their own domain name:

Data Protection

NHS Forth Valley is a public organisation created in Scotland under section 2 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978. It is one of the organisations that form part of NHS Scotland.

NHS Forth Valley is registered with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) under registration number: Z6175671. Further details regarding an organisation’s registration can be found on the ICO website.

About the Personal Information We Use

We use personal information relating to different groups of individuals including:

Patients
Staff
Contractors
Suppliers
Complainants and enquirers
Survey respondents
Professional experts and consultants
Individuals captured by CCTV or body worn video cameras

The personal information we use includes information that identifies you, for example your name, address, date of birth and postcode.

We may also process special category personal data where necessary. This may include information about:

racial or ethnic origin
political opinions
religious or philosophical beliefs
trade union membership
genetic data
biometric data used for identification
health information
sex life or sexual orientation

The information we use can relate to personal and family details; education, training and employment details; financial details; lifestyle and social circumstances; goods and services; visual images; details held in the patient record; and responses to surveys.

Our Purposes for Using Personal Information

Under the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978, NHS Forth Valley has the statutory responsibility to provide or arrange the provision of a range of healthcare, health improvement and health protection services.

We use personal information to enable us to:

support and provide healthcare services for patients
maintain records relating to care and treatment
send appointment reminders by text or email
share relevant information with organisations involved in delivering care
prevent and detect fraud, including participation in the National Fraud Initiative
conduct research for the improvement of healthcare
support and manage our employees
maintain our accounts and records
operate CCTV and body worn video systems for safety, security and crime prevention

Our Legal Basis for Using Personal Information

NHS Forth Valley acts as a data controller when processing personal information.

Our primary legal basis for processing personal information is that it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in us (Article 6(1)(e) UK GDPR).

In some circumstances we may rely on other legal bases, for example:

compliance with a legal obligation
where processing is necessary for contractual purposes

When we process special category data such as health information, the processing is usually necessary for:

preventive or occupational medicine
medical diagnosis
provision of health or social care
management of health or social care systems
public health purposes
substantial public interest
protecting the vital interests of individuals
legal claims or court orders

In limited circumstances we may rely on your explicit consent. Where this applies we will explain this clearly to you.

Who Provides the Personal Information

We may receive personal information directly from you or from organisations involved in providing health and care services in Scotland. These may include:

other NHS Boards
GP practices, dentists, pharmacists and opticians
local authorities
suppliers and service providers

Sharing Personal Information

Where necessary and lawful we may share appropriate personal information with:

patients and their representatives
health and social care organisations
suppliers and service providers
professional bodies
police and courts
government departments
auditors and regulators
research organisations
voluntary or charitable organisations involved in care

Transferring Personal Information Abroad

We do not routinely transfer personal information outside the UK. If this becomes necessary, for example if you require medical treatment abroad, we will ensure the transfer complies with UK data protection law.

Retention of Personal Information

NHS Forth Valley retains information in accordance with the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Records Management Code of Practice (Scotland) 2024. This code sets minimum retention periods for different types of records including personal health records and administrative records.

How We Protect Personal Information

We take appropriate measures to ensure personal information is secure and only accessible to authorised staff.

These measures include:

mandatory data protection and information security training for staff
compliance with NHS Scotland Information Security policies
organisational policies for the safe handling of information
access controls and system auditing

Your Rights

You have a number of rights under data protection legislation.

The Right to Be Informed

You have the right to be informed about how your personal information is used.

The Right of Access

You have the right to request access to personal information held about you.

The Right to Rectification

If information we hold about you is inaccurate or incomplete you have the right to have it corrected.

The Right to Object

In certain circumstances you have the right to object to the processing of your personal information.

The Right to Complain

If you are unhappy about how we use your personal information you can contact our Data Protection Officer.

The Data Protection Officer for NHS Forth Valley is:

Head of Information Governance (DPO)
Carseview House
Stirling
FK9 4SW

Email: fv.informationgovernance@nhs.scot
Phone: 01786 457313

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Equality, Inclusion and Wellbeing

Interpretation and translation services are available for NHS Forth Valley staff and service users for health-related appointments.

Staff can arrange interpretation services by contacting the Equality, Inclusion and Wellbeing Service on 01324 590886. This service is available 24 hours a day.

Website Use of Cookies

Cookies are small text files stored on your computer or mobile device when you visit a website.

NHS Forth Valley uses cookies to improve the user experience and understand how our websites are used.

Cookies help us understand:

how many people visit our website
which pages are viewed
how frequently pages are accessed

Cookie preferences can be changed at any time using the “Cookie Settings” link in the website footer.

Surveys

Occasionally we may ask users to take part in surveys. Participation is voluntary and users may choose whether or not to provide information.

Information collected may include contact information and demographic information. This information will not be shared with third parties unless we clearly inform you beforehand.

Contact Information

If you have questions about this privacy notice or how we use your information, please contact us.