Privacy Policy

Introduction

As The NHS Information Centre collects information about members of the public and business associates via this HESonline service, The NHS Information Centre has published a prominent, readily accessible policy on the HESonline service regarding the manner in which it collects and uses personal information. This is referred to as a HESonline Privacy Policy. This policy will help build good relations between The NHS Information Centre and the members of the public and business associates. These rules provide details that will assure the members of the public and business associates of our serious commitment to individual privacy.

Information collected via the HESonline service

By submitting personal data in electronic form to this HESonline service, or by using this site, you give your consent that all personal information you submit may be processed in the manner and for the purposes necessary to conduct our services.

If you do nothing other than read pages or download information while using this HESonline service, we will capture and store information about your visit. This information will not identify you, it relates to:

• The internet domain eg www.organisation.co.uk and IP address from which you access the web site.
• The type of browser, such as internet Explorer or Netscape, and operating system, such as Windows, that you use.
• The date and time of your visit.
• The pages you visit.
• The address of the web site from which you linked to us (if applicable).
• The query activities which you process.

We use this information to make each visit more rewarding and to provide us with information to help improve our service. We do not know (and do not want to know) the identities of people who visit us in this way.

Why information is collected

All personal information is collected in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. The reason the organisation collects your information is:

• To improve the services available to you and give better access.
• To provide you with updates of The NHS Information Centre policy together with any key announcements that are made.

How information is handled

All personal information is handled in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. The organisation always ensures that your personal details and information are managed confidentially and securely, and that members of staff only access the information they need in order to conduct their duties.

Policy changes

The personal information we collect and maintain will be subject to the version of the HESonline Privacy Policy in effect at the time of collection. We reserve the right to change the HESonline Privacy Policy from time to time and will provide notice of these changes on the home page of our web site. You should make sure you periodically review the HESonline Privacy Policy to make sure it meets your needs.

Young persons' information

This HESonline service is not intended for children under 14 years of age. We neither knowingly solicit nor collect personal information from or about children under the age of 14 years without the explicit consent of the child's next of kin or legal guardian.

Security

There are security measures in place for all personal information that is collected, to protect against the loss or alteration of information under The NHS Information Centre's control.

Review

The NHS Information Centre's Governance Team will be responsible for reviewing this HESonline Privacy Policy on an annual basis to ensure that procedures are kept accurate and up-to-date, in line with national best practice.

The review will be championed by the NHS Information Centre's Caldicott Guardian.

Contact details

For further assistance and advice, please contact The NHS Information Centre at [email protected] or 0845 300 6016.