NHS Information Governance Coronavirus (COVID-19) response

At this extra-ordinary time, all at Kaleidoscope have agreed we must lend our skills to support NHS colleagues, and health services providers everywhere.

We are offering to provide free advice and guidance to any health service provider if they have concerns about handling of patient data.

Please use this email address to request support: IGsupport@nhsinformationgovernance.com

We will add answers to frequently asked questions as they build, and links to reference materials to this page, to gather advice offered by governments, supervisory authorities and other regulators, should sources require citation.

Useful links:

European guidance

European Data Protection Board Statement: https://edpb.europa.eu/sites/edpb/files/files/news/edpb_statement_2020_processingpersonaldataandcovid-19_en.pdf

UK guidance: NHS/health and social care specific

Not in any order

Added 24/3/2020

Digital Social Care: https://www.digitalsocialcare.co.uk/latest-guidance/covid-19-information-governance-and-information-sharing-guidance/

Nursing and Midwifery Council:https://www.nmc.org.uk/news/coronavirus/

Added 22/3/2020

NHS Digital – Microsoft Teams announcement: https://digital.nhs.uk/news-and-events/latest-news/messaging-tool-for-nhs-to-support-remote-working-during-coronavirus-outbreak

Coronavirus Contact Tracing App: https://www.thehtn.co.uk/2020/03/20/coronavirus-contact-tracking-app-in-process/

NHS COVID Live Impact Assessment: https://www.thehtn.co.uk/2020/03/18/nhs-covid-19-live-impact-assessment-tool-launched/

Public Health England main guidance for healthcare professionals and providers: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/wuhan-novel-coronavirus

Letter from Simon Stevens setting out the NHS position, 17 March 2020: https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/publication/next-steps-on-nhs-response-to-covid-19-letter-from-simon-stevens-and-amanda-pritchard/

NHS England guidance for secondary care: https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/secondary-care

NHS England guidance for primary care: https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/primary-care/

Guidance for ambulance service trusts and community healthcare: https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/community-social-care-ambulance/ and: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-ambulance-trust

Hospital discharge guidance: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/873876/COVID-19_Hospital_Discharge_Guidance.pdf

GMC guidance for doctors: https://www.gmc-uk.org/news/news-archive/coronavirus-information-and-advice

GDC guidance for dentists, including links through to NHS England model guidance for primary care dentists: https://www.gdc-uk.org/information-standards-guidance/covid-19-latest-guidance

GPhC guidance: https://www.pharmacyregulation.org/regulate/article/latest-updates-coronavirus-covid-19 includes links to NHS England guidance for community pharmacy

Joint regulatory guidance: https://www.nmc.org.uk/news/news-and-updates/how-we-will-continue-to-regulate-in-light-of-novel-coronavirus/

Academy of Medical Royal Colleges: https://www.aomrc.org.uk/covid-19/

CQC position statement on regulating during coronavirus outbreak: https://www.cqc.org.uk/news/stories/how-were-responding-outbreak-coronavirus

ICO guidance on data protection laws – GDPR: https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/news-and-events/news-and-blogs/2020/03/data-protection-and-coronavirus/ and https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/data-protection-and-coronavirus/

ICO guidance on data protection laws – FOIA: https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/news-and-events/icos-blog-on-its-information-rights-work

NHSX guidance on information governance: https://www.nhsx.nhs.uk/key-information-and-tools/information-governance-guidanc

Resources for housing associations: https://www.housing.org.uk/news-and-blogs/news/responding-to-coronavirus–resources-for-housing-associations

Clinical Trials Guidance

Health Research Authority: https://www.hra.nhs.uk/planning-and-improving-research/policies-standards-legislation/covid-19-guidance-sponsors-sites-and-researchers/

Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (Investigators): https://www.gov.uk/guidance/managing-clinical-trials-during-coronavirus-covid-19

Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (Applications): https://www.gov.uk/guidance/clinical-trials-applications-for-coronavirus-covid-19

Medical Device Guidance

Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/mhra-guidance-on-coronavirus-covid-19

International guidance

Summary from Bird and Bird applicable to most organisation types; COVID-19 Guidance

Frequently Asked Questions:

To follow

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