Privacy notice

Who we are and what we do

Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is the leading provider of eye health services in the UK and a world-class centre of excellence for ophthalmic research and education. We have a reputation, developed over two centuries, for providing the highest quality of ophthalmic care. Our 2,300 staff are committed to sustaining and building on our pioneering legacy and ensuring we remain at the cutting edge of developments in ophthalmology.

Why we collect personally identifiable information

We need the information so that we can:- 

• Make sure that decisions about  your care and treatment are always based on the best possible information
• Make sure that we use your information to best effect, for example by pooling the information we have with other care providers to spot problems or concerns
• Share information with other care providers so we have complete, accurate and up to date records
• Investigate any concerns or complaints raised by you or your family.
• Measure the quality of your treatment and ensure the service/care provided to you is excellent
• Investigate any incidents
• Provide assurance to the Care Quality Commission that the care we provide is of good quality.
• If you have a carer, we will also maintain a record of their contact details and liaise with them about your care and treatment in accordance with your care plan.

For general information about how your data is used in health and social care see  https://understandingpatientdata.org.uk/what-you-need-know 

What information do we collect?

• We keep a record of your care and treatment, this includes:-
  Personal identifiers, contacts and characteristics (for example, name and contact details)
• Information relating to you past and current care

How we get the personal information

Most of the personal information we process is provided to us by you, either directly to us or by the person that referred you to us (for example your GP or optometrist), or another person caring for you (for example, a community nurse, social worker, or carer).

We use the information that you have given us in order to provide quality care. 

We may share some of this information with other people supporting your care (such as your GP or carer) in accordance with the care plan we have agreed with you.

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the lawful bases we rely on for processing this information is to perform a public task.

How you can help us to keep your health record up to date

• Let us know when you change address, telephone number, email,  or name
• Tell us about any other care your are receiving from others
• Keep a note of your unique NHS number
• Tell us if any information in your record is incorrect
• Tell us if the contact details of your carer or next of kin change

How we store your personal information 

Your information is securely stored.  We will only retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, accounting, or reporting requirements.  

You can find details of how long we keep information for in the  Records Management Code of Practice for Health and Social Care 2016.

Improving care quality and clinical services

We will only use your personal information for the purposes set out above unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose or where there is another lawful basis for processing.  

The quality of care that your enjoy is based on evidence derived from research.  As a national and international centre of excellence, we undertake a lot of research at Moorfields so the care of tomorrow is the best it can be.  We might invite you to take part in research, but we will never use your personally identifiable data in research without your permission.  To find out more, or to register your choice to opt-out, please visit www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters.  On this web page you will:

• See what is meant by confidential patient information
• Find examples of when confidential patient information is used for individual care and examples of when it is used for purposes beyond individual care
• Find out more about the benefits of sharing data
• Understand more about who uses the data
• Find out how your data is protected
• Be able to access the system to view, set or change your opt-out setting
• Find the contact telephone number if you want to know any more or to set/change your opt-out by phone
• See the situations where the opt-out does not apply

You can also find out more about how patient information is used for research at https://www.hra.nhs.uk/information-about-patients/

You can change your mind about your choice at any time, you can also opt-in to research studies of your choice.

We do not share you data with insurance companies or use it for marketing purposes.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have rights including:

Your right of access - You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information.

Your right to rectification - You have the right to ask us to rectify personal information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete.  However, where information is part of your health record, we are obliged to keep records of any changes, and so the incorrect information may not be erased, but instead would be crossed out with the correct information entered with a note.

Your right to restriction of processing - You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.

Your right to object to processing - You have the the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.  but as we cannot provide care if we cannot process your information, it is unlikely that we will be able to comply with your request.  

You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you.

Please contact us at the address below if you wish to make a request.

Last updated: January 2023

Last reviewed: June 2024