Your rights
Health rights
Information and links to documents available from Health Rights
Information Scotland (HRIS)
Health Rights Information Scotland (HRIS) has produced a number
of publications that give details of your rights in relation to NHS
healthcare. The link below will give you direct access to the
relevant page of the HRIS website.
On this website you will find information about:
- What you can expect from the NHS and what we expect from
you.
- How to access your information*
- Confidentiality*
- Consent*
- Rights for those under 16.
- Making a complaint*
- Health care for overseas visitors.
- Health care for holidaymakers from overseas.
Further information on the topics marked with an asterisk *
can also be found within the other sections of 'Your rights'
on this website.
Information rights
How we manage your personal information.
Looking after your personal information
We all need effective health care systems to help us keep well -
and to treat us when we are ill.
The NHS uses the information you provide to help us plan and
manage modern health care services and improve health care.
Members of the NHS team looking after you will routinely share
information with others involved in your direct care and treatment.
This team may include doctors, nurses, therapists, pharmacists,
laboratory staff, other healthcare professionals, certain
administration staff and trainee students in medicine or nursing.
Staff may also need to share some of your information with people
who work outside the NHS - for example, in social work, education
or other partner agencies - to provide for your care and other
needs.
These people will only get access to your personal information
on a need-to-know basis. If they are not involved in your direct
treatment and health care then you will be asked to give your
permission for this information to be
shared.
Consent
Making decisions about your health care and treatment.
Consent is the principle that a person must give their
permission before they receive any type of medical treatment.
Consent is required from a patient regardless of the type of
treatment being undertaken and this must be informed and
voluntarily given.
There are, however, some occasions when your information may
need to be passed to others without your consent - for example,
where there is a legal requirement or in the public interest or
vital interest situation (that is, child protection). Whenever
possible you will be informed if such an occasion arises and at all
times we will try to make the information anonymous to protect your
identity.
For further information, click on the following links:
Consent form
Confidentiality
Information for you.
The NHS has a legal and moral duty to protect and to keep your
personal health information confidential. All NHS staff members
have a legal obligation and a contractual duty to keep information
about you confidential and will only share your information with
others as part of your care and treatment on a strict need to know
basis.
All NHS Boards have appointed a 'Caldicott Guardian' whose job
it is to oversee how staff use personal information and ensure that
patients' rights to confidentiality are respected.
Further information can be found using the following links:
Data protection
Data protection information
The Data Protection Act 1998
is a part of UK law which gives legal rights to individuals (data
subjects) in respect of personal data processed about them by
others. Under this Act every organisation (data controller) that
processes personal information must notify the Information
Commissioner's Office unless they are exempt. NHS
Ayrshire & Arran is not exempt and is therefore registered with
the Information Commissioner's Office. It is therefore our duty to
comply with the Act by following the principles of good information
handling contained within the Act.
The right to complain
This is an information leaflet for patients and carers giving
information about NHS Ayrshire & Arran's complaints
procedure.
In addition to the contact details available within the booklet,
NHS Ayrshire & Arran also provides a freephone telephone
number, which is 0800 169 1441
Our revised complaints procedure is designed to make things simpler
and more effective for you, if you want to raise concerns with
us.