Categories of personal data
Personal Data that is processed in the FDP varies depending on the Product and the purposes for which the data is processed. Personal Data that identifies an individual will be used in local Instances, as the Products used by NHS Trusts and Integrated Care Boards bring data together which is used to provide those individuals with care and treatment. In the national Instances of FDP, most Personal Data will not include information that directly identifies individuals as it will have gone through a process called pseudonymisation, which means that the data will be referred to as de-identified data.
Local instances
Directly Identifiable Data is processed in Local Instances as most Products enable clinicians to provide individual care to patients who they treat. Access to this information is still restricted to only the information that a clinician and their care team need to know for the specific purpose of providing care to an individual. This information may include an individual’s:
- name
- address
- date of birth or age
- gender
- sex
- NHS number or hospital record number
- telephone number
- email address
- marital status
- health information, including information about their symptoms, medical conditions, diagnosis, medication and treatment
- race and/or ethnicity
- religious and/or other beliefs
- sexual life and/or sexual orientation (where this is relevant to their care)
- living arrangements, living habits and diet
- genetic information
National instance
De-identified data processed in Products within the national Instances will be used by NHS England to understand how the NHS is operating and to help NHS Trusts and Integrated Care Boards to plan and manage how they deliver care to patients.
NHS England does not have any GP datasets within the national instance. Some of the data used within certain products includes information which may have been sourced from GP records (such as when a vaccination has been administered within a GP practice as part of Direct Care). Any such data is de-identified before being put into the national Instance and analysed.
De-identified data does not directly identify any individuals, so it does not include a name or contact details. It may include information about:
- the area they live in
- their age
- their gender or sex
- their race or ethnicity
- their care and treatment including information about hospital admission and stays, health conditions, diagnosis, treatment, discharge, and their outcome from treatment.
More information about the specific categories of Personal Data that are processed in each Product are contained in the Product Privacy Notices.