Health & Social Care Privacy Notice

This Privacy Notice explains how we use the information that we collect about you.

Fife Health and Social Care Partnership provides health and social care services for the people who live and work in Fife. The services that we provide are governed by the requirements of health and social care legislation including:

  • Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014
  • National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978
  • Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007
  • Adults with Incapacity Act 2000
  • Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968
  • Health (Tobacco, Nicotine etc. and Care) (Scotland) Act 2016
  • Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003.

Fife Health and Social Care Partnership use the information provided by you in order to help us deliver health and social care services.

We hold and process the information you have given us on the basis that it is necessary for us to carry out our statutory obligations/public tasks.

The personal information we gather and use includes:

  • Contact (Name, address, email, phone)
  • Age/DOB
  • Health/Disability
  • Racial or Ethnic Origin
  • Identifiers - for example reference numbers used in data collection systems to identify you.
  • Information about other members of your household.
  • Details of family relationships in and outside of your household.
  • The names and contact details of your close relatives and / or carers.
  • Details of your legal status and documents (e.g. immigration, power of attorney etc.)
  • Details about your accommodation (type, layout, details of alarms fitted, accessibility etc.)
  • Details about your needs in all areas of your life (e.g. personal care, eating and drinking, practical tasks, physical and emotional well-being, parenting)
  • Details of any communication needs (e.g. if you need an interpreter or a translator).
  • Any cultural, spiritual or religious beliefs where we need to take these into account when providing support.
  • Your medical history and details of any diagnoses.
  • Details of the health, social care or other services you are receiving.
  • Details of the goals you wish to achieve relating to your social care needs.
  • Information about the support provided by any carers or other agencies.
  • Details of any risks.
  • Information about your situation given to us by your family and/or carers.
  • Things that other organisations (such as health or other care services) tell us to help us understand your situation and needs, and to co-ordinate your care services more effectively.
  • Reports relating to your situation and the care you are receiving.
  • Any documents sent to us relating to you.
  • Marital Status

To enable us to provide the services that you need, we may share information about you with other organisations, for example, partners that we commission to provide care and support, such as home care agencies or care homes. We may also share your information to support related legislative and regulatory requirements such as accident reporting, complaints, audits and inspections, investigations and hearings, duty of candour, or the prevention and detection of crime. Social Care information is also shared with the Scottish Government, Public Health Scotland, and the NHS for statistical, research and policy making purposes. Usually this is anonymised or statistical data, however sometimes personal information may also be shared. All data sharing will be in accordance with data protection legislation including the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

We may also receive information about you from:

  • Police
  • NHS
  • Third Parties
  • Scottish Government
  • UK Government
  • Department for Work & Pensions

We collect information in several different ways:

  • Details that you provide to us on paper forms, over the phone, by email or using online forms, or in face-to-face meetings such as assessments and reviews.
  • Information provided to us by people in other agencies, for example NHS Fife, care providers and support organisations such as charities or voluntary agencies, GP's or other medical professionals.
  • Details provided by your family, or other carers.
  • In some cases information may also be provided by other partner agencies such as Police Scotland, Scottish Ambulance Service, or other public bodies.

The information that we collect is used to help plan and deliver health and social care services in Fife. These services include:

  • All adult and older people Social Work Services.
  • Community health services, for example district nursing, physiotherapy and mental health services; children's community health services such as health visiting.
  • Housing services which provide support services to vulnerable adults and disability adaptations.
  • Some services which are provided in hospital for example medical care of the elderly.

The Council will not keep your information for longer than is necessary. In some instances the law sets the length of time information has to be kept. The Council has a retention schedule which sets out how long we hold different types of information. This can be viewed on our Privacy Policy page. Further information on how your information is used and why can be found at http://fife.gov.uk/privacy. The Council's Data Protection Officer can be contacted at: dataprotection@fife.gov.uk.