Correspondence

Notice under Regulation 3(4) of the Health Service (Control of Patient Information) Regulations 2002

Published 5 May 2023

This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government

Applies to England

© Crown copyright 2023

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-notification-to-gps-and-nhs-england-to-share-information-may-2023/notice-under-regulation-34-of-the-health-service-control-of-patient-information-regulations-2002

To:

Amanda Pritchard
Chief Executive Officer
NHS England

2 May 2023

Dear Amanda

This notice follows that issued on 1 November 2022 and should be considered as a further extension of that notice, intended to allow continuation of the use of OpenSAFELY to allow approved researchers to continue to securely access pseudonymised data held in GP IT systems to assist the health and care service’s response to COVID-19.

I am, therefore, giving notice, under Regulation 3(4) of the Health Service (Control of Patient Information) Regulations 2002 (the COPI Regulations) to:

  1. NHS England
  2. GP practices in England, whose IT systems are supplied by The Phoenix Partnership (TPP) or Egton Medical Information Systems (EMIS)

to process confidential patient data for purposes set out in Regulation 3(1) of the COPI Regulations.

This extension is intended to allow time for further engagement with the GP profession over transition of the legal basis for OpenSAFELY to the COVID-19 Public Health Directions 2020. The position authorised by this notice will be kept under review and information on the transition to the COVID-19 Public Health Directions 2020 to authorise continued use of OpenSAFELY will be issued before the expiry of this notice.

Requirement to process confidential patient information

I hereby provide recipients with notice under Regulation 3(4) that I require you to process confidential patient information, including disseminating to a person or organisation permitted to process confidential patient information under Regulation 3(3) of the COPI Regulations for the purposes set out in Regulation 3(1) of the COPI Regulations to support the Secretary of State’s response to COVID-19 (COVID-19 purpose).

Organisations are only required to process such confidential patient information:

  • where the confidential patient information to be processed is required for a COVID-19 purpose and will be processed solely for that COVID-19 purpose in accordance with Regulation 7 of COPI
  • from the date of this notice until 30 June 2023 (which includes a case where the dissemination of the information in question was authorised by a previous Regulation 3(4) notice and began before the date of this notice, but which continues on or after that date)

Compliance with notice

Parties subject to this notice will demonstrate effective compliance by carrying out the required processing using the OpenSAFELY platform.

COVID-19 purpose

A COVID-19 purpose includes but is not limited to the following:

  • understanding COVID-19 and risks to public health, trends in COVID-19 and such risks, and controlling and preventing the spread of COVID-19 and such risks
  • processing to support the NHS Test and Trace programme
  • identifying and understanding information about patients or potential patients with or at risk of COVID-19, information about incidents of patient exposure to COVID-19 and the management of patients with or at risk of COVID-19 including: locating, contacting, screening, flagging and monitoring such patients and collecting information about and providing services in relation to testing, diagnosis, self-isolation, fitness to work, treatment, medical and social interventions and recovery from COVID-19
  • understanding information about patient access to health services and adult social care services and the need for wider care of patients and vulnerable groups as a direct or indirect result of COVID-19 and the availability and capacity of those services or that care
  • monitoring and managing the response to COVID-19 by health and social care bodies and the government including:
    • providing information to the public about COVID-19 and its effectiveness and information about capacity, medicines, equipment, supplies, services and the workforce within the health services and adult social care services
    • delivering services to patients, clinicians, the health services and adult social care services workforce and the public about and in connection with COVID-19, including the provision of information, fit notes and the provision of healthcare and adult social care services
  • research and planning in relation to COVID-19

Recording of processing

A record should be kept of all data processed under this notice.

Expiry of this notice

If no further notice is sent to you by me, this notice will expire on 1 July 2023.

Yours sincerely,

Louise Greenrod, Deputy Director – Data Policy and Digital Oversight

On behalf of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

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