Cornwall and Isles of Scilly linked data

• joins it up to enable a full view of your interactions with local services
• gives a better understanding of all your health conditions and care needs

• you are looked after to the highest standards
• your health and care needs are met
• health and care professionals involved in your care work together more smoothly and with you as a complete team

It is essential that health and care professionals have access to all the information they need to make the best evidence based recommendations about your care and to keep you well. The best way to do this, is to make sure your data is shared between the health and care professionals involved and produce a linked dataset.

• name
• date of birth
• phone number
• email
• Address
• NHS number

The anonymous data allows health and care services to better understand:

• how health is changing
• the best ways to plan services

For example, the longer term aim is to use the linked data set to identify people who would benefit from a particular service or treatment and improve their overall health and quality of life. Clinicians, such as GPs, and care givers with relevant security protection, would be able to identify people, and:

• tailor their care to their personal needs and circumstances
• improve their quality of life and health outcomes

This would require the inclusion of other items in the dataset, such as your date of birth.

The linked data set will be held according to strict security rules governing how data is stored and managed in the UK. These rules comply with data protection law and NHS guidance on managing health and care data.

Sometimes we will contract an external organisation to help us with analysis of activity. This is done in a controlled way and the data remains the property of the providing organisation.

We never sell your data to external organisations. Your personal data can only be accessed by those with a legitimate purpose for doing so.

• personal information will not be used for research or planning purposes
• individual care will not be affected

Confidential patient information is used to improve health, care and services across the NHS.

For example:

• for monitoring patient safety
• developing new treatments
• planning NHS services

Having data about as many people as possible ensures that NHS can make the best possible decisions. For example, if lots of people from a particular age group, ethnic minority or local area opt-out, then that group will not be represented in research findings. Find out more on the Understanding Patient Data website.