Personal data sharing partners

If you are receiving care from a health or care organisation, that organisation may share your NHS number with other organisations providing your care. This is so that the health and care organisations are using the same number to identify you whilst providing your care. By using the same number the health and care organisations can work together more closely to improve your care and support.

Your NHS number is accessed through an NHS England service called the Personal Demographic Service (PDS). A health or care organisation sends basic information such as your name, address and date of birth to the PDS in order to find your NHS number. Once retrieved from the PDS, the NHS number is stored in our case management system. These data are retained in line with our record retention policies and in accordance with the UK GDPR (2016) and the Data Protection Act (2018), Government record retention regulations and best practice. Further information is available on our website.

We will share information only to provide health and care professionals directly involved in your care access to the most up-to-date information about you. Access to information is strictly controlled, based on the role of the professional, and where the user has a direct care relationship with you.

The use of joined up information across health and social care brings many benefits. One specific example where this will be the case is the discharge of patients into social care. Delays in discharge (commonly known as bed blocking) can occur because details of social care involvement are not readily available to the staff on the hospital ward. The hospital does not know who to contact to discuss the ongoing care of a patient. The linking of social care and health information via the NHS number will help hospital staff quickly identify if social care support is already in place and who the most appropriate contact is. Ongoing care can be planned earlier in the process, because hospital staff will know who to talk to.

You have the right to object to the processing of your NHS number in this way. This will not stop you from receiving care, but will result in the benefits outlined above not being realised. To help you decide, we will discuss with you how this may affect our ability to provide you with care, and any other options that you have.

If you wish to opt-out from the use of your NHS number in this way, please visit Choose if data from your health records is shared for research and planning - NHS.