Records are an essential part of health and care
Records and the information they contain, and the proper management of such records, are vital to the delivery of good quality healthcare services to our patients and delivery of our business activities. Our records are our lifeblood and corporate memory, providing evidence of the actions and decisions made in the provision of our healthcare services and business activities. Additionally, compliance with current Data Protection legislation and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 puts good records management high on the corporate agenda.
Records management is a discipline which ensures all staff within the Trust are responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposal of records, whatever format or media type they are held in. Information is only usable if it is correctly and legibly recorded in the first place, is then kept up-to-date (contemporaneous) and is easily and readily accessible when needed.
To help ensure that these records are all managed consistently, the Trust follows the Records Management Code of Conduct 2023. This provides important information to those responsible for managing records on how to file and store records and how long records should be kept for. The Code of Practice provides a framework for consistent and effective records management based on established standards. It covers all types of NHS and adult social care records (where the social care provision has an element of NHS funded care) regardless of the media on which they are held, including for example:-
- All patient health records for all specialties
- All administrative records (for example personnel, estates, finance and accounting, customer services, complaints, incidents, etc.)
These include records held in all formats, including for example:-
- Electronic records
- Paper records, reports, diaries and registers, etc.
- X-rays and other images
- Audio and video recordings
- Microfiche and microfilm
All NHS records are public records under the Public Records Act 1958 and each member of staff is responsible for the records they create or use.
The Trust has a responsibility to ensure that the healthcare each patient receives is recorded appropriately and accurately, and that records are processed responsibly to support high quality care. There are Trust standards for record-keeping, supported by professional standards for clinical record-keeping that are part of the requirements for professional registration. Additionally, for legal and practical reasons, records must be stored and transported securely.
The Records Management Code of Practice was introduced to ensure that organisations manage their records at all stages of the records lifecycle from the point of creation, through active use and retention, to either ultimate destruction or permanent preservation if being of historical or research interest.
The Records Team is part of the Information Governance Team and can be contacted directly by emailing Records
Name | Role | Location | Email Address |
---|---|---|---|
Geoff Springer | Deputy Head of Records | Hollins Park | Records |
Rachel Lea | Records Manager | Hollins Park | |
Michelle Sabatina | Records Coordinator | Hollins Park | |
Elaine Prendergast | Records Coordinator | Hollins Park | |
Michelle Cullen | Records Supervisor | Hollins Park | |
Gill Housley | Clerical Officer | Hollins Park | |
Robert Ruddick | Assistant Records Manager | Everton Road | Records |
Neil Hale | Senior Records Clerk | Everton Road | |
Martin Carter | Clerk | Everton Road | |
Pat Lloyd | Clerk | Everton Road | |
Amanda Woods | Clerk | Everton Road | |
Chantele Condliff | Clerk | Everton Road |
To help ensure that records are all managed consistently, the Trust follows the Records Management Code of Practice. This provides important information to those responsible for managing records on how to file and store records, how long records should be kept for (minimum retention periods) and arrangements for disposal. The Code of Practice provides a framework for consistent and effective records management based on established standards. It covers NHS and adult social care records (where the social care provision has an element of NHS funded care).
The Section 46 Code of Practice of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 also provides guidance on good practice in records management.
BS 10008 Evidential Weight and Legal Admissibilty of Electronic Information is the British Standard that outlines best practice for the implementation and operation of electronic information management systems, including the storage and transfer of information. It is designed to ensure the authenticity and integrity of electronic information to avoid the legal pitfalls of information storage. BS 10008 outlines best practice for transferring electronic information between systems and migrating paper records to digital files. It also gives guidelines for managing the availability and accessibility of any records that could be required as legal evidence.
The over arching Corporate Records Policy (IT04) and Health Records Policy (IT06) are available via the Trust's website. If there are any specific queries relating to the above policies or any further information needed relating to records management, record keeping, archiving, retention, off-site storage; please contact the Records Team at: records
There are often ongoing national inquiries that need to be considered when reviewing and appraising records as part of the record lifecycle. The current inquiries that all staff need to be aware of are:
Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA)
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA) has published its final report in October 2022. Following on from this, records must be retained if they fall within the scope of the enquiry. For further information, please see: https://www.iicsa.org.uk/
Infected Blood Inquiry
The Infected Blood Inquiry published its final report on 20 May 2024. The inquiry recently released guidance instructing that while the inquiry no longer requires material providers to continue to retain material for inquiry purposes, they must continue to hold information that might be required in connection with the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme and support schemes. Please see https://www.infectedbloodinquiry.org.uk/ for further information.
The COVID Enquiry
This is the independent public enquiry set up to examine the UK’s response to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and lessons learnt for the future. For further information please see: covid19.public-inquiry.uk
The Lampard Enquiry
The Lampard Inquiry is a statutory inquiry investigating mental health inpatient deaths in Essex. For further information please see: The Lampard Inquiry - investigating mental health deaths in Essex
If there are any queries regarding the retention of records in relation to national on-going enquiries, please contact: records
New records awareness training package
The records team have launched a new records awareness training package to make sure we are all working in the same way to protect our patients, colleagues and the Trust.
What will you learn?
- Who the records team are and how they can help
- Records policies and procedures
- Understanding BS10008 (the British Standard)
- How to scan and upload a document to an Electronic Patient Record (EPR)
- How to quality check and confidentiality destroy documents
- What a 'confused record' means
- Confidentiality
- Retention periods
- Lost, stolen or duplicate records and incidents
- National inquiries and what this means for us
- Archiving processes and record retention periods
- How to process an amendment to record requests
- When to complete a Radar
- How to access patient records
- Introduction to user group.
How to book onto a session
To book on a session, please visit the Training Courses Booking App.
From here, please select 'Information Governance' for the system and 'Records Management Awareness' for the course name.
Once you have selected a suitable date, you will be sent a Microsoft Teams meeting invitation to enable you to join the online training.
Should you require any further information, please email: records