All staff are responsible for making sure emails are sent to the right individual(s), using the correct process and only containing the minimum necessary information which is essential and appropriate (in line with Data Protection legislation and Caldicott Principles).
To protect confidential, person-identifiable information staff must ensure the following is adhered to when sending via email:
- Only use Trust-approved email accounts (ending merseycare.nhs.uk or nhs.net)
- Never put person-identifiable information into the subject line of an email
- Only use a person's initials and another identifier (eg NHS number, employee number, etc.) in the body of an email
- Never use person-identifiable information to name any attachments
- Ensure that a recipient's email address has been entered accurately or selected correctly from a provided address list.
Please note that the use of password protected documents is no longer Trust policy.