Information sharing

The Trust is required to protect personal information about you and inform you about how personal information will be used as part of providing healthcare to you.

The primary legal basis used for sharing information about you is public task. It is important to note that me may also use information about you where there is another legal basis to do so.

We may need to share relevant personal information with other NHS or Non-NHS Organisations. Sometimes special permission will be given to use information that identifies you without your consent. This may be for medical research or checking quality of care. This permission is given by the Secretary of State for Health on advice from the National Information Governance Board for Health and Social Care under strict conditions.

Approved research

Oxford Health uses a ‘Count me in’ approach to research, allowing approved researchers to contact patients about relevant studies. Participation is voluntary, and patients may opt out at any time by informing their care team. No patient data is shared with external organisations or researchers through this scheme.

For approved medical resear c h , personal information will be anonymised to protect individual identities. If this is not possible, we will request approval from the Health Research Authori t y .

Research Secure Data Environment

Oxford Health and other NHS organisations contribute to the Thames Valley & Surrey Secure Data Environment (TVS SDE). This is a large NHS data repository for research purposes hosted by Oxford University Hospitals. NHS, university or industry researchers can apply to become approved users to access this data. Access to this system is strictly controlled.

National Clinical Audit of Psychosis

We are taking part in the National Clinical Audit of Psychosis to help improve the care people with Psychosis receive. We will be collecting information about the care received by people in Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) services.

Third parties

The Trust may be required by law to share personal information with other parties. There may be occasions where this can be done lawfully without consent where there is a legal obligation.

This may occur in the following circumstances:

Auditing or administering public funds, to prevent and detect fraud
Disclosure under a court order
Sharing with the Care Quality Commission for inspection purposes
For the prevention or detection of crime or the apprehension or prosecution of offenders
Where there is an overriding public interest to prevent abuse or serious harm to others and other public bodies

Other NHS organisations

Sharing personal information with other NHS organisations would be for the purpose of healthcare.

These authorities would be:

NHS England
NHS Integrated Care Board
Public Health England
Other NHS Trusts
General Practitioners (GPs)
Ambulance Services
Primary Care Providers

This may also include those contracted to provide services (including private sector providers) to the NHS to support your healthcare needs.

Sharing personal information with non-NHS organisations from which you may be receiving care could include Social Services or private care homes.

Shared Care Record Systems

Oxford Health provides personal information to shared care record systems within the areas in which it operates. These systems allow instant, secure access to health and social care records about you for the professionals involved in your care. This gives them up-to-date information making your care safer and more efficient.

Page last reviewed: 1 July, 2026