Investigators:
NHS CHECK is a collaborative effort led by a research team at King’s College London and King’s Health Partners supported by expert clinicians, frontline staff and researchers across different NHS Trusts and Universities, and the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre. The chief investigators include Professor Neil Greenberg, Professor Matthew Hotopf, Professor Rosalind Raine, Professor Reza Razavi, Dr Sharon Stevelink and Professor Sir Simon Wessely.
Funding:
NHS CHECK has received funding from the following organisations and charities: National Institute for Health Research Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, King’s College London, Rosetrees Trust, University College London, Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Emergency Preparedness and Response at King’s College London. Should other funders join as the study progresses, this information will be updated.
Who are we:
The study is coordinated by King’s College London and is being led by Professor Sir Simon Wessely. This research study is being conducted within the King’s College London governance framework which ensures that our work is carried out to high scientific and ethical standards.
King’s College London is the sponsor for this study based in the UK. We will be using information you provide through Qualtrics in order to undertake this study, and we will act a data controller for this study. This means that King’s College London are responsible for looking after your information and using it properly.
Study background:
The research aims to study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on short- and long-term health and wellbeing outcomes of all staff working within partner NHS Trusts or Nightingale Hospitals. It will also evaluate any staff support programmes people may have participated in during the pandemic.
What information are we collecting:
We are collecting information related to your work, available support, health and wellbeing and your direct and indirect experiences of COVID-19. We will use this information to assess the impact of COVID-19 on affiliated NHS staff. Additionally, we will also use the information you provide to assess if partner NHS Trusts can provide more support or to inform its approach to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Do we share your information with other organisations:
We use the third party Qualtrics to process some of your personal data on our behalf. When we allow them access to your data, we do not permit them to use it for their own purposes. We will not share your personal information with any external organisations. On rare occasions, we may be required or permitted to share personal information by law. If we find that any important findings (aggregated) that require immediate action, we will inform the senior management team of partner NHS Trusts. We will also inform organisations responsible for public health, e.g. Public Health England. We will publish the anonymised findings in scientific papers, and we will publicise them in related scientific publications, e.g. by making them available for relevant newsletters, summary briefings and websites. Scientific papers will contain only anonymous, aggregated data (e.g. percentages and averages) presented as tables and figures. The scientific papers will not contain any data on individuals.
Scientific papers will contain only anonymous, aggregated data (e.g. percentages and averages) presented as tables and figures. The scientific papers will not contain any data on individuals.
How long will we hold the data:
King’s College London will keep identifiable information about you for 10 years after the study has finished, to enable us to manage the data. If, in 10 years no future analyses are planned, all the data we hold will be securely destroyed.
How do we keep your information safe and secure:
Any information that could identify you is held securely with strict arrangements about who can access the information. At King’s College London, all paper-based documents will be held in a locked filing cabinet in an alarmed office, and a secure off-site archive. All electronic information will be held securely on encrypted servers. Access to all information will be strictly limited to authorised members of the study team. The data file used for analyses by the study team will be de-identified, meaning we remove all names, and other identifiable information (e.g. first name, email, address, phone number). This information will be stored separately from the analyses file, and password protected and encrypted.
The information will only be used for the purpose of health and care research.
What is the legal basis for holding these data:
The lawful basis for processing this information is:
Article 6(1.e) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.
The special condition category is article 9(2)(j) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): processing is necessary for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes in accordance with Article 89(1) based on Union or Member State law which shall be proportionate to the aim pursued, respect the essence of the right to data protection and provide for suitable and specific measures to safeguard the fundamental rights and the interests of the data subject.
How can you access your own data:
You can contact the study team to request data ([email protected]) for further information.
Rights of access:
You have the right to see the information we hold about you. If you would like to access your information, please contact the King’s College London Data Protection Officer: Mr Albert Chan (Assistant Director of Business Assurance) Information Compliance team:
King’s College London, Waterloo Campus Room 5.20, James Clerk Maxwell Building, 57 Waterloo Road, London, SE1 8WA; or by email: [email protected]
How can I object to my data being used:
Article 21 of the GDPR gives individuals the right to object to the processing of their personal data.
If you wish to object to your personal data being processed please email your reason(s) to the King’s College London Data Protection Officer: Mr Albert Chan (Assistant Director of Business Assurance) Information Compliance team, King’s College London, Waterloo Campus Room 5.20, James Clerk Maxwell Building, 57 Waterloo Road, London, SE1 8WA; or by email: [email protected]. Objections will be responded to without undue delay and within one month of receipt.
Complaints:
If you wish to raise a complaint on how we have handled your personal data, you can contact our Data Protection Officer who will investigate the matter. If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are processing your personal data in a way that is not lawful you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Our Data Protection Officer is Mr Albert Chan and you can contact them at Information Compliance team, King’s College London, Waterloo Campus Room 5.20, James Clerk Maxwell Building, 57 Waterloo Road, London, SE1 8WA; or email: [email protected].
Information for researchers:
We will not make any identifiable data publicly accessible because we need to protect the confidentiality and security of the individual cohort members. However, data may be accessible to approved researchers, subject to suitable legal and training undertakings. Please contact [email protected] for more information.
General enquiries:
For general enquiries relating to the study, or to find out more about how we use your information please contact the research team ([email protected]) for more information.
Last reviewed on 23/04/2020 by Dr Daniel Leightley.