IG Guidance during COVID-19

How guidance has supported IG Professionals during COVID-19

Carl Starbuck – Head of Information Governance | Data Protection Officer

Freedom of Information Officer | Deputy Caldicott Guardian

Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

“Speaking as an IG professional, an NHS employee & senior manager, and perhaps most importantly as a UK citizen, I have both welcomed and valued the timely, focused and concise Information Governance advice provided by NHSX  throughout the COVID-19 crisis.” 

 The guidance enabled Carl to:

• Maintain support to his community of mental health patients via video conferencing when face-to-face contact was unsafe under lockdown
• Select the right solutions with information security assurance ‘at pace’ so that patient care was not impacted by delays. 
• Feel empowered, as an IG professional, to select solutions in the best interests of service users
• Ensure staff could feel confident that the NHS IG leadership ‘had their back’ 

“In short, at a time of great turmoil across the health and social care system, NHSX empowered IG professionals to clear the path for our clinical colleagues to do the day job without fear of IG /Data Protection come-back.”