CQC and the National Data Guardian for Health and Social Care (NDG) have today published a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement.
The agreement sets out how we will work together in order to safeguard the wellbeing of the public receiving health and social care in England.
The NDG role was put on a statutory footing in April 2019 established under the Health and Social Care (National Data Guardian) Act 2018 to act as an advocate for patients and service users on how health and care data is used. The NDG promotes the provision of advice and guidance about the processing of health and adult social care data in England. Dame Fiona Caldicott has held the non- statutory position since 2014 and was appointed the first statutory National Data Guardian in April 2019.
The formal agreement between both organisations is underpinned by the following principles:
- respecting each other’s independent status,
- cooperating in an open and transparent way,
- making decisions based on promoting people’s safety and encouraging high quality care.
In line with these principles, the agreement confirms that where an identified breach is within the scope of CQC’s role, the NDG has a clear path for referring the breach to CQC for consideration of appropriate action. We will also work together to promote the appropriate use of data by health and care organisations and individuals working for them.
The agreement will be regularly reviewed to make sure it is relevant, up to date and effective.