FAQs

Under the Equality Act 2010, public bodies like NHSScotland have a legal duty to ensure that people from different groups are treated fairly and equally. They also have a duty to reduce inequalities for people from different groups. 

There are nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010: 

1. Age
2. Sex
3. Disability 
4. Race 
5. Religion or belief 
6. Sexual orientation 
7. Gender reassignment 
8. Marriage or civil partnership
9. Pregnancy and maternity

We take care to ensure your personal information is only accessible to authorised people. Our staff have a legal and contractual duty to keep personal health information secure, and confidential. 

The personal information you provide as part of your registration, will be treated in the strictest of confidence and will be restricted to select members of the NHS Highland staff within the Communications and Engagement Team.  

Your chosen user name, comments and contributions to engagement activities will be visible to people visiting the site. Project managers with granted access will be able to see collective and individual responses to engagement activities on the projects they are managing. They will also be able to share updates and new opportuntities with people who have engaged or registered an interest on a project using the details that you have given them permission to use. 

Collective summaries and reports from surveys and other engagement activities, will be shared publicly and may contain quotes and examples taken from submissions. Any quote or example used will be anonymised and individual identifiable information will not be included or shared.  

Collective statistical information about peoples location, age, sex, disability and other types of information collected, will be used to understand who is engaging with us and who is not. It will also be used to see where similarities or differences in opinion or experience occur. 

EngagementHQ has strict data access rules in place with detailed logging to prevent theft and misuse of your data. 

Access to data is limited to key personnel involved in maintaining their services and support. EngagementHQ provides role-based access controls with unique usernames and one-way password encryption to help people who use this space manage their own logins and information.

Age 

This refers to a person’s age at their last birthday, calculated from their year of birth. We ask about age to understand our audience and who we are engaging with. It helps us to ensure that we provide a safe and supportive space for our members, including young people over the age of 14. The information also supports service planning for different age groups and the transitions between services. 

Sex 

This refers to the biological characteristics that define humans as female, male or intersex. Within health services people are routinely asked about their biological sex, rather than their gender. Gender refers to our internal sense of who we are and how we see and describe ourselves in relation to societal norms, roles, and relationships, as well as to laws, processes and policies that are based on labels of masculinity and femininity. Someone may see themselves as a man, a woman or as having a non-binary gender. We may be engaging on sex-specific treatments, screening choices and diseases that are relevant to specific sexes. For example, cervical or prostate cancer. 

Disability 

A person has a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial and long-term’ (more than 12 months) negative effect on their ability to do daily activities and interactions. Not all people with a ‘disability’ would describe themselves as disabled, this is why it is important to discuss if there are any adjustments that need to be made, to ensure equal access to our services and how we engage with them. 

Race and ethnicity 

Race categorises people mainly by physical traits. Ethnicity is based on a combination of factors. These can include someone’s country of birth, migrant status, nationality, language, skin colour, genetic ancestry and religion. Within health services people are routinely asked for their ethnicity, not their race. Scotland is an ethnically diverse country, and we need to understand the differences in health outcomes for people from different minority ethnic groups. Good quality information can help identify who is experiencing poorer health outcomes and address some of the underlying causes. These may include differences in service uptake, communication and language support, cultural differences, social and financial needs, experiences of racism and levels of trust. We also need this information to help us provide information and engagement opportuntities in ways that suit people best. For example, providing information in different formats, like easy read, BSL, or a different language. 

 Religion or belief 

This refers to any religious or philosophical belief and includes a lack of belief. Generally, a belief should affect a person’s life choices or the way they live for it to be included in the definition. It is important to ask for a patient’s religion or belief, to ensure that clinical examinations and treatments are acceptable and appropriate to them. For example, when discussing vaccinations, blood transfusion or offering dietary advice. 

Sexual orientation 

Sexual orientation refers to a person’s sexual attraction. It may be towards their own sex, the opposite sex, both sexes or none. Sometimes gay, lesbian and bisexual people have worse experiences of using NHS services and worse health outcomes. This can be related to experiences of stigma and discrimination. 

Gender reassignment 

This refers to the process of transitioning from one sex to another. A trans or transgender person refers to anyone whose gender identity differs from the sex they were registered at birth. This includes, but is not limited to, trans men, trans women and non-binary people. Within health services, people are routinely asked about their biological sex rather than their gender. There are treatment and screening choices that need consideration based on sex. People identifying as transgender may have faced discrimination and harassment when accessing services and may be reluctant to access or engage with services they feel are unsuitable. 

Marriage and civil partnership 

Marriage is a legal relationship between two people that involves a number of rights and obligations with regards to children, property and money. Civil partnership is a legal relationship between two people that gives them the same rights as people who are married. If services have information on someone’s relationship status, this can help them to understand the support they may have or need. It may also be useful information to plan future care. 

Pregnancy and maternity Pregnancy is the condition of being pregnant or expecting a baby. Maternity refers to the period after the birth and is linked to maternity leave in the employment context. It is important that we ask if patients are or might be pregnant or breastfeeding as this may impact the medical treatment they’re offered. Certain medications should not be taken if patients are pregnant or breastfeeding as they can have a negative impact on the health of the patient or the baby. This information is also helps us to plan appropriate engagement opportuntities and suitable arrangements for those who are pregnant or are new or breastfeeding mums.

We take care to ensure your personal information is only accessible to authorised people. Our staff have a legal and contractual duty to keep personal health information secure, and confidential. Our clinical staff are also subject to professional obligations via their registration body (General Medical Council; Nursing and Midwifery Council; Health and Care Professions Council; General Dental Council; General Pharmaceutical Council; General Optical Council etc). The following security measures are in place to protect personal information:

• All staff undertake mandatory training in Data Protection and IT Security.
• Information Security policies and procedures are in place and checked regularly against the requirements of the Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018.
• We have access controls for our systems and can audit activity.

Find our full privacy policy on the NHS Highland website at 

https://www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk/about/publications-and-public-records/privacy-notice/

If you would like further information, please email us at nhsh.engage@nhs.scot or use the links below. 

How the NHS Highland handles your personal health information https://www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk/about/publications-and-public-records/privacy-notice/

NHS Highland feedback, complaints and your rights Complaints | NHS Highland (scot.nhs.uk)