The Freedom of Information Act 2014 gives you the right to access records held by University Hospital Kerry. Such requests may be for personal or non-personal (i.e. corporate) records. The Act requires public bodies to respond to requests from the public for information they hold. In most cases public bodies must give their decisions on a request within four weeks upon receiving the request. Requests may be refused if they are deemed too large or unclear, however University Hospital Kerry is obliged to assist in trying to avoid this.
The FOI Act 2014 provides that every person has the following legal rights:
– Access to any records held by UHK relating to you personally.
– You have the right to have your personal records amended or deleted where the information is found to be incorrect or misleading.
– You also have the right to seek reasons for decisions that affect or have affected you.

The FOI Application form can be downloaded here: FOI APPLICATION FORM

Provide as much information as possible about the records being sought including the time period. Photograph ID, proof of address (only required if Requesting your own records). If you are seeking records of a child / minor under the age of 16 years old you must provide your photo ID, proof of address, the child’s/minors birth certificate/consent if over 16

Receipt of your request will be acknowledged within ten working days (where a week is defined as five working days, excluding weekends and bank holidays). At this time, you will be advised as to when you may expect to receive a decision on your request. A decision on your request will usually be made within four weeks. This is where a week is defined as five working days, excluding weekends and bank holidays. If there is a delay in processing your request due to unforeseen circumstances, you will be notified in writing.

If you are requesting medical records of a deceased relative the next of kin or other family members may request access to the patient’s medical records. These requests are always dealt with by the Freedom of Information Officer (FOI). The FOI Officer will balance the patient’s right to confidentiality with the right of another person to be given that information in the public interest. You must provide the following information:

The completed FOI Deceased form which can be downloaded here: FOI DECEASED FORM

You must also provide:

– Copy of the deceased’s Death Certificate
– Proof of your relationship to the deceased person
– Proof of your own identify (see above)
– Proof of address to which the information is to be sent (see above)

– Internal Reviewer, Department of Consumer Affairs, Health Service Executive South-West, 1A&B Ground Floor, Erinville, Western Road, Cork T12 EDK0

and you should make reference to your initial decision.

The FOI Appeals Officer reviewing the appeal must complete the review within three weeks (where a week is defined as five working days, excluding weekends and bank holidays). An internal review must normally be completed before an appeal may be made to the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC). The outcome of the internal review will be communicated to you within three weeks of receipt of your request to appeal.

If you are not satisfied with the decision on your internal review You may appeal the decision within six months by writing to the Office of the Information
Commissioner. If you make an appeal the Information Commissioner will fully investigate and consider the matter and issue a fresh decision. All appeals should be addressed to:

– Appeals Office of the Information Commissioner, 6 Earlsfort Terrace, Saint Kevin’s, Dublin 2, D02W773. Website www.oic.ie

If you would like to request a copy of your Radiology report or disc, please fill in a Data Subject Access Request form available here: SUBJECT ACCESS REQUEST FORM and send it to foi.uhk@hse.ie along with a copy of your photo ID.

The way in which we manage this personal information is governed by the Data Protection Acts 1988 to 2018 and the European General Data Protection Regulation, 2016 (GDPR). We are committed to the principles of transparency, accountability and security set out in the legislation.

Data Protection
The Data Protection Acts 1988-2018 and the GDPR allow for you to access the information we hold about you. You can request a copy of any personal data that relates to you. This is called a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR).

All requests must be submitted by completing a Subject Access Request form available here: SUBJECT ACCESS REQUEST FORM

You must provide the following information:
– Provide as much information as possible about the records being sought including the time period.
– Photograph ID, proof of address.

GDPR applies to the processing of personal data. Personal data is defined as “any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural personal (data subject), an identifiable natural personal is one who can be identified directly or indirectly”. This includes a name, an ID number, a postal address, online browsing history, images or anything relating to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of a person.

Why is GDPR important?

UHK processes significant amounts of personal data and special category data relating to patients, staff, students, volunteers, and other individuals. GDPR is based on the core principles of data protection. These principles require organisations and businesses to:

– collect no more data than is necessary from an individual for the purpose for which it will be used obtain personal data fairly from the individual by giving them notice of the collection and its specific purpose.

– retain the data for no longer than is necessary for that specified purpose

– to keep data safe and secure provide an individual with a copy of his or her personal data if they request it

What are special categories of data?

Under GDPR stronger safeguards and requirements are required for sensitive personal data referred to as “special categories of data”. Data that falls under these categories can be processed only under specific circumstances which are described in Article 9(2) of the GDPR Act. This refers to data falling under the following categories:

– Racial or ethnic origin
– Political opinions
– Religious or philosophical beliefs
– Trade union membership
– Data concerning health
– Data concerning a person’s sex life or sexual orientation
– Genetic Data
– Biometric data.

What is the rights of individuals set out in GDPR

GDPR provides the following rights for individuals:
– Right to be informed
– Right of access
– Right to rectification
– Right to erasure/ right to be forgotten (excluding medical records)
– Right to restrict processing in certain circumstances
– Right to data portability
– Right to object
– Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling
You can access the HSE’s Privacy Notice here https://www.hse.ie/eng/gdpr/hse-data-protection-policy/hse-privacynotice-service-users.pdf