The Caldicott Committee's December 1997 ''Report on the Review of Patient-Identifiable Information'', usually referred to as the

Caldicott Report The Caldicott Committee's ''Report on the Review of Patient-Identifiable Information'', usually referred to as the Caldicott Report was a review commissioned in 1997 by the Chief Medical Officer of England due to increasing worries concerning the ...

(named after its author Dame

Fiona Caldicott Dame Fiona Caldicott, ( Soesan; 12 January 1941 – 15 February 2021) was a British psychiatrist and psychotherapist who also served as Principal of Somerville College, Oxford She was the National Data Guardian for Health and Social Care in E ...

), identified weaknesses in the way parts of

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

handled confidential patient data. The report made several recommendations, one of which was the appointment of Caldicott guardians, members of staff with a responsibility to ensure patient data is kept secure:

Recommendation 3: A senior person should be nominated in each NHS organisation, including the
Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ow ...
and associated agencies, to act as a "guardian". The "guardian" should normally be a senior health professional or be closely supported by such a person. The NHS IM&T Security Manual (Section 18.4) requires each organisation to designate a senior medical officer to oversee all procedures affecting access to person-identifiable health data. This role and that of the "guardian" may be combined, providing there is no conflict of interest. The Department of Health should take the development of this role forward in partnership with interested parties.

It is now a requirement for every NHS organisation to have a Caldicott guardian. The Guardians are responsible for ensuring that their organisation adheres to the Caldicott principles. In 2005, the UK Caldicott Guardian Council was established as the national body for Caldicott guardians.

References

{{reflist National Health Service (England)