Retention of Records Policy - Library

• theatre, minor operations and other related registers;• X-ray and imaging reports, output and images;• photographs, slides and other images;• microform (ie microfiche/microfilm);• audio and video tapes, cassettes, CD-ROMs, etc;• e- mails 1 ;• computerised records; and• scanned documents.2. ScopeThis policy is applicable to all Trust employees and any organisation undercontract to the Trust.3. ResponsibilitiesRecords of the NHS and its predecessor bodies are subject to the PublicRecords Act 1958, which imposes a statutory duty of care directly upon allindividuals who have direct responsibility for any such records.Trust employees and partner organisations are reminded that recordscontaining personal information are subject to the Data Protection Act 1998.Information containing persona; or sensitive data should be disposed ofconfidentially.4. Local retention periodsWhen information does not fall under the listed schedules, local retentionperiods should be determined. The following issues should be considered:• how often is the information used;• are retention periods for similar information in existence;1 This emphasis that an e-mail can contains information (eg patient care details) which shouldbe retained. Arrangements should be made for that information to be accessed during thatretention period (eg copied into an electronic system or printed and stored in the patientrecord). This does not conflict with the general advice to manage personal mailboxes..Page 4 of 57