Caldicott Guardians

Continuously improving confidentiality and security procedures for clinical information is an integral part of clinical governance. Each NHS organisation should have a designated senior member of staff – a Caldicott Guardian – who is responsible for overseeing access to patient-identifiable data and ensuring that the six principles of the Caldicott Guardians are upheld across the organisation.

Box 4: Caldicott Guardians’ six principles

  • Justify the purpose – each use of confidential information must be clearly defined and scrutinised.
  • Don’t use confidential information unless it is absolutely necessary.
  • Use the minimum confidential information.
  • Access to confidential information should be on a strict “need to know” basis.
  • Everyone with access to confidential information should be aware of their responsibilities.
  • Understand and comply with the law.

  

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