We had a fantastic day hosting our 'Celebration of Information Governance' in Birmingham, which I was very honoured to host and chair. With a brilliant turnout, some star speakers and an expert guest panel, it helped create an enjoyable and informative day with 100% positive feedback and 94% of respondents describing the event as ‘excellent’. It was also fantastic to be back face to face with customers and partners in a real live event!

Was so good, great variety of topics, great sweets, perfectly timed and so well organised

The idea of celebrating Information Governance (IG) came about after we shared a blog looking at how to shift the mentality of what IG is. The blog focussed on how “there is more to information governance than you think”. It’s true. We see so much negativity about how IG can get in the way of projects or innovations without understanding how incredibly nuanced and vitally important the function of IG is and the role it plays not just within a health and social care sector, but in every sector across the globe. In my opening I tried to channel this message with a reminder that “IG underpins all the work we do; it affects all areas of business, and it definitely is something that should be celebrated.”

Clearing up role confusion

Andrew Harvey, Head of IG/DPO for University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, kickstarted the day’s presentations with a detailed look at the Data Protection Toolkit and how well, or not, it relates to the UK GDPR, followed by IG Consultancy Lead for Strategy & Transformation at NHS South Central & West, Adam Horton-Tuckett who examined Data Controller obligations from a shared care record perspective. Too often we see how confusing it can be for organisations to understand their roles as Data Controller, Joint Data Controller, or other. This was the start of a theme from the day, which showed some frustrations at lack of specific and consistent guidance on many areas of how IG professionals should be working in line with legislation, national guidance, and recommendations.

DPIAs – not just ticking boxes

LinkedIn superstar and 2040 Training Consultant, Tim Turner challenged the common accusations that refer to Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) as a mere ‘tick box’ exercise and encouraged us all to take a more person-centred approach to how we assess potential risks and proposed mitigation procedures and Barry Moult, Director of BJM IG Privacy Ltd, discussed legislation changes and what they mean for IG professionals within health and social care. The laws are changing around us, and we continue to see shifts in NHS structures, which we are all trying to understand and accommodate in the work we do.

Guidance for data sharing within Multi Agency Safeguarding Hubs

The day provided the ideal opportunity for Information Governance Lawyer, Taj Sallamuddin from Information Governance Services (IGS) and Chief Delivery Officer and SIRO for Graphnet Andy Bratt to introduce a draft document offering legal guidance for data sharing within Multi Agency Safeguarding Hubs. Taj also talked our attendees through the perceived barriers surrounding confidentiality, safeguarding and the use of anonymised data for research purposes and the importance of understanding the common law of confidentiality.

Members of our IG team Danial Farooq and Fehzaan Maqbool entertained the room with an interactive quiz and to close the day Jenny Spiers, Head of IG for Health Innovation Manchester, joined some of our speakers with an interactive panel discussion and Q&A.

All in all, the day provided our attendees with an excellent opportunity to swap stories and ideas, to network with peers and as always, the IG atmosphere was both supportive and encouraging.

We look forward to seeing you all again very soon.

By Sarah Da Silva, Director of Information Governance for the System C and Graphnet Care Alliance