Equality and diversity - why we collect protected characteristics

Protected characteristics are nine different traits that are listed in the 2010 Equality Act. It is illegal to discriminate against or provide unfair treatment to people because of one of these traits.

• Age 
• Sex 
• Ethnicity 
• Disability 
• Gender reassignment 
• Sexual orientation 
• Marriage and civil partnership 
• Pregnancy and maternity 
• Religion or belief 

As well as asking you questions about your protected characteristics which are used to ensure everybody has fair access to our services, our staff might also ask about some questions to make sure we provide you with the best possible care. These are called reasonable adjustments, e.g. arranging for an interpreter or making adjustments to accommodate a disability.

We want to make sure that everyone gets the best possible care and support. To do this, we need a clearer picture of who is using our services. This means we can see where we might need to do things differently, so that our services are accessible to all people.

It’s your choice whether to answer these questions. The data will be used anonymously alongside information from other patients to help create fairer, better services for everyone. All data is confidential, is stored securely and password protected.

Understanding a bit about who our patients are helps us to spot where some groups of people might be finding it harder to get the support they need. This data also helps us monitor service quality and outcomes across different groups, using the insights to improve our services for everyone. 

Wherever we can, we try to avoid repeating questions like this other than to check that the information we hold about you is correct and fill in any gaps. Often, the Trust can get the information we need from other NHS sources. For example, if your GP refers you to one of our services, they will provide us with your name, address, date of birth and sex.

Only staff who need access to your patient records will be able to see your data. This might include healthcare professionals who provide care directly, or admin staff who are working to update the information. When we use protected characteristics data to help us improve services, your data will be made anonymous.

For more detail on how we use your data please see our Privacy Policy

As a mental health trust, we store and use large volumes of sensitive personal data every day. We take our duty to protect your personal information and confidentiality very seriously:

• We encrypt all of our outgoing emails containing personal data
• All of our staff are trained on secure data handling.
• We regularly review how we collect, store and process information to make sure our security measures are working as intended
• We have recently been audited by the Information Commissioners Office, who gave us their highest rating.

Other personal data and computerised information are stored on various other systems across your health and care providers. These systems are managed by NHS IT departments or under contract with an approved public framework supplier.  

For more information, please read our Privacy Policy

Read our Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Human Rights Policy