Council Meeting
13th October 2021
Present
Dr Chris Bunch (Chair), Dr Faouzi Alam, Helen Dyer, Dr George Fernie, Mr Adrian Marchbank, Allison Metcalfe, David Riley, Col Rob Russell, Dr Cait Taylor, Christopher Fincken, Prof. Martin Crook.
Guests
Andy Rees (NHS DigiTrials)
Observers
Shabnum Ali (NHS Digital), Dr Erum Nomani (Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust), Paul Houseman (Chief Operating Officer, Willows Health) Sophie Reed (Milestones Trust), Ross Thornton (Office of the National Data Guardian), Karen Swift (Office of the National Data Guardian), Carl Beesley (Office of the National Data Guardian).
Apologies
Gill Bennett, Carey Bloomer, Dr Arjun Dhillon, Andrew Harvey, Mr Rhidian Hurle, Dr Julian Marks, Prof. Robert McClelland, Allison Newell, Dr Matt Noble.
Declarations
Can be found on register of interests. No new interests to add.
Action log
The action log was reviewed. One action remains open pending further discussion. There are also two permanent reminders on the action log. All other actions were agreed as having been completed prior to this meeting.
Chair’s update
The Chair updated the Council on his recent activities and the meetings he has attended recently including:
regular meetings with Dr Nicola Byrne (National Data Guardian);
the National Data Guardian Panel and Steering Group;
meetings with key regulatory stakeholders about the safety and regulation of medical applications and a SIRO Portal Webinar around Medical Devices and Patient Data.
The National Data Guardian published new guidance about the appointment of Caldicott Guardians on 27 August 2021. The UKCGC secretariat is keeping a log of any queries they receive and will publish a Frequently Asked Questions document in due course. Members wondered if the visibility of this guidance could be. It was agreed that his is a challenging task with circa 40,0000 organisations in scope. The UKCGC newsletter is distributed to 20,000 recipients and we should and try to increase visibility in our networks where we can.
The new UKCGC website is up and running. Keeping it up to date will be a challenge and all Council members are encouraged look through it and provide feedback on any errors or items they would like to include to help improve the website.
UKCGC constitution
An updated version of the UKCGC Constitution was considered reflecting the changes suggested at the August meeting.
The length of term for council members was discussed and it was agreed it should be three years and include an appropriate review point. The constitution was approved with no further changes.
NHS DigiTrials
Andy Rees (NHS Digital) presented an overview of the NHS DigiTrials programme, detailing some specific projects such as the RECOVERY trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy) and the NHS-Galleri trial (cancer research).
Recruitment and communication processes being implemented by this programme were discussed, and some useful suggestions made.
Council thanked Andy for an interesting and engaging presentation and suggested attending future meetings to provide updates on this programme.
Other business
UKCGC Breakfast Clubs
Helen Dyer provided an update on the monthly UKCGC Breakfast Clubs she is running. These are working well; they are quite informal and provide a confidential environment for Caldicott Guardians to link with each another.
Domestic Violence Bill
Christopher Fincken provided an update on the Inter-Collegiate and Agency National DVA Forum meeting he attended on behalf of UKCGC on 9 September 2021.
Virtual vs Face to Face meetings
The possibility of face-to-face meetings was discussed. Most members present felt that virtual meetings work very well but there are certainly benefits in meeting in person as it adds another valuable dimension to discussions. Members thought we should try a hybrid model and/or have one or two meetings per year face to face and the rest virtually
Next meeting
The next meeting will be held virtually on Thursday 09 December 2021.