Cheshire East Public Health Team - Beating the Pressure privacy notice

What personal information is being processed and what for

High blood pressure is a ‘silent killer’ with almost 30,000 people in Cheshire East estimated to live with undiagnosed high blood pressure. The local authorities across Cheshire and Merseyside have received funding from the British Heart Foundation (BHF) for the Beating the Pressure project. The project aims to detect high blood pressure on a large scale using trained volunteers to provide blood testing in workplaces and the community.

Your anonymised and aggregated data will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the British Heart Foundation’s (BHF) Beating the Pressure project and to inform the Cheshire & Merseyside Blood Pressure strategy and reporting.

Both personal data and special category data will be processed. The personal data we will process is your age, gender and postcode. The special category data we will process is your ethnicity, whether you are currently under GP care for high blood pressure, blood pressure reading(s), pulse and whether an irregular heart rate was detected. 

Why we are allowed to use your information

Personal data:  GDPR Article 6(e) - processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller. Health and Social Care Act 2012 Part 1, Section 12 (2B) states that “Each local authority must take such steps as it considers appropriate for improving the health of the people in its area.” Contributing to this project is one of the ways we consider it appropriate.

Special category data:  GDPR Article 9(j) - processing is necessary for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes in accordance with Article 89(1) based on Union or Member State law which shall be proportionate to the aim pursued, respect the essence of the right to data protection and provide for suitable and specific measures to safeguard the fundamental rights and the interests of the data subject.

Who we will share your information with

Your information will be shared with Cheshire East Council’s Public Health Team. Anonymised data will be shared with Champs Public Health Collaborative and the BHF . 

Where we get your information from

You will provide us with your age, gender, postcode, ethnicity, and whether you are currently under GP care for high blood pressure. Your blood pressure readings, pulse and whether an irregular heart rate was detected will be provided by the individual who tested your blood pressure.

How long we will keep your personal information

The information will be stored on paper until transferred onto the council’s servers. The paper copy will be retained for a maximum of 6 months. Once the information has been transferred onto the council’s servers the paper copy will be destroyed securely. Once the information is transferred to the council’s servers it will be retained in an anonymised form.

How your information is stored

Paper information will be stored in a locked cupboard with access restricted to only those staff who need it.

What happens if you don’t provide us with your information

We will not take your blood pressure and your anonymised data will not contribute to the evaluation of the Beating the Pressure project.

Will your information be used to make automated decisions

No, this information will not be used to make automated decisions about you.

Your rights

You have a number of rights regarding your personal data, including withdrawing your consent where we have asked for it.  You can also ask for a copy of the information we hold about you and ask us to correct anything that is wrong.  For detailed information about your rights please see our privacy notice.