Fiona Caldicott

Dame Fiona Caldicott, DBE, FMedSci (born 12 January 1941) is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist and, previously, Principal of Somerville College, Oxford[1] She is the present National Data Guardian for Health and Social Care in England.

Dame Fiona Caldicott DBE FMedSci
Dame Fiona Caldicott - UK Data Guardian 2014-
Born	12 January 1941
Education	City of London School for Girls, St Hilda's College, Oxford
Alma mater	St Hilda's College, Oxford
Occupation	Psychiatrist
Known for	Caldicott Report
Children	2

Early life and education

Caldicott was born on 12 January 1941 in Troon, daughter of barrister Joseph Maurice Soesan and civil servant Elizabeth Jane (née Ransley). Her paternal grandparents were greengrocers who were unenthusiastic about education; her father left school in his mid-teens, but subsequently completed a chemistry degree at night school and a law degree by correspondence.[2] Caldicott was educated at City of London School for Girls, then studied medicine at St Hilda's College, Oxford, qualifying BM BCh in 1966.[3][4][5]

Career

She was a Pro Vice-Chancellor, Personnel and Equal Opportunities, of the University of Oxford and chaired its Personnel Committee. She retired from her 10-year term as Chair at the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust in March 2019,[6] and was a past President of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. She was the first woman to be President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (1993–96) and its first woman Dean (1990–93). From 2011 to 2013 she was Chair of the National Information Governance Board for Health and Social Care.

Caldicott Committee

A review was commissioned by the Chief Medical Officer of England and Wales owing to increasing concern about the ways in which patient information is used in the NHS of England and Wales and the need to ensure that confidentiality is not undermined.[7] Such concern was largely due to the development of information technology in the service, and its capacity to disseminate information about patients rapidly and extensively. In 1996, guidance on "the protection and use of patient information" was promulgated and there was a need to promote awareness of it at all levels in the NHS. It did not affect Scotland originally but they have recently adopted it. A main committee was set up under Caldicott's Chair and there were four separate working groups; the committee was known as the Caldicott Committee.

The Caldicott Committee ... was [responsible] to review all patient-identifiable information, which passes from NHS organisations to other NHS or non-NHS bodies for purposes other than direct care, medical research, or where there is a statutory requirement for information. The committee was to consider each flow of patient-identifiable information and was to advise the NHS Executive whether patient identification was justified by the purpose and whether action to minimise risks of breach of confidentiality was desirable—for example, reduction, elimination, or separate storage of items of information.

The Caldicott Report was published in December 1997.[8] Today, every NHS trust has a 'Caldicott Guardian', to make sure standards of patient confidentiality and the Caldicott principles are upheld.

National Data Guardian for Health and Social Care

Caldicott became the UK's first National Data Guardian for Health and Social Care in November 2014.[9] In December 2018 the Health and Social Care (National Data Guardian) Act 2018 passed into law, and in April 2019 she was appointed as the first statutory position holder[10] by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

Awards and honours

• Honorary fellow at Somerville College, Oxford
• Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, 15 June 1996.[11][12]
• Lifetime Achievement Award from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, November 2018[13][14]

Personal life

In 1965, she married Robert Gordon Woodruff Caldicott, who ran his family's wine merchant business;[15] they had two children.[16]

References

1. "Fellows & staff: Governing Body: Dame Fiona Caldicott". Somerville College, Oxford. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
2. Women's Voices in Psychiatry: A Collection of Essays, ed. Gianetta Rands, Oxford University Press, 2018, 3. The Entry of Women into Psychiatry
3. "Debrett's People of Today: Fiona Caldicott". Debrett's. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
4. "List of Registered Medical Practitioners (The online Register)". General Medical Council. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
5. https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-9883/version/5
6. "Oxford hospitals boss steps down after a decade". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
7. Crook, M A (June 2003). "The Caldicott report and patient confidentiality". Journal of Clinical Pathology. 56 (6): 426–428. doi:10.1136/jcp.56.6.426. ISSN 0021-9746. PMC 1769982. PMID 12783968.
8. Caldicott Report Archived 2003-09-30 at the Wayback Machine.
9. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/national-data-guardian-appointed-to-safeguard-patients-healthcare-information
10. "Dame Fiona Caldicott appointed as the first statutory National Data Guardian for Health and Social Care". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
11. "Profile". Somerville College, Oxford. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
12. "No. 54427". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 June 1996. p. 8.
13. "RCPsych awards 2018". RC PSYCH ROYAL COLLEGE OF PSYCHIATRISTS. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
14. "Dame Fiona Caldicott receives Lifetime Achievement Award — Somerville College Oxford". www.some.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
15. Women's Voices in Psychiatry: A Collection of Essays, ed. Gianetta Rands, Oxford University Press, 2018, 3. The Entry of Women into Psychiatry
16. https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-9883/version/5

External links

• BMJ information