Caldicott Guardians

In 1997, the Caldicott Committee was set up to review all patient-identifiable information (both clinical and non-clinical) passing from the NHS in England to other NHS and non-NHS bodies; for purposes other than: direct patient care; medical research or; where there was a statutory requirement for information.

One of the main recommendations of the Caldicott Report PDF [290 KB], published in December 1997, was the establishment of a network of Caldicott Guardians of patient information throughout the NHS. Shortly after this, Scotland adopted the Caldicott Committee recommendations. The role and responsibilities of Caldicott Guardians were introduced in NHSScotland with MEL(1999)19 DOC [63 KB] issued on 2 March 1999.

At that time, each Health Board, Special Health Board and NHS Trust nominated a Caldicott Guardian. The Caldicott Guardian, a senior health professional at Board level, has a degree of responsibility for the development of clinical governance. Key responsibilities of a Caldicott Guardian include:

• a management audit of current practice and procedures;
• annual plans for improvement, monitored through the clinical governance framework; and
• development of protocols to govern the disclosure of patient information to other organisations.