Care homes face data protection crackdown

Care home operators are receiving letters from the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) advising them of unpaid data protection fees.

Historically, a group of care homes with a parent company only had to register the parent company with the ICO. 

However, since the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into place, the rules have changed and the ICO are expecting every care home to be separately registered.

There is currently a targeted campaign by the ICO to warn care homes of unpaid fees and the possibility of incurring a penalty for non-compliance of up to £4,000.

A care home that holds personal information, including names and addresses, may need to pay. This can be done by visiting the ICO website.

Payment should be made no later than 6 December 2019.

Most care homes only need to pay £40 or £60 a year and the ICO website has information about what to pay and explains where exemptions apply.

Please contact a member of our Healthcare team if you would like to discuss this issue.