GDPR: What has changed?

In the first of a new series of blogs advising RCPCH members how to be compliant with GDPR, our Information Governance Manager, Adele Picken, looks at some key changes implemented at the College, including a new member representative role on our Data Protection Committee.

Last year we wrote a blog explaining some key changes coming into effect with GDPR. The General Data Protection Regulation, in conjunction with the UK Data Protection Act 2018, replaced the Data Protection Act 1998 on 25 May 2018. The new legislation places an emphasis on organisations not only to be compliant but to demonstrate compliance.

In the last year we have been very busy updating our processes and you may have noticed some of these changes, particularly in the ways that we communicate with members.

With the launch of the new website, we updated our privacy notices both for our members and the general website to better inform you about how we use and process your personal data.

We also launched our new contact preferences in May 2018. These give individuals who sign up for an RCPCH online account, including our members, greater control and choice about the types of communications they want to receive. To change your mailing preferences, you can log on to your online account at any time by going to your account and editing your contact preferences.

We have also been updating our information governance policies and procedures and you can download our data protection and confidentiality policy.

Another key change is that we now have a Data Protection Committee which replaces our Information Governance Group to oversee data protection compliance at the College. For the first time, we will also have a member representative on the committee.

Over the next year, we will do a series of blogs providing guidance and advice to our members about how to be GDPR compliant - which you'll find on our news listing. So, watch this space!