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 was a Pro Vice-Chancellor, Personnel and Equal Opportunities, of the University of Oxford and chaired its Personnel Committee. She is Chair of the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust and 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.

Early life

Caldicott was born on 12 January 1941, daughter of Joseph Soesan and Elizabeth (née Ransley). She was schooled at City of London School for Girls. She studied medicine at St Hilda's College, Oxford and qualified with BM BCh in 1966.^[2][3]

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. 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 Fiona 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.^[4]

Honours

Caldicott is an honorary fellow at Somerville College, Oxford and was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 15 June 1996.^[5][6]

References

External links

• BMJ information