HSE Live phone service - data protection information notice
The purpose of this notice is to explain how the Health Service Executive (HSE) records and uses your information when you use the HSE Live phone service.
The HSE Live phone service
The HSE Live phone service answers general questions from the public about:
- health services and healthcare entitlements
- accessing our health or social services
- registering, verifying and editing your information so that you can get your COVID-19 vaccine
HSE Live advisors cannot answer any detailed or clinical questions.
We use Amazon Connect to provide the HSE Live phone service. Amazon Connect is a cloud based phone management system for call centres.
The data controller
The HSE is the data controller for the HSE Live phone service.
The data protection officer (DPO)
The DPO oversees the HSE’s compliance with data protection.
Data Protection Officer and Deputy Data Protection Officer contact details
The data we collect and process
Personal data means any information relating to you that allows us to identify you.
The personal data the HSE Live phone service may collect from you includes:
- your phone number - unless you have withheld your number before calling us
- any details you have given us that will help us direct you to the local health service you’re looking for - such as your location
- your contact details - so that you can get the information you are looking for
- details about the call - such as the time and date of your call and how long it was
- details about how the HSE Live advisor handled the call such as the time they logged in or the number of calls they handled
We also collect a recording and automated transcription of your call.
We only record and transcribe relevant data. For example, data that we need to direct you to your local health services or to improve the quality of our services and train our staff.
When you phone HSE Live, you will hear a message letting you know the call will be recorded. You can end the call if you do not agree with this.
There are other ways you can contact the HSE.
Vaccine registration
We’ll need more information from you if your call is about:
- how to register for the COVID-19 or flu vaccine
- when you are due your next vaccine
This may include:
- first name
- last name
- date of birth
- address
- mobile phone number
- another phone number - if you don’t have a mobile number
If you are registering for someone else then we will also need:
- the name of the other person and their relationship to you
- their consent for their data to be collected and processed
This will be stored in the call recording and transcript within Amazon Connect.
The vaccine registration information is transferred to the vaccine registration portal.
What we use your personal data for
We only use the personal data you share with us to:
- direct you to your local health service
- provide you with information
- help you to register for a COVID-19 vaccine or give you information about your vaccine
- improve the quality of our services
- train our staff
We will not use the data you share with us through the HSE Live phone service for any other purposes.
How long we hold your personal data for
We will hold recordings of your call for up to 12 months after the call was made.
We will hold transcripts of your call for 3 months after the call was made.
All personal data we collect from you is held in line with the HSE record retention policy.
Who will have access to your personal data
Only HSE staff, agents and suppliers who are directly involved with managing the HSE Live phone service will have access to your personal data.
Anyone who may have access to your personal data will be bound to the HSE through confidentiality agreements. This means they must keep your personal data secure and use it only for the purposes specified by the HSE.
The lawful basis for data processing
The HSE has a lawful basis under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for processing personal data about the recording and transcription of phone calls to the HSE Live phone service.
We can process personal data if it is necessary for a task carried out in the public’s interest or to exercise the official authority vested in the HSE (Article 6.1(e) GDPR).
We can process health data for reasons of substantial public interest under Article 9.2 (g) GDPR. This is grounded in Irish law in Section 53 of the Data Protection Act, 2018.
Health data is a special category of personal data.
Security measures
The HSE and its suppliers who are supporting the HSE Live phone service have put a number of technical and organisational measures in place. They protect the service and the data stored on Amazon Connect from unauthorised or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction or damage.
Transferring your data outside the European Economic Area (EEA)
We do not transfer any data about you or from your use of the HSE Live phone service outside the EEA. If we decide to transfer your personal data outside the EEA, we will make sure the provisions of Chapter V of the GDPR are complied with.
Transfers of Personal Data to Third Countries or International Organisations - dataprotection.ie
Your rights
Read our privacy statement to learn about your other data rights.