NHS Lothian

When we talk about records, we mean information that has been created, received and maintained as evidence by an organisation or individual as part of their normal course of business. Most people think simply of paper files when they think of an archive, and while most of the records we hold do fall into that category, it is the content, rather than the form, that we are interested in. For example, we also hold x-rays, photographs, and digital media files because these all contain information that reflects the work NHS Lothian does.

The core concept underpinning records management is that of the lifecycle, which sees records having a series of phases from creation to final disposition, ultimately resulting either in their controlled destruction or being retained permanently as an archival record. Managing records in this systematic way reduces risk for the Board and allows it to:

• Meet all its internal business needs
• Defend the rights and interests of the Board, its staff and stakeholders
• Access the content of the record and enable it to be used and reused in a controlled and efficient manner
• Be compliant with all regulatory and statutory requirements
• Provide evidence of a transaction or business process which is admissible in a court of law
• Ensure that records are maintained/stored in the most appropriate way consistent with the above and are disposed of in a way which is auditable and meets all environmental and other requirements
• Remain accountable for its decisions and actions now and into the future. It is this aspect of records management that links directly to the responsibility of the archive.

NHS Lothian staff should comply with the Board’s Records Management Policy (available from NHS Lothian Policy Online).
 

In addition to its obligations under the PRSA, by identifying and collecting records of archival value, NHS Lothian is able to:  

• Support openness and transparency and help to ensure NHS Lothian is accountable for its actions, past, present and future 
• Maintain a record of past actions for evidential purposes and provide a precedent for decisions in the present and the future
• Support research, meeting the needs of academic and scientific research communities, as well as the public (genealogists and local historians)  
• Preserve the long-term, corporate memory of the Board, as a public institution 
• Support education and training 
• Enable commercial and non-commercial re-use of information 
• Support the conduct of public inquiries and the Board’s compliance with its relevant statutory duties and ensure the retention of records that may be of public interest.

Off-site storage vs archiving by LHSA

Off-site storage

• Commercial off-site storage can be used to store records that require to be retained for a specific period (e.g. paper finance records) until they need to be destroyed. Most offer on-site destruction services.​ These records are generally active or semi-active.
• It can free up valuable office space and local storage; however, records sent to off-site storage must continue to be managed until they are destroyed.​
• Anecdotally, NHS Lothian may be incurring unnecessary additional costs to maintain offsite records storage beyond its needs by keeping historic records in off-site storage.
• Commercial storage companies do not offer conservation services or collections care. For example, not all storage facilities are climate controlled and cannot offer repair to damaged items.
• Whilst an inventory of the records will be available, this is often not very detailed and is not publicly available. Often, records are added to the inventory at the time of transfer by NHS staff, but not updated over time.
• Commercial companies cannot respond to enquiries about the content of records.
• Storage companies can offer additional services, e.g. scanning, but at a cost. Digitisation is not preservation and storage companies do not offer digital preservation.
• Access is strictly limited to specific NHS staff.

Archiving by LHSA

• The term ‘archiving’ is often used incorrectly to refer simply to storage or, for digital records, ‘back-ups.’
• The records that are transferred to the archive are no longer needed for operational purposes.
• We only select and keep a relatively small number of records, those designated as worthy of permanent preservation. These records are evidence of key decisions in the development of NHS Lothian institutions and the lives of staff and patients. This material makes up around three to five percent of all records produced.
• Under the legislation, the archive must have appropriate, secure, climate-controlled storage facilities; resources for conservation and care of records, and public access arrangements.
• Records that have long-term historical, research or corporate memory value should be selected for archival preservation. Lothian Health Services Archive (LHSA) has held the NHS Lothian’s archive since 1988.
• The archived records that we hold continue to be accessible by NHS staff, but are also available for consultation by a much wider audience, for example, researchers, local historians or those tracing their family history.
• Access to records is not simply physical. Once transferred to LHSA, we catalogue the records, providing contextual information to assist with intellectual access to the information contained in the records. Our catalogues are available through our website.
• LHSA is staffed by professionally qualified archivists. We have in-depth knowledge of data protection, FOISA and PRSA legislation and are able to respond to a wide range of enquiries about the records, their content and the context in which they were created.
• Whilst the collections of records held by LHSA are largely paper-based, digital records should also be transferred for permanent preservation. We are developing expertise and capacity for digital preservation.
• LHSA has also been awarded Accredited Archive status. This means that we are committed to developing and improving our services, and we are recognised within the archive sector as an example of best practice.

We collect the historically important records relating to NHS Lothian hospitals and their predecessor bodies. We don’t keep everything, though, just those items that are worthy of permanent preservation. 

NHS Lothian staff should consult the Appraisal and Transfer to Archive Policy (available from NHS Lothian Policy Online). 

This contains a list of the types of records of enduring value for corporate memory, and historical and research purposes that we might be interested in collecting. We cannot and do not collect everything that is offered to us; we simply do not have space. We might also decline records that are in a very poor physical condition or complex or very customised digital formats, as these might be difficult to preserve.

You should speak to your line manager or the relevant Information Asset Owner, and the NHS Lothian Corporate Records Manager before contacting us.

NHS Lothian Corporate Records Manager contact details.

If you have any questions, please contact us and we will always be happy to advise.

The identification and selection of records for transfer to the archive is done through a process of consultation and appraisal. This involves record creators (NHS Lothian departments and staff), NHS Information Asset Owners (IAOs), records management teams and archive specialists. This process is outlined in the Appraisal and Transfer to Archive Policy (available from NHS Lothian Policy Online)

If you identify any records that you think should be transferred to us, please contact us for advice. You should also speak to your line manager or the relevant Information Asset Owner, and the NHS Lothian Corporate Records Manager.

NHS Lothian Corporate Records Manager contact details.

We are unable to send original records to other locations. NHS Lothian staff are welcome to consult our collections in the Centre for Research Collections Reading Room. 

Please refer to the Using our services pages. Alternatively, we can provide copies or images of records on request.

Photographs and image request information.

All records that are transferred to LHSA remain the property of NHS Lothian. That means that access to the records is at the discretion of NHS Lothian, especially for access to records containing confidential information and personal data. Day-to-day access to most of our collections does not require prior permission from NHS Lothian. Please consult LHSA restrictions and closure periods to find out how to access confidential records.

LHSA restrictions and closure periods information.

Records that are donated to us by individuals and other organisations also become part of the NHS collections.