We recognise that we may not be able to approach all individuals with respiratory infection during their hospital admission. For example, if you are only admitted for a short period we may not be able to talk to you about the study before you are discharged.

We plan to record some minimal personal details (like NHS number, date of birth, ethnicity) and health data related to hospital admission, treatment, and outcomes, for people who we could not approach. We hold specific approval from the Health Research Authority’s Confidentiality Advisory Group to do this (https://hra.nhs.uk/about-us/committees-and-services/).

What information we need to collect

The research team will check to see if you meet the study criteria before collecting any data. We will only hold information about your hospital admission if you meet the study criteria. If you do meet criteria, we would like to access information such as:

• Details of your hospital visit, such as date of admission and discharge
• Tests or investigations that you had as part of your care during that hospital admission, such as X-rays and laboratory tests.
• Diagnoses made and any treatment you were given
• Details of the outcome of your hospital admission, such as whether you needed care on an Intensive Care Unit or if there were any complications
• Personal information about you, such as your ethnic group, date of birth, NHS number and part of your postcode (the first 4-5 digits e.g. BS16 5).

This information is recorded in your hospital medical records in a variety of formats, including paper, and electronically on computer systems. Your medical records will be accessed around the time you are admitted to hospital with a condition that may meet the criteria for inclusion in the study (e.g. a chest infection). If you are included, we will also access your records 30 days following that admission to check for information that was not available initially, e.g. test results that weren’t available at the time, date of discharge from hospital, etc.

How we collect and process this information

The NHS Trust controls the access to your medical records. The data will be recorded by the research team in the IT system of the NHS Trust where you were admitted.

Data including NHS number, date of birth, admission date, postcode (first 4 or 5 digits/letters) and only health data will be transferred to the University of Bristol using encrypted and secure processes. The data will be processed and held in keeping with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), ensuring that the data is secure.

If you want to find more about how your data will be processed including your personal information, click on Use of your data.

If you have any concerns, or want to know more about your rights, please go to Your Rights.