Appendix II: retention schedule

The retention periods listed in this retention schedule must always be considered the minimum period. With justification, a retention period can be extended for the majority of cases, up to 20 years (refer to section five of the Code). For more information, refer to R v Northumberland County Council and the Information Commissioner (23 July 2015). This provides assurance that it is legitimate to vary common practice or guidance where a well-reasoned case for doing so is made.

Retention periods begin when the record ceases to be operational. This is usually at the point of discharge from care when the record is no longer required for current on-going business, or the patient or service user has died. There are some exceptions to this rule, whereby the retention begins from the date the record is created (for corporate records, such as policies, the retention may start from the date of publication). These are marked with an asterisk (*) in the schedule and may also contain further information in the notes for that entry.

If a record comes back into use during its retention period, then the retention period will reset and begin again from the end of the second period of use. This may mean that records will look as if they are being kept for longer than the retention times stated here, or even maximum periods as suggested by law, but this is acceptable where retention periods reset due to use (refer to section five of the Code).

The actions following review as set out in the schedule are as follows:

Review and destroy if no longer required

Destroy refers to the confidential and secure destruction of the record with proof of destruction. These will be records with no archival value and there is no longer an ongoing business need to retain them for longer.

Review and dispose of if no longer required

"Dispose of" refers to the secure destruction of a record OR the transferral to the appointed PoD for permanent preservation. A certificate of transfer will be provided as proof of transfer (and can act as evidence of disposal). Refer to section five of the Code for further information about permanent preservation.

Review and consider transfer to Place of Deposits (PoD)

This refers to records that are more likely to be transferred to the PoD, subject to their discussion and agreement about potential accession. Not all records considered for accession will be taken by the PoD. If the record has been offered and declined to be taken, and it has no further retention value, then it must be securely destroyed. Where you have potentially a new series of records for the PoD, you must discuss accessioning them before any action is taken.

Review and transfer to PoD

This refers to records that should be transferred to the PoD such as trust board minutes and final annual financial report - local agreement will already be in place to accession these.

It is very important that any health and care records are reviewed before they are destroyed. This review should take into account:

• serious incidents which will require records to be retained for up to 20 years as set out in the schedule
• use of the record during the retention period which could extend its retention
• potential for long-term archival preservation - this may particularly be the case where the records relate to rare conditions such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease records or innovative treatments, for example, new cancer treatments

If setting a retention period not covered by this Code, there are a number of factors to consider including:

Legal or regulatory obligations

There may be a specific legal or regulatory reason to keep a record, which may also provide guidance on how long that record needs to be kept to meet that obligation.

Purpose of the record

The reasons you have created the record may also help define how long you need to keep them for. A record created for medico-legal reasons may need to be for a long period of time, whereas a record created for a specific event that has no post-event actions will attract a short retention period.

Number of records

The number of records in a series can help you set a retention period. It is worth noting that the number of records is not directly proportionate to a longer retention period (for example, the more records created, then the longer they must be kept). It should also be noted that the number of records is also not indicative of historical value. Due to its type, one record may have historical value, where a series of 200+ records might not.

Service delivery

The uniqueness or niche way a service is delivered may lend itself to a longer retention period. PoDs can be interested in taking records relating to services that were delivered in a unique way.

Call or recall of records

If a record or series has a low recall rate, it could be indicative of a shorter retention period. Likewise records that are continually in use may require a longer retention period.

The above list is not exhaustive.