West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust (WMAS) utilises surveillance cameras (CCTV and Body Worn Cameras) in and around the Trust’s sites, on our emergency vehicles as well as body worn cameras being trialled by operational crews.
Please note, our surveillance cameras inside our vehicles and our body worn cameras are only activated by the crew should they feel there is a risk to safety. Should they be activated, you will be advised by the crew and/or an audio message will be played inside the vehicle or a recording light will flash on the body worn cameras.
The legal basis for collection of CCTV and body worn camera images is Article 6(1)f under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2016, that processing is necessary for the purpose of the legitimate interests pursued by the controller (WMAS). Our legitimate interest in doing so, is in order to;
- Protect staff, patients, visitors and Trust property
- Apprehend and prosecute offenders and provide evidence to take criminal or civil action in the courts
- Provide a deterrent effect and reduce unlawful activity
- Help provide a safer environment for our staff
- Assist with the verification of claims
You have a right to request personal information which may have recorded yourself and ask for a copy of this. For details on how to make a subject access requests please click here. Please be aware, you will need to provide sufficient information to identify you and assist us in finding any images on our systems and any third party will be redacted. We reserve the right to withhold information where permissible by Data Protection Legislation and we will only retain surveillance data for a reasonable period or as long as is required by law. In certain circumstances (high profile investigations, serious or criminal incidents) we may need to disclose CCTV or Body Worn Camera data for legal reasons. When this is done there is a requirement for the organisation that has received the images to adhere to Data Protection Legislation.
Should you have any further queries on the uses of your information or you wish to lodge a complaint about the use of your information please contact the Trust’s Data Protection Officer – Chris Kerr at Data.Protection@wmas.nhs.uk or telephone 01384 246496.
If you are still unhappy with the outcome of your enquiry you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office at https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/