BARTS Health NHS Trust

Introduction

In today’s healthcare world, patient privacy is not just a policy; it’s a legal, ethical and operational imperative. At Barts Health NHS Trust, one of the UK’s largest NHS organisations, this applies not just to patient records but to visual and audio data captured by CCTV and body-worn cameras.

When subject access requests (SARs) started to include video footage, the Trust faced a new challenge: how to respond quickly and securely while meeting GDPR and NHS data protection standards.

Their journey to compliance led them to Facit’s Identity Cloak, a video redaction solution that transformed their workflow and set a new benchmark for speed.

The Problem: Managing a Growing Volume of Video SARs

In 2020, St Bartholomew’s Hospital - part of Barts Health NHS Trust - started to receive more and more SARs that included requests for CCTV and body cam footage.

Kamran Khan, the Trust’s Security Advisor for Estates and Facilities Management, was responsible for ensuring these requests were processed in line with the Trust’s data protection policies. As he says, the increasing number of requests reflected a wider social awareness:

People are more aware now of GDPR and their personal data rights. We get SARs for all sorts of incidents - accidents, service issues, and allegations of aggressive behaviour by visitors or staff. Each has to be treated carefully and lawfully.

Kamran Khan Security Advisor for Estates and Facilities Management, BARTS Health NHS Trust

Kamran Khan advises eight hospitals across the Trust - five main and three support sites - and handles around 25 SARs involving video footage a year, which are often complex and time critical. Some involve hours of footage from multiple cameras. The manual redaction of faces and identities in these recordings presented a massive challenge.

The Trust’s body-worn camera supplier also provides a cloud-based redaction tool but Kamran Khan found it wasn’t suitable for their needs.

“That system required redacting footage frame by frame, It was time consuming and just wasn’t practical for the kind of work we do in busy clinical and public environments.”

The Solution: Facit’s Identity Cloak

In his search for a redaction solution, Kamran Khan looked around and quickly found Facit to be the most responsive and innovative. The company’s Identity Cloak software was demoed and reviewed by the Trust, and it stood out immediately.

After the trial, the security team signed up for a one-year licence. The results were so positive they subsequently renewed for another three years.

Over time the software has continued to get better and better. New features like audio redaction and zoom-and-crop have made it even more valuable in a healthcare environment where cameras are often at a distance and conversations contain sensitive information.

Identity Cloak has freed Kamran Khan and his team up to focus on compliance and case management rather than manual processing. He now recommends the system to colleagues in security, compliance and facilities management in other NHS Trusts.

“Audio redaction is a great feature,” says Kamran Khan. “We can now protect voices and speech as well as faces – which is crucial in an environment where privacy and dignity matter.”

Compliance in a Sensitive Environment

At Barts Health NHS Trust data protection is overseen by the Department of Information Governance (IG) which takes a holistic view of compliance. From secure storage and transfer to deletion under GDPR schedules, the IG department ensures every aspect of the Trust’s operation aligns with national regulations and ethical expectations.

Kamran Khan provides monthly SAR reports to the department to maintain full transparency and accountability in all redaction activities. His work reflects the Trust’s wider philosophy: patient and staff privacy are part of safety, trust and care quality.

As body-worn cameras become more widespread - particularly for frontline staff dealing with incidents or aggression - video redaction has become not just a compliance measure but a tool for fairness and protection. Cameras are only activated during an incident and those being recorded are informed beforehand. Footage is stored securely and handled under strict protocols to ensure all parties’ rights are respected.

About Barts Health NHS Trust

Barts Health NHS Trust provides care to more than 2.5 million people across east London and beyond. The group includes The Royal London Hospital, Mile End Hospital, Whipps Cross Hospital, Newham Hospital and St Bartholomew’s Hospital which is a centre of excellence for heart and cancer care.

Beyond these specialisms St Bartholomew’s offers services in endocrinology, fertility, respiratory medicine, thoracic surgery and minor injuries. The Trust also partners with Nuffield Health who operate an independent hospital on the same campus.

While care is the core business, Barts Health also prioritises safety. The Trust has a zero tolerance to violence and abuse, and the deployment of body worn cameras is part of its commitment to protect staff and patients.

Epilogue: A Brief History of St Bartholomew’s Hospital

Founded in 1123, St Bartholomew’s Hospital has provided continuous care on the same site for longer than any other hospital in England. Established alongside the Priory of St Bartholomew by Rahere, a former courtier of Henry I, it celebrated its 900th anniversary in 2023.

In 1948 it became part of the National Health Service and later was the teaching hospital for the newly formed City and Hackney Health District. Although it was proposed for closure in the 1990s, a public campaign saved it.

Today, supported by its sister hospitals, St Bartholomew’s is a specialist centre for cardiac and cancer care, and continues its proud history of healing, innovation and compassion on the same site where it began nine centuries ago.

Conclusion

Barts Health NHS Trust’s adoption of Identity Cloak shows how technology and compliance can coexist in a modern healthcare environment. The Trust has proved that meeting data protection requirements doesn’t have to be cumbersome or bureaucratic. With the right tools and strategy, it can be efficient, accurate and respectful.

Kamran Khan sums it up best: “I’ve never looked elsewhere. Every software update brings real improvements that make our job easier and the process more robust. It’s good to know we can handle complex SARs quickly, confidently and compliantly.”

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