Will my taking part be kept confidential?

Yes, absolutely. If you accept this invitation, your contact details will be stored securely so that further information can be sent to you (these details can only be seen by your local research team and by staff working in the co-ordinating centres at the Universities of Oxford and Glasgow). The central co-ordinating centre in Oxford will seek information from NHS and other central registries about any serious illnesses, your retinal screening results and blood results taken as part of your usual care. The central co-ordinating centre may also contact your own doctor if any further information is required. For these reasons we require your name, date of birth and CHI number (this is your unique number in the NHS).

All information obtained will be kept confidentially and only used for medical research. Your personal details will never be transferred to any other party. Responsible members of the University of Oxford, your host NHS health board, or regulatory authorities may be given access to data for monitoring and/or audit of the study to ensure compliance with regulations. Information used for scientific analyses will never include any details that identify you.