Warning icon The browser that you are currently trying to use to access the HCAI DCS system is not a compatible browser version.

HCAI DCS system is best viewed in Internet Explorer 9, 10, 11, Firefox, Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.
Help | AAA
Terms of Use
Terms of Use

The United Kingdom Health Security Agency ("UKHSA"). is an Executive Agency sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care, and has developed the Healthcare-Associated Infection (“HCAI”) Data Capture System (“DCS”) online software system (“Web Software”) to facilitate the collection and reporting of data on cases of infections.  Data stored in the Web Software is in compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679). UKHSA have permission to collect patient identifiable information without the explicit permission of patients as granted under Section 251 of the NHS Act 2006. This legal provision can only be used to support medical purposes that are in the interest of the patient or wider public, where it is not practicable to receive the consent of every individual and where anonymised data will not suffice.

When you register for an account on the system, UKHSA will grant you a license to use the Web Software, and you will be asked to carefully read and accept an End-User License Agreement (EULA) which outlines the legal responsibilities you are agreeing to by using an account on the system.  By clicking “Accept” when you first verify your account to use the Software Product, you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of the EULA. If you do not agree to the EULA, you must click “Reject” during the account verification step.  If you do not agree to the EULA, you must not use the software for any purpose whatsoever.

Specific clauses within the EULA for terms of use include the following (please see EULA upon account verification for full Terms and Conditions):

ACCOUNTS AND PASSWORDS. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and account, and shall be responsible for all uses of the Web Software via your registration and/or login, whether authorised or unauthorised by you. You agree to immediately notify UKHSA of any unauthorised use of your registration, user account or password.

CONFIDENTIALITY. You acknowledge that in using the Web Software you may have access to confidential information including, without limitation, information, including personal data ("Confidential Information"). You agree that you shall hold any Confidential Information in confidence and, unless required by law, shall not:

  • make any Confidential Information available to any third party (other than to a party to whom you are satisfied that you may legally disclose such Confidential Information to);
  • use the Confidential Information for any purpose otherwise than in the proper performance of your duties as an employee or contractor (as applicable);
  • permit or cause any unauthorised disclosure of Confidential Information through any failure to exercise due care and diligence.

COPYRIGHT. Copyright in the Web Software belongs to UKHSA. With this EULA, you may use the Web Software on any computing device over the Internet. You may reproduce the content in the Web Software in printed form or as a digital image for use within your own organisation. All reproduction or derivation of the content in the Web Software must be accompanied by an appropriately dated universal copyright statement, as indicated: © [Year] Public Health England.

LOCAL ADMINISTRATOR OBLIGATIONS. As a registered local administrator (“Local Administrator”) for a specific organisation, in addition to the normal User Obligations, you will also be fully responsible for the following:

  • authorising or rejecting user account requests from users at the organisation(s) where you are the Local Administrator;
  • managing all user accounts at the organisation(s) where you are the Local Administrator, including de-activating, deleting, suspending user accounts when staff leave employment at the organisation(s) where you are the Local Administrator; and
  • ensuring that the users accessing the Web Software at the organisation(s) where you are the Local Administrator have the correct account type to access patient-level information, or anonymised information, and to manage the roles as appropriate for all users at the organisation(s) where you are Local Administrator, and any users that have access to patient identifiable data comply with the appropriate information governance guidelines and rules.

SECURITY FEATURES. "Security Features" means any security mechanisms available for the purpose of preventing any unauthorised person or computer from accessing the Web Software, including those features implemented after the execution of this EULA as they become available, including mechanisms to, as applicable:

(a) limit the extent of Web Software included in an embedded software file to a subset of the whole of the Web Software, in whole or in part, from an embedded software file;
(b) prevent the reverse-engineering, re-use, importation, de-compilation, embedding, or inclusion of such embedded software files that contain any part of the Web Software, into other embedded software files; and
(c) any other optional feature designed to prevent use of the Web Software by any unauthorised person or computer.

USER OBLIGATIONS. The Web Software is provided for you to use for exercising your duties as an employee of or contractor to healthcare organisations in relation to management of patients and infections or infection-related data, in line with your job description, information governance guidelines and regulations. The Web Software may not be used for personal purposes or to profit or otherwise benefit individuals and you agree not to use or access any information via the Web Software unless necessary for the performance of your duties. You are responsible for ensuring the accurate production of any reports produced through the Web Software or from data extracted from it. Reports produced directly from the Web Software or via data extracted from it must acknowledge the data source. UKHSA shall not be liable for any losses or damage incurred by inappropriate or inaccurate use of any data provided through the Web Software. Access to the Web Software through any allocated licence is restricted to one named registered user per allocated licence. You must not share access, passwords, usernames or log-on details to the Web Software with any other person as this may place the NHS in breach of its agreements with third party software licensors. Use of the system will be monitored for log-on and password change history; account creation, editing and locking; assigning of user privileges and roles; record import, edit and upload; and, record processing and enrichment activities. You undertake not to configure any automated system to connect to our systems in such a manner as to risk causing excessive load either on the servers or our networks.

Please ensure you read the full EULA Terms and Conditions when you verify your user account.