Terms and conditions

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Changes to terms
3. Intellectual property rights and license terms
4. Acceptable use of Futures
5. Accounts
6. Uploading content to Futures
7. Quality, accuracy and use
8. External links
9. Actions and opinions of users
10. Viruses, damage and availability
11. Medical information
12. General
13. Governing law and jurisdiction
14. Third party terms and conditions

Introduction

1.1 NHS England owns the Futures collaboration platform (also referred to as ‘FutureNHS’ or ‘the platform’). The data, services and content on the platform are delivered by NHS England. When you access our public pages or log in and use Futures with an account, you agree to be legally bound by the terms set out here. If you do not agree to be legally bound by these terms, please do not access and/or use the Futures platform. 

1.2 If you choose to log in to the Futures platform with your account, you are accepting the Futures terms and conditions, our privacy notice, our use of cookies, the acceptable use policy and other relevant policies. To read our policies please visit our policies hub.

 

Changes to terms

2.1 We may make changes to the Futures platform, including these terms, at any time. You will be legally bound by the updated or amended terms from the first time that you use the Futures platform after changes are made.

 

Intellectual property rights and license terms

3.1 You have permission to use the Futures platform content for the sole purposes described and on the terms and conditions detailed here. You need written permission from us or any other owner of Futures content before you may use these items in any other way. 

3.2 Except as otherwise stated in these terms, nothing contained in these terms shall be construed as conferring on you or any third party any license or right to intellectual property rights on the content of the Futures platform. 

3.3 You may access and download the content on Futures subject to compliance with the following conditions:

• For non-commercial use;
• Any copies must retain any copyright or other intellectual property notices contained in the original content;
• Content described may be the subject of other intellectual property rights reserved by NHS England or other organisations. No license is granted in respect of those intellectual property rights; and
• Images, pictures, videos, logos and graphics on Futures are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced or appropriated in any manner without written permission of NHS England or other respective owner(s).

3.4 You may not reproduce the content on your personal website, blog, social network, or any other website or online resource without citing the original author and owner of the copyright. 

3.5 If you view, print, download, use or otherwise process any personal data on Futures you shall take appropriate measures to keep the personal data secure and confidential and you shall comply with any instructions we may give relating to that data. You will be liable to us and shall indemnify us for any breach of these requirements.

 

Acceptable use of Futures

4.1 The terms for acceptable use should be read in conjunction with our acceptable use policy and other policies, where we set out the rules all users must adhere to when using Futures:

• Futures should be used to collaborate with others on work, to share information, or to share ideas that contribute to the delivery or improvement of health and care services.
• Content shared on the platform must be lawful, relevant, respectful and professional.
• Futures may not be used by private companies to promote goods or services or conduct any other profit-making activity.
• Futures must not be used as a personal social networking site. All activity on the platform must be for professional purposes only.
• Futures must not be used by journalists or by any individual employed by, contracted to, or acting on behalf of a news, media, or journalistic organisation* in any capacity. This includes circumstances where an individual is engaged in such activity as part of a secondary role, voluntary role, freelance work, consultancy, or other form of dual employment. *For the purposes of this policy, “news, media, or journalistic organisation” includes any organisation whose primary function is the gathering, production, or dissemination of news, commentary, or editorial content through print, broadcast, or digital channels.
• Futures should be used to share content that is actively being accessed, not as a long-term information or record repository.
• Users must not post spam or repeatedly share identical or substantially similar content in a way that may disrupt or detract from effective collaboration on the Futures platform.
• Users must be at least 16 years of age to access Futures and register for an account.
   

Accounts

5.1 All users who register to the platform must use their real name and ensure their profile information is accurate and up to date. Users cannot register with a shared email account (where more than one person has access). 

5.2 Users must not share an account with anyone else or allow another person to use their account, either intentionally or unintentionally (e.g. through sharing their log in credentials or failing to log out of their account on a shared or public device). 

5.3 User accounts must re-verify their email address every three months. If a user does not log in to the platform after one year, the user is considered inactive, and the account is deleted.

5.4 By registering to Futures, users agree that the information in their user profile, including name, email address, organisation, job title and region, is visible to other members of the platform.
 

Uploading content to Futures

6.1 Whenever you use a feature that allows you to upload or add content to Futures, you agree to comply with the following restrictions and requirements:

• These terms and conditions
• Our acceptable use policy and privacy notice
• Applicable data protection legislation and that all the necessary permissions are in place where content contains sensitive and/or personal data
• The content must be uploaded with permission from the owner of the content and not be in violation of any intellectual property rights, or any other rights, of a third party.

6.2 If you do not adhere to these restrictions and requirements, you will be liable to us. 

6.3 If you find any content that is objectionable as per these terms or other policies, you can let us know by contacting the support team using the ‘Support’ button at the bottom of the platform or by completing our contact form.

Quality, accuracy and use

7.1 NHS England does not accept responsibility for the information users upload to the platform.

7.2 Individual organisations who originally collect, process, produce and control any data that they then share on Futures must ensure proper information governance is followed in line with their local policies, our policies and any relevant legislation. NHS England does not accept responsibility for data breaches where information is inappropriately uploaded to the platform and/or shared without proper permission settings.

7.3 NHS England does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the content held within workspaces or uploaded by users from other organisations. Your access to, use or reliance on any content on the platform or materials linked from the platform is at your own risk.

7.4 Futures is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, either express or implied. Content found on the platform will not always be up to date and cannot necessarily be relied upon.

7.5 We and our officers, employees, contractors or content providers shall not be liable for any loss or damage arising from or otherwise in connection with your use of Futures and any content, information, function, or service of Futures or other related location (such as content feeds, links, emails, letters, documents, and other company products or correspondence).

7.6 Nothing in these terms shall exclude or limit our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other liability which cannot be legally excluded or limited.

External links

8.1 We are not responsible for the contents or reliability of any other websites to which we or other users provide a link, and we do not, expressly or otherwise, endorse the views, products, services and/or content expressed within those websites.

Actions and opinions of users

9.1 You must not use Futures in any way which is unlawful, illegal, fraudulent or harmful. 

9.2 Where content on Futures is created by other users, the views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of NHS England. We accept no responsibility for any loss or harm incurred from the use of the platform or any of its information or content.

Viruses, damage and availability

10.1 We make no warranty or claim that functions available on Futures will be uninterrupted or error free, that defects will be corrected, or the content itself is and/or will be free of viruses, bugs, or other malicious code. You acknowledge that it is your responsibility to implement sufficient procedures and virus checks (including anti-virus and other security checks) to satisfy your particular requirements for the accuracy of data input and output, and for the security of yourself and the device used by you to view any content from the platform. 

10.2 We shall have no liability to you for any loss or damage whatsoever caused in respect of viruses, bugs or malicious code, or if for any reason the Futures platform is unavailable at any time or for any period. 

10.3 You must not misuse Futures by knowingly introducing viruses, trojans, worms, logic bombs or other material which is malicious or technologically harmful. You must not attempt to gain unauthorised access to Futures, the server on which Futures is stored or any server, computer or database connected to this platform. You must not attack Futures via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of-service attack. If you breach this provision, your right to use the platform will cease immediately and we will report such breach to the relevant law enforcement authority.

Medical information

11.1 Futures is a collaboration platform for health and care professionals and as such should not be used as a source of information on medical conditions, medicines, medical care, or personalized medical advice. It is up to you to contact a health professional if you are concerned about your health. 

11.2 If you are a medical or health professional then you are encouraged to use Futures for general information purposes. However, you should not rely on material included on the Futures platform and we do not accept any responsibility if you do.

General

12.1 If any of these terms are determined to be illegal, invalid or otherwise unenforceable then the remaining terms shall remain in full force and effect. 

12.2 A failure or delay by us in enforcing compliance with any provision of these terms shall not be a waiver of that or any other provision of these terms. 

12.3 In these terms, unless specified to the contrary, use of the singular is deemed to include the plural and vice versa, use of any gender is deemed to include every gender, and any reference to a person is deemed to include a corporation, a partnership and any other body or entity. 

12.4 None of these terms shall be enforceable under the contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 by any third party.

Governing law and jurisdiction

13.1 The English courts will have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim arising from, or related to, use of Futures or to these terms although we retain the right to bring proceedings against you for breach of these terms in your country of residence or any other relevant country. 

13.2 These terms and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them or their subject matter or formation or in connection with the Futures platform (including non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales.

Third party terms and conditions

14.1 To read the terms and conditions and other policies relevant to our third-party suppliers who provide the underpinning technologies for our platform and support service, please visit their websites:

• Kahootz Ltd. (Platform)
• Zendesk Inc. (Support services)