Our Acceptable Use Policy provide consumer best practice for using our APIs and should be read in conjunction with our API Connection Terms.
APIs can only be used where you have a legal basis to do so and is subject to our onboarding process.
If you are planning to present data, you should:
You should not cache data within your application. You should always retrieve the most recent data available via the API at the point it is required by your users.
If you feel you have an exceptional need to cache data locally, you should discuss this with the DHCW API Platform team and gain explicit permission for that usage pattern.
You must not systematically crawl the API. All activity will be monitored and any crawling activity will be investigated, and could lead to your API access being suspended or revoked.
We reserve the right, but do not assume the obligation, to investigate any violation or misuse of this policy and/or our API Connection Terms.
We may report any activity that we suspect violates any law or regulation to appropriate law enforcement officials, regulators, or other appropriate third parties. Our reporting may include disclosing appropriate customer information.
In the event of a security breach, suspected security breach, misuse of the credentials, or deviation from the usage agreement, DHCW reserves the right to suspend or revoke access.
Consuming products must be designed to fail gracefully when issues occur. Example issues include:
Increasing the use of Welsh language services has been identified as one of Welsh Government's priorities within its Welsh language 2050 strategy. In addition, the Digital Service Standards for Wales, published in March 2022, emphasised the need to promote the use of the Welsh language as a core standard, highlighting the need to promote and facilitate the use of the Welsh within digital public services.
Section 4.11 of the Welsh Language Commissioner’s Code of Practice for the Welsh Language Standards (No.7) Regulations 2018 relates to a body’s websites and online services including apps. The primary aim is to promote and facilitate the use of the Welsh language, in line with the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011. The Measure gives legal effect to the official status of the Welsh language by enabling the imposition of these standards.
Designing content in both Welsh and English from the start, is more efficient, saves time and ensures translators understand the context of the content. A Welsh Language Commissioner paper on Trio Writing explains the benefits of designing and creating bilingual content that considers the Welsh language from the outset.
For further advice on the Welsh Language Standards, please contact DHCW.Welshlanguage@wales.nhs.uk or the Welsh Language Commissioner post@cyg-wlc.wales
When identifying activity that contravenes the policy, we will always first refer to the agreed usage between you as a consumer and us as the service provider. For this reason, prior agreement around your specific use cases will help us to ensure your service is not interrupted unnecessarily.
If you wish to change your use case you will need to submit an updated onboarding request for access.
If we believe that your activity is not compliant with this policy and our API Connection Terms or with any explicit agreement we have, we will first perform an impact assessment to decide the level of risk posed by your activity.
In instances where we identify a significant risk to the service as a result of your usage, our priority will be to protect the service and so we may immediately suspend your access without prior notice.
If we don’t feel that your usage poses an immediate risk, we will contact you to discuss your usage in order to agree a way forward, advising of our intention to suspend your access if the usage is not made compliant within a reasonable timeframe.