Staff Zone - Confidentiality

Confidentiality

Confidentiality is an essential principle in health and social care and forms the basis of all ways of working and codes of practice.

Select each image for more information.

Trust

The basis of a good working relationship is trust. This is dependent on the individual being confident that personal information about them is treated confidentially. Information about someone must only be shared with others involved in their care and support on a ‘need-to-know’ basis.

Information should not usually be disclosed without the person’s informed consent.

Informed consent

To give informed consent the individual must be provided with all of the necessary information in order to make a considered decision.

Safe storage of information

An individual’s right to confidentiality also means that a person’s notes or details must always be stored securely, for example in a locked cupboard, and not be left where they can be seen by unauthorised people.

Computers or mobile devices such as electronic tablets need to be protected by a password and firewall.

When talking about an individual you must ensure no others can overhear you.

Legislation

It is essential that you obey the laws about confidentiality, particularly:

General Data Protection Regulation 2016 – this legislation places obligations on organisations to process personal data securely. This includes protecting people’s privacy; giving individuals the right to consent to data collection and the right to have data removed
Human Rights Act 1998 – This Act determines a number of basic rights for any citizen of the UK. The important one in this context is the right to respect for private and family life, home and correspondence.

You must find out from your manager what your workplace’s agreed ways of working are for putting these laws and other aspects of confidentiality into practice.

Whenever possible, individuals should provide their consent for the transfer of information. However, this may not always be possible and there will be occasions when information normally considered confidential needs to be shared.

On what occasions may confidentiality have to be broken?

Have a think when should you break confidentiality, click the pencil when you believe you have exhausted why you would.

Examples of occasions when confidentiality may have to be broken are:

A person is likely to harm themselves
A person has been, or is likely to be, involved in a serious crime
A person is likely to harm others
Your safety is placed at risk
A child or vulnerable adult has suffered, or is at risk of suffering significant harm

There will be times when you face dilemmas about confidentiality, not knowing what to do or if you should speak to anyone about the information you have.

At these times it is important to speak with your manager and follow the agreed ways of working. If your manager is not available, a senior member of staff or other worker should be able to help.