Privacy Policy

Information Sharing and Confidentiality Policy

Nevaeh Homes acknowledges the importance of security and confidentiality of information it holds on young people and their families. However, Central Government policy as expressed through the Every Child Matters agenda places a strong emphasis on the need to share information within the law across organisational and professional boundaries, in order to ensure effective co-ordination and integration of services to give young people and their families the best possible chance to achieve their full potential. It is often necessary for agencies to share information so that children and young people can receive the services they need. Sometimes, it is only when information held by different agencies is put together that a child or young person is seen to be in need of additional or alternative services. 

The aim of this policy is to outline how and when Nevaeh Homes may need to share information with other agencies it liaises with such as the schools and social services, and how this impacts on confidentiality. 

Key points when sharing information 

Information sharing is essential to enable early intervention. Such interventions help young people and families who need additional services to achieve positive outcomes. The professional and confidential sharing of information between services is becoming increasingly important in delivering benefits for young people and their families. Nevaeh Homes is very much an active part of multi-agency working practices across the city and works closely with other agencies in this process. 

Information sharing is also vital to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. A key factor in many serious case reviews has been a failure to record information, to share it, to understand the significance of the information shared, and to take appropriate action in relation to known or suspected abuse or neglect. 

Nevaeh Homes  and its employees will inform young persons and families at the outset, openly and honestly, what and how information will or could be shared and why, and seek their agreement via the signing of consent forms or in person. The exception to this is where to do so would put that young person or others at increased risk of significant harm or if it would undermine the prevention, detection or prosecution of a serious crime.

Employees should ensure that any information shared is: 

- Accurate and up to date 

- Necessary for the purpose for which it is being shared 

- Shared only with people who need to see it 

- Shared securely. 

- Employees should always record the reasons for their decision in the child/young person’s file – whether the decision is to share information or not and this will be signed by the staff member and their manager.

Information sharing with consent 

When a young person is referred to Nevaeh Homes, we may require consent to talk to other professionals who may be working with the young person. This is particularly important when the young person has a fairly complex disability, a medical condition or other factors which involve other professionals providing support to the young person. This helps Nevaeh Homes to gather accurate and up to date information about the young person which is relevant to their well-being and enjoyment when they are being supported by Nevaeh. It also ensures that people who are working with the young person are consistent in the way they work, for example providing the young person with similar boundaries, following behaviour management plans in the same way or working towards key milestones and developmental goals etc. These will be shared with the relevant organisations when developed and/or reviewed. 

The information and records Nevaeh Homes holds on each young person is shared internally with staff who are working with the young person. 

Information sharing without consent 

Nevaeh Homes  is obliged to share confidential information without consent from the person who provided it or to whom it relates if this will prevent harm to a young person or if not sharing the information could be worse than the outcome of having shared it. The Data Protection Act/GDPR provides a framework to ensure that personal information about living persons is shared appropriately. Nevaeh Homes details those circumstances which would necessitate the organisation sharing information about a child or young person with other services. 

The four critical criteria informing the decision are: 

- Evidence that the child or young person is suffering, or is at risk of suffering, significant harm. 

- Reasonable cause to believe that a child or young person may be suffering, or at risk of suffering, significant harm. 

- To prevent significant harm arising to children or young people. 

- To prevent a crime from being committed or intervene where one may have been committed, including the prevention, detection and prosecution of serious crime. 

A decision to share information without consent is never taken lightly, it is a decision made jointly between staff and the designated officer and always puts the safety and well-being of our young people first. The management receive reports from the designated officer where information has been shared without consent but the names have been removed; this helps ensure that the policy has been followed correctly. Careful record keeping of any concerns helps to support any decision for sharing information without consent. 

Confidentiality 

- All employees who have access to information about children and young people have a duty to preserve confidence. Each young person’s right to confidentiality must be respected. All personal information must be treated with care and kept securely; this means not disclosing it to people who do not need to know. If confidentiality is broken by any member of staff then disciplinary action will be taken. 

- In normal circumstances the young person who is the subject of the information will be required to give consent before information about them can be shared. The consent of the provider of the information may also be required. Irrespective of the age and level of maturity of the young person, if information is disclosed which indicates that the young person involved (or another person) is at serious risk of harm, then confidentiality cannot be preserved as safeguarding procedures must take precedence.

- All children and young people (and their families, where appropriate) should be made aware of the level of confidentiality offered by practitioners working with them. This should include:  what information will be recorded where and for how long it will remain recorded the circumstances in which it may be shared with other people the other people and agencies that may have or obtain access to the information and the reasons for all of the above. 

Children and young people have a right to confidentiality if there is no risk of serious harm to them or any other person, but staff at Nevaeh are encouraged to support the child/young person in talking with their parent carers, if possible, on all issues. 

Record Keeping 

All records/incident reports/session review notes will be kept under lock and key and remain confidential. Access will only be for the supervisor and the Manager, where necessary. (In the event of suspected abuse of any kind, this information may be shown to LADO and any other professionals assisting in the investigation). 

Any personal information about young people will be kept similarly in a locked storage. 

Minutes of staff meetings at which staff discuss young people or incidents, will also be treated confidentially. These are also kept in a locked storage cabinet. If staff wish to use paperwork to evidence their practice in training, such as the NVQ, only blank copies of paperwork may be used. 

The law says that everyone who is given a service should be able to see a written record of decisions which are taken concerning them and why those decisions have been taken. This information should be kept securely and confidentially, and each record should describe the service given only to one person, so that person can ask to see the information that is kept on them. 

The sort of information that should be kept includes the dates and times of any meetings, telephone conversations, letters sent and received (with actual copies kept) and face-to-face meetings. In addition to this, at the very least, a short account of the nature of the discussion should also be kept. 

When a young person is looked after, the staff at Nevaeh are obliged to keep more detailed information to enable proper communication between professionals and our organisation.

For New Legislation on Confidentiality please refer to Nevaeh GDPR Policy, which comes into force on 25-May-2018.

Signed on behalf of Nevaeh Homes Ltd

By:  Dionne Mundle

Signed:

Position: Director 

Date:  September 2019

Review Date:  September 2020