Information sharing
Wherever possible practitioners should have a conversation with you about the needs of your family and make you aware of their intention to make a referral. In Coventry there is a desire to empower and enable families to find solutions, to build their own networks and for families to make changes, build resilience and most of all to remain together
There are some exceptions when there is a need to protect children and young people. For example, if having a conversation with the family, it would place the child, or another child, or someone else, or you the referrer, at increased risk of suffering harm. Also, discussing concerns with the family might undermine the investigation of a serious crime.
When deciding what information to share, practitioners will consider the 7 golden rules of information sharing:
- Remember that the Data Protection Act 2018 and Human Rights Law are not barriers to justified information sharing, but provide a framework to ensure that personal information about living individuals is shared appropriately.
- Be open and honest with the individual (and/or their family where appropriate) from the outset about why, what, how and with whom information will, or could be shared, and seek their agreement, unless it is unsafe or inappropriate to do so.
- Seek advice from other practitioners if you are in any doubt about sharing the information concerned, without disclosing the identity of the individual where possible.
- Share with informed consent where appropriate and, where possible, respect the wishes of those who do not consent to share confidential information. You may still share information without consent if, in your judgement, there is good reason to do so, such as where safety may be at risk. You will need to base your judgement on the facts of the case. When you are sharing or requesting personal information from someone, be certain of the basis upon which you are doing so. Where you have consent, be mindful that an individual might not expect information to be shared.
- Consider safety and well-being: Make your information sharing decision after considering the safety and well-being of the individual and others who may be affected by their actions.
- Necessary, proportionate, relevant, adequate, accurate, timely and secure: Ensure that the information you share is necessary for the purpose for which you are sharing it, is shared only with those individuals who need to have it, is accurate and up to date, is shared in a timely fashion, and is shared securely.
- Keep a record of your decision and the reasons for it – whether it is to share information or not. If you decide to share, then record what you have shared, with whom and for what purpose.