Confidentiality and Consent

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Confidentiality and Consent

• Guidelines for Students
• Presentation designed by P Conway

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Definition of Confidentiality

• Derives from the notion of trust
• A patient/client has a right to believe that
  information, given in confidence, will be used
  only for the purpose for which it was given and
  will not be released to others without their
  permission. Tingle Cribb 1995 p 45
  

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Maintaining Confidentiality

• No personal information about patients/clients to
  be held on your home computer
• Documentation must not include client/ patient/
  user/ information, i.e. care plans, assessment
  forms, prescription sheet, psychometric testing.
• Documentation that identifies the workplace/
  practice setting must not be submitted, with the
  exception of all school-issued documentation.
• Only trust and organization documentation which
  is included to authenticate attendance at
  workshops, fire lectures, study days etc and
  supervisors testimony are allowed.

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Maintaining Confidentiality 2

• You must maintain the anonymity of ALL persons
  involved in care-giving or receiving patient,
  relatives, staff or institution
• Maintain anonymity of members of the workforce.
  (Signatures of staff in the workplace who sign
  students official documentation is the
  exception)
• To maintain anonymity of clients / patients /
  carers use generalised terms, i.e. young,
  middle-aged, office worker etc
• Information that by its very nature could
  identify the client/ patient/ user/ family/
  carer/ staff members or colleagues, i.e.
  demographic details, unusual circumstances must
  not be used.

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Maintaining Confidentiality 3

• How NOT to do it!John Brown is a retired Chief
  ConstableGillian was the first patient in the
  North to undergo this new treatmentMartins GP
  was a partner in the largest practice in
  ConsettPaul and Susan owned a dry-cleaning
  business in WhitbyKrishnan suffered from a
  personality disorder, and had recently set fire
  to the Odeon in Darlington
• Do it this way Sheila (not her real name) is a
  teacher in her 30s living in a rural area of the
  North-East of England

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Definition of Consent

• You must respect the autonomy of patients (their
  right to decide whether or not to give
  information in this instance)
• A patient can give or withhold their consent
  they can also rescind it once given

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When is consent required?

• Consent is required for
• Case studies that contain specific client /
  patient / carer/ user / family information, i.e.
  problems, condition, demographic detail, unusual
  circumstances, employment.
• Reflection that includes client / patient history
  or other significant information (as above).
• Critical incidences that include client / patient
  history or other significant information (as
  above).
• Information about colleagues.

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When is consent not required?

• Consent is not required for
• Critical incidences and generalised reflection,
  focusing on practice when discussing ones own
  feelings about a situation rather than the
  specific circumstances of the patient / client
• Consent forms for students of the School of
  Health and Social Care can be obtained at the
  information desk

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Finally...

• Any failure to obtain consent, or any breach of
  confidentiality will be viewed as unprofessional
  conduct
• Disciplinary action may follow
• If consent is omitted, or confidentiality
  breached in written work requiring it, then the
  work will not be marked and a mark of zero will
  be awarded

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Remember!

• It is essential that students abide by their
  respective professional code of conduct when
  gaining informed consent and maintaining
  confidentiality.