In some Primary Care Trusts they are Health and Social Care.
I recently had a meeting as part of consultations on an Information Sharing Protocol with clinicians including a Health Visitor.
See the Information Sharing Protocol of Oxleas NHS Mental Health Trust http://www.oxleas.nhs.uk/foi/Informationsharingpolicy.pdf
It says that this is to be agreed with the following organisations:
Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust
Bexley Care Trust
Bexley Social Services
Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust
Bromley Primary Care Trust
Bromley Social Services
Queen Mary's Hospital NHS Trust
Greenwich Primary Care Trust
Greenwich Social Services.
Another NHS Trust that I recently worked for was "Health and Social Care" where the PCT and the Borough Social Services were part of the same management structure.
This is not my specialist area but really the Caldicott Guardian should be involved here:
The above policy quotes from the Caldicott Report:
"The Caldicott committee identified the following six principles of good practice for information sharing:
Principle 1: Justify the purpose(s)
Every proposed use or transfer of patient-identifiable information within or from an organisation should be clearly defined and scrutinised, with continuing uses regularly reviewed, by an appropriate guardian.
Principle 2: Don't use patient-identifiable Information unless it is absolutely necessary
Patient-identifiable information items should not be included unless it is essential for the specified purpose(s) of that data flow. The need for patients to be identified should be considered at each stage of satisfying the purpose(s)
Principle 3: Use the minimum necessary patient-identifiable information
Where the use of patient-identifiable information is considered to be essential, the inclusion of each item of information should be considered and justified so that the minimum amount of identifiable information is transferred or accessible as necessary
Principle 4: Access to patient-identifiable information should be on a strict 'need to know' basis
Only those individuals who need access to patient-identifiable information should have access to it, and they should only have access to the information items that they need to see
Principle 5: Everyone with access to patient-identifiable information should be aware of their responsibilities
Action should be taken to ensure that those handling patient-identifiable information - both clinical and non-clinical staff - are made fully aware of their responsibilities and obligation to respect patient confidentiality
Principle 6: Understand and comply with the law
Every use of patient-identifiable information must be lawful. Someone in each organisation handling patient information should be responsible for ensuring that the organisation complies with legal requirements."
I would add that http://www.torbaychildren.org.uk/index/practitioners/cypsp_isa_guidance_and_documents.htm has a very good website on Information Sharing for multi-agency working. See in particular http://www.torbaychildren.org.uk/consent_to_share_personal_information_a_guide_for_practitioners.doc
Nick Landau
Information Governance Consultant
----- Original Message -----
From: "Hitches, John F" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 3:09 PM
Subject: Re: [data-protection] NHS Trust sharing information with Social Services - explicit consent?
I would question whether Social Services are relevant to "medical
purposes" and they are not "health professionals". I would be
complaining vehemently if my medical data were given to social services
without my consent.
John F Hitches
Kingston University
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