5.1 Analyse legal and ethical tensions between maintaining the confidentiality and sharing information

Course: NVQ Level 4 Diploma In Health And Social Care (RQF)

Unit 2: Advanced Communication Skills

LO5: Understand the importance of confidentiality in interactions with individuals

5.1 Analyse legal and ethical tensions between maintaining the confidentiality and sharing information

Confidentiality is a key part of looking after individuals in our care; it can also lead to dilemmas and conflict. It is important to remember that we need information in order to look after people properly and keep them safe.

Confidentiality is also a legal requirement. The law states that “information should only be shared between people and agencies if the person allows us to share it”. This means we must always ask our clients if they are happy for us to share information before we tell anyone else. If the client does not agree, we cannot share that specific piece of information. We still have to meet our duty of care, but it may mean that we will not be able to share all the information we would like to.

We also need to think about ethical dilemmas. Confidentiality is important for all those using health and social care services as well as those who work in these services as they treat individuals as equals, respecting their privacy and dignity. However, confidentiality may stop professionals from disclosing information that could affect other people’s safety or put them at risk. Professionals need this information so they can do their jobs properly and prevent harm.

As an adult care worker, you have a duty of confidentiality when it comes to your service users’ personal information. This duty has been created to preserve your service user’s right to privacy. However, you are also required to maintain public safety and prevent injury to another person by sharing information that you have gained during the course of your work.

The importance of confidentiality is set out in law with regard to health care professionals under the Health And Social Care Act 2001 (HASCA). The Act states that health care professionals can only share personal information when they believe it is in the public interest or if the individual would expect information to be shared. If you’re unclear about what this means, we recommend discussing it with an experienced colleague/friend who has obtained their adult social care qualification and starting to keep a professional journal.

There are clear examples of confidentiality being upheld within the care sector. For example, if a service user discloses to you that they have been the victim of rape or sexual assault, it is your responsibility to keep their identity anonymous and reassure them that their privacy will be protected.

However, sometimes you may need to share information with others, which can lead to tensions and dilemmas. For example, if a service user’s welfare is at risk, you may need to share information with medical professionals in order to protect them.

Remember that confidentiality isn’t about withholding information; it’s about safeguarding the rights of your service users by only sharing the relevant information with the relevant people. If you are concerned about whether or not an action is right, consider how it would be viewed from someone else’s perspective and ask yourself what advice you’d give to your best friend if they were in this situation.

If you’ve reported poor or unsafe practices to your employer and they fail to take action, there could potentially be a conflict between whistleblowing on the one hand and upholding our duty as employees towards them. All of these cases should be referred out through proper channels (e-g HSE/CQC) with clear protocols in place for protecting those that blow whistle within an organization witch includes establishing what repercussions might await if the said employee does something inappropriate while pursuing this line of work outside establishment networks, and how to deal with information.

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