How confidentiality works, and when we share information
This page explains how confidentiality works, when treatment information can be shared with you, and how you can stay involved in all cases.
What is confidentiality?
Confidentiality means protecting someone's personal information. It applies when information is given on the understanding it will be kept private – such as when you give information about your health to your GP.
When someone engages with our services and tells us about themselves, we keep that information private unless there's a very important reason not to.
When might information be shared?
The most common way we're able to share information is with the agreement of the person using our services. This is called 'consent'.
It is really important that people engaging with us can decide when and how we can share information with those supporting them. Not only is this the right position legally, it helps us build stronger therapeutic relationships and trust with the people we support.
There are some limited circumstances where we might share information with you without the consent of the person using our services. For example, if the person lacks capacity to make their own decisions, we may need to make a 'best interests' decision. Another example is if we feel there is a risk of serious harm to someone, and we need to share information to prevent this. Even in these rare cases, we only ever share what is necessary.
How we discuss consent
We will talk to your friend or family member regularly to get their views on who we can share information with. We respect their decision, and we also ensure they're given regular opportunities to tell us if their views have changed.
We know that having a supportive network outside of treatment can bring many benefits, and we let them know that.
We will share materials with them about consent and choices so they are fully aware of their right to confidentiality, and when we might share information. You can see the information we share with anyone getting support from our services or you can ask your local service to provide you with our 'Your data' form.
What you can do
Even if the person using our services does not want us to share information with anyone else, you can still play a really valuable role in their recovery whilst respecting their privacy.
You can share information with us if you're worried about something, or tell us things you've noticed.
While this isn’t a breach of confidentiality in the legal sense, depending on the information you give us we might not be able to use it without it being obvious to the person that you have shared it with us. For that reason, we encourage you to be open and communicate with your friend or relative wherever possible.
You can also ask us general questions about our service. We can tell you things about our service offerings and possible treatment pathways so you're more aware of the options available. However, we won't be able to tell you which one applies to your friend or family member.
Additional information and support
If you’d like to read more, the General Medical Council has some really good guidance here: Using and disclosing patient information for direct care.
If you have any questions, you can either ask your local service, or email us at [email protected] and we'll try our best to answer for you.
You can also talk to your local service to find out which families’ and carers’ services are available in your area.