Understand requirements for handling information in Health and Social Care
Identify legislation and codes of practice that relate to handing information in Health and Social Care
There are several Acts which protect individuals in relation to the storage and use of their information.
Data Protection Act 1998
The Data Protection Act contains 8 Principles. These state that all data must be:
- Processed fairly and lawfully
- Obtained & used only for specified and lawful purposes
- Adequate, relevant and not excessive
- Accurate, and where necessary, kept up to date
- Kept for no longer than necessary
- Processed in accordance with the individuals rights (as defined)
- Kept secure
- Transferred only to countries that offer adequate data protection
The Freedom of Information Act 2000
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) gives you the right to access recorded information held by public sector organisations.
Anyone can request information – there are no restrictions on your age, nationality or where you live.
Your request will be handled under different regulations depending on the kind of information you ask for, eg the:
• Data Protection Act if you ask for information an organisation holds about you
• Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) if you ask for environmental information
An organization could refuse your request if the information is sensitive or the costs are too high.
We have a
duty to treat this information confidentially and manage it well as part of our service to the public.
We use the term Information Governance (IG) to describe the process of obtaining, recording, storing, managing and sharing personal information appropriately, whether held electronically or in paper files. It serves to draw all our information handling requirements into a single framework and helps us to work effectively with partners or in multi-disciplinary teams to deliver services through the Unified Assessment, Person Centred Planning...