The Right To Confidentiality Is Guaranteed Partly By The

Data Protection Act 1998, Freedom of Information Act 2000, Health and Social Care Act 2008, and Human Rights Act 1998

Data Protection Act 1998 – gives individuals the right to know what information is held about them, and those that processes personal information must comply with eight principles, which makes sure that personal information is fairly and lawfully processed; processed for limited purposes; adequate, relevant and not excessive; accurate and up to date; not kept for longer than is necessary; processed in line with your rights; secure; not transferred to other countries without adequate protection;

2 The Privacy Act 1988 (Commonwealth) is the law that explains the professional, ethical obligations related to privacy and confidentiality,

Confidentiality means keeping information given by or about an individual in the course of a professional relationship secure and safe from others. There are eight principals of good practice and anyone processing personal information must comply with them.

Human rights act 1998 – specifies and enforces the rights of individuals and if these

Confidentiality applies to the children act in many ways it protects children and young peoples information from being put into the wrong hands although the children act does state that the person can obtain the information being held themselves as because of data protection you have the right to access your own files.

Within the health and social care setting there are numerous peices of legislation and codes of practice designed to protect individuals.These are there to protect from breaches of confidentiality were the information held on that individual is only viewed by staff directly involved in their care.

When information is stored, if it about a person then it isn’t covered by the same act it then becomes data protection act. The information to the public is free to learn and access but it’s not free when requested for physical copy. If information is requested and cannot be accessed public bodies will give reasons why they cannot release the information and have a valid reason. If the information individual wishes to accessed is fully denied, then they have the right to appeal and have the outcome

8. Personal Data should not be transferred to any other country unless it has got an adequate level of protection

The Human Rights Act covers all human rights and ensures that all individuals have rights on their side and can take legal action against any organisation that disrespects these. Meaning that if a care giver does not respect the needs of the resident they are caring for, their company can get sued due to their lack of care standards. The act states that everyone has the right to life, meaning that any life support mechanism cannot be withdrawn unless a person is beyond doubt clinically dead. It also says that every person has the right to protection from inhuman and degrading treatment, for example humiliation and inappropriate or rough care. It also prohibits discrimination, meaning that people must not be discriminated against due to their age/ethnicity/gender etc. meaning everyone must be treated equally with the same level of high standards of care no matter who they are.

Information Commissioner’s Office (2012) Introduction to The Data Protection Act 1998. [Online] Available from: http://www.ico.org.uk/~/media/documents/library/Corporate/Research_and_reports/ico_presentation_EVOC_20120528.ashx [Accessed: 11th October 2013]

All of the staff need to make sure that confidentiality is paramount. Staff have to read and understand the Data Protection Act of 1998. We have to make sure that we are clear about our standards of conduct, that we are expected to meet. We are encouraged to use the codes of conduct to maintain our own practice

Therefore every care practitioner should endeavour to promote theses rights when dealing with services users and their relatives. Furthermore, it is crucial for service users to understand that any information they give will be with strict confidentiality. It is a legal requirement for health and social care services to keep personal data confidential.

Providers should ensure that all staff are aware of the need to maintain privacy and confidentiality.

b) Freedom of Information Act (2000) – FOI ‘provides public access to information held by public authorities. It does this in two ways: public authorities are obliged to publish certain information about their activities; and members of the public are entitled to request information from public authorities.’ (https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-freedom-of-information/what-is-the-foi-act/)