INFORMATION SHARING
• CONSENT OR NO CONSENT
Dermot Kelly. Nov 2013
Consent or not?
• S.11 Children Act 2004, obliges relevant
agencies to ensure that its ‘functions are
discharged having regard to the need to
safeguard and promote the welfare of children’
• Section 10 and 11 Children Act 2004 create a
‘permissive gateway’ for sharing of information
• ECHR 1998 Art’s 2 & 8 – finding the balance
REFERRAL
• Individually consider this referral and
decide if you will share information.
• College refers a 16 old boy who is
presenting as hungry saying he has no
money for his bus pass or for lunch.
College said they had not spoken to his
mum.
Small Group Work
• Form two groups of “Consent” and “No
consent”
• Discuss amongst yourselves the reasons
why you have made your decision and
prepare to challenge your opponents.
• Select a speaker to argue your groups
decision.
Consent or not?
• there is no absolute requirement for agencies to
obtain consent before sharing information nor
should there be a blanket policy of never doing
so
• there is an obligation to consider on all
occasions and on a case by case basis whether
information will be shared with or without
consent
Haringey Judgement
• Judical Review: R (AB and CD) v Haringey
London Borough Council (2013) judgement
before MASH
• –reiterates the importance of considering when
and whether consent is required
• –documenting of all decisions and rationale - If it
isn’t written down it didn't happen!
INFORMATION SHARING
• Seven golden rules
•
•
•
•
•
•
data protection act is not a barrier to sharing information
openness and honesty
if in doubt seek advice
share with consent where appropriate
consider safety and wellbeing
NPR – necessary, proportionate, relevant, accurate,
timely and secure
• record decision and reasons for it
–
Caldecott principles
•
Justify the purpose for needing information
•
Do not use person identifiable information unless absolutely necessary
•
•
Use minimum amount necessary of person identifiable information
Access to person identifiable information on a strictly need to know basis
•
Everyone should be aware of their responsibilities
•
Everyone should be aware of and comply with the law 1997
•
Duty to share information can be as important as the duty to protect patient
confidentiality 2013
–
Refusal & MASH Process
• If justifiable to override the refusal in the interests of the welfare of
the child then professionals can and must do so.
• This decision must be proportionate to the harm that may be caused
by proceeding without consent.
• documenting of all decisions and rationale - If it isn’t written down it
didn't happen!
• MASH process and the rules.
• If followed MASH processes are relevant to the consent
determination; however, it is not a single overriding factor.
N,P,R
• Necessary
• Proportionate
• Relevant
Information sharing
• Information Sharing in MASH is not… a
single one-off decision
• It is a process of a number of carefully
calibrated decisions made at different
times, by different people based upon
professional judgement about risk and
relevance.
EARLY HELP / INTERVENTION
• Working with children and families in need
of support and Troubled Families can be
effective through Team Around the Child
(TAC) as a good start in engaging with
families.
Consultation
• To help professionals MASH (Multi
Agency Safeguarding Hub) offers and
encourages Consultation. Any
professional wishing to discuss concerns
or thresholds of Children in Need should
contact MASH and request a Social Work
consultation.
MASH is NOT…a safeguarding
factory