Confidentiality and information sharing

We know that as a family member, friend, or carer you want as much information as possible about the person you are caring for to be able to provide them the best possible support.

Most of the time the person you care for is happy for us to share information with you, but sometimes when someone is unwell, they might change their minds about whether we can do this.

We understand how frustrating and worrying it can be if we don’t have their consent for us to share information with you. However, if this is the case, we will always continue to listen to you, so please continue to share information with the clinical team.

We will also still help you to manage any symptoms that are of concern to you, as well as provide generic information on specific mental health conditions or medications that you believe your family member or friend is taking.

To help you understand the boundaries a little better, this list details what we can share with and without consent.

Consent not needed

• Information on service and which health professionals are likely to be involved
• Diagnosis (only if already known by carer)
• An explanation of likely treatments, medications, and possible side effects
• The symptoms and behaviours witnessed by you and how best to support
• Contact details of the Keyworker or named worker
• Information on the Core Clinical Standards and what it involves
• How to support someone with a mental health need
• Information on discharge planning
• Advice on support available to you including a carer’s assessment

Consent needed

• Diagnosis (if carer is not aware of this)
• Personal circumstances
• Personal history
• Social circumstances

We will also continue to work with the person you care for to support them to see the importance of being able to share information with the people closest to them.

We will regularly re-visit consent to see if the person has changed their mind or may want to share some aspects of their care and treatment.

If you are worried about this then please do speak to a member of staff about whether you and the person, you care for should consider completing an Advance Statement.

What is an Advance Statement?

Patients can make an advance statement which will tell us what they want to happen should they become unwell.

It means we can provide support in the way they wish when they are well, even though they may say something else when they are unwell.

For further information you can speak to a member of the care team.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about confidentiality and information sharing:

What if the mental health team won’t talk to me?

The rules of confidentiality should not be used by staff as a means of excluding family members and carers.

There is a lot of very important information which staff can provide to help you understand the needs of your relative and your own needs as a carer.

This type of information can be provided without releasing information about the patient and breaching confidence. Even if we cannot give you certain pieces of information it is very important to us that you keep in contact with us and continue to feedback to us any concerns you may have about the person you care for. We can continue to support you as the carer and signpost you to additional support.

If you do not feel you are being listened to or appropriately involved by staff, you should take this up with the team manager. If this does not resolve the issue you should contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS).

What if my relative keeps changing their mind about sharing information with me?

We will look to understand why a patient is refusing to share information with you. We will explain the benefits of having you involved in their care and will routinely re-visit consent to see if the patient has changed their mind. Sometimes patients are happy to share certain aspects of their care and we will discuss this with them. It is our intention to keep families and carers informed of the situation.