If I have the right to request my social worker[care manager] does not discuss any details of my case with any professionals I have previously been a client of but am now discharged from. Or with previous social workers.
If my current social worker for example talks about my case with a previous social worker after I told him/her not to would this be a breach of any regulations/law? If so which?
It would be a breach of confidentiality. Information sharing is a vital element in social work but only in the interests of the person, to protect them or others from harm. Information must only be shared with those who need to know. I have worked as a social worker and a mental health practitioner and in mental health work, we have to have the consent to share information, signed by the client and stored at the front of their files and anyone over the age of 16 (I think it is), has a right to say who their information can be shared with. It is the same in social work but for some reason, it’s not so explicit. Look up confidentiality rights. Let me know if you need any links to this information, it might also be worth checking to see if there’s any mention of confidentiality in the new care act but certainly, your personal information is protected under the confidentiality act and social workers are bound by it. I have seen inappropriate sharing of information in the form of people’s ‘opinions’ without them stating specifically that it’s their opinion and not fact. This kind of information can sway some people in a biased way, and the client misses out on an accurate assessment, so personal information should be guarded and protected and professionals must work in a non judgemental way and not be swayed by their personal opinions and they should not share their opinions unless they have concern for a person’s safety, and even then, they must inform their client of any information they propose to share and with whom and why.
Hi pewpewmcdrew,
You may like to contact our Autism Helpline team who are best suited to answer. They can provide you with information and advice. You can call them on 0808 800 4104 (Monday to Thursday 10am to 4pm, Friday 9am to 3pm).Please note that the Helpline is experiencing increasingly high demand, and you may not reach them straight away.
Please see the following link for further information:
http://www.autism.org.uk/services/helplines/main.aspx
Hope this helps a little.
Kind regards,
Heather - Mod