ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS

Assignment Questions

Assignment Questions

1. Circumstances when would you deemed it appropriate to share confidential information.

Confidentiality is an important issue because without it, professionals would find it difficult to build relationships with their clients. Trust in a carer/client relationship is important, as a client would not want to share personal information with someone if they felt it was not confidential and Fulford (2001) agrees that confidentiality is a function of relationships. This could be why new employees in the caring profession find it difficult to relate to their clients until a relationship has been formed.

When a person gives information about themselves to other people such as doctors or carers, that person is giving their consent for the professional to share the information given. This kind of consent is known as 'implicit consent'. It is when a person gives consent with out realising they have and unless they specifically ask for the information to be strictly confidential, then that information will be shared amongst other professionals within that profession (Unit23, p67) This kind of consent is usually present when a client or resident can not make decisions about their information being shared, maybe the client is unconscious or has learning disabilities. The Department of Health (1996) states those professionals in this position must be trusted to act in their patient's best interests. Another type of consent is known as 'explicit consent. This is consent given with the patient or client knowing about it. For instance, if a person was filling out a form and it stated that the information provided on the form is shared among other professionals, it would then ask for a signature to allow for this sharing to occur.

Having policies, employment contracts and codes of practice should enforce confidentiality. However, it is common knowledge that care workers do sometimes discuss clients or residents with their partners, friends and relatives, even if they do so without mentioning the client's name (Unit23, p70). A resident would feel betrayed if they knew that they were being spoken about to others outside the group of people who are bound by a confidentiality policy.

However, records are kept on an every day basis in the caring profession. Workers in a residential care setting, have to record all residents' behaviour and daily living routines in the residents care plan folder. These are called 'daily records'. If a resident has a fall or does something beyond their normal behaviour, then this is documented for future use and by doing this it allows for continuity of care. All of this information is confidential and should be kept that way. Professionals usually sign a contract which states that the breaching of confidentiality will result in termination of their employment.

One of the difficulties of confidentiality could be carers and professional workers being burdened with the choice on whether or not to share certain information about their clients. For example, if a client or resident has been ill, the carer may not know if it was alright to discuss ...