Part 5: Information Sharing and multiagency working
This guide to information sharing for the purposes of safeguarding is
applicable to all UK nations.
General practice
is a vital member of both the child and adult multi-agency
safeguarding partnerships. We therefore have a responsibility to
ensure that we understand the necessity of information sharing to
safeguard children and adults and how we do this effectively.
Issues around information sharing in a safeguarding context, such as lack of
information sharing or missed opportunities, are longstanding and
come up repeatedly in case reviews which happen when children or
adults die, or are seriously harmed, due to abuse or neglect.
This part of the
RCGP safeguarding toolkit aims to provide GPs and everyone working in
general practice with the knowledge they need to be confident in
sharing information for the purposes of safeguarding.
The RCGP would
particularly like to thank the Information Commissioner’s Office
and the GMC Standards and Ethics team for their input and advice into
this part of the toolkit.
Key principles of information sharing
Information sharing is fundamental to keeping children, and adults, safe from abuse and neglect.
Information sharing in a safeguarding context (including when there is uncertainty whether a situation is a safeguarding concern) is a broad range of activities. It can simply be seeking advice from the practice/organisational safeguarding lead or a local safeguarding professional.
UK law (including UK GDPR), GMC guidelines, ICO guidelines and the Caldicott principles do not prevent sharing of personal information for the purposes of safeguarding; they provide a framework to ensure relevant and proportionate personal information is shared safely and appropriately when necessary.
Do not hesitate to share information if there are concerns that a child is at risk of, or is experiencing, abuse and neglect.
Do not hesitate to seek safeguarding advice promptly if you have concerns that an adult is at risk of, or is experiencing, abuse and neglect, and you are not sure what the appropriate next steps are, including whether to share information.
Part 3 of this toolkit has detailed guidance on assessing mental capacity in adult safeguarding situations.
Always seek advice promptly from a more experienced colleague, your practice/organisational safeguarding lead or other safeguarding professional, Caldicott Guardian or data protection officer if you are unsure about any aspect of information sharing for the purposes of safeguarding.
The common law and data protection law both need to be considered separately, but equally, when sharing information for the purposes of safeguarding.
Data protection law does not interfere with safeguarding processes. It enables you to share information in a fair, proportionate and lawful way in order to safeguard someone at risk of harm.
Consent is used in a different way in the common law and data protection law and it is important to understand the differences and how each should be used.