RCGP Safeguarding toolkit: Part 5: Information Sharing and multiagency working

Part 5: Information Sharing and multiagency working

This guide to information sharing for the purposes of safeguarding is applicable to all UK nations.

“Good multi-agency work involves taking joint responsibility for finding effective ways of working together, making joint decisions where possible and seeking and providing information.”

—Multi-agency working and information sharing: learning from case reviews NSPCC Learning.

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.