Nurtureneuro will ensure that the discussions and information you share with us is confidential, and we will refer to our privacy policy at all times to ensure your privacy is respected.
Our work and the information shared is private and confidential. The personal information shared with us though conversations, email, or on the phone, will be managed respectfully.
However, there may be times where confidentiality needs to be broken, such as if information is shared that makes us concerned about your or someone else’s safety. Here, we may need to share that in order to keep you or someone else safe.
We will endeavour to always share with you any concerns we have and what needs be shared externally and gain your consent for this. It is best practice for us to always contact you first and gain your consent for this sharing of information.
However, there may be times where this is not possible, such as in an emergency. We are obliged to follow the common law duty of confidentiality. Here, your consent may not be obtained, in compliance with our duty of care to others, the best interest of clients, and the public interest.
These are some examples of who information may need to be shared with, with the aim to gain support and care for the person in need, such as:
- Emergency services, such as ambulance staff, or Police,
- Social care,
- Parents of a child,
- GP,
- or other support services.
When might we need to share information without consent?
We are obliged to share confidential information without authorisation from the person who provided it, or to whom it relates, if it is in the public interest. That is when:
- it is to prevent a crime from being committed or to intervene where one may have been,
- or to prevent significant harm to a child or adult,
- not sharing it could be worse than the outcome of having shared it.
In relation to safeguarding concerns the three critical criteria are:
- Where there is evidence that the child is suffering, or is at risk of suffering, significant harm.
- Where there is reasonable cause to believe that a child may be suffering, or is at risk of suffering, significant harm.
- To prevent significant harm arising to children and young people or adults, including the prevention, detection, and prosecution of serious crime.
BPS Guidance on A legal duty of care
We have a legal duty of care to act in ways that protect our client’s safety.
In line with BPS guidance, disclosure without consent, or against a clients or child’s expressed wish may be necessary in situations in which failure to share information will expose a client, child, or someone else, to a risk of serious harm.
In exceptional circumstances it may be necessary to breach the client’s confidentiality with or without their immediate knowledge or consent. This would be the case where there are significant risks to the client’s psychological wellbeing; where the alleged perpetrator may be a current risk to others, or where there is risk of jeopardising a potential investigation.
Confidentiality with children and young people
The Healthcare Professionals Council (HCPC), the professional body, ethical principles, outlines the duty of confidentiality for children with Gillick competence. Under the law, we will treat young people (aged 16 and 17) in the same way as adults and presume they have capacity unless there is significant evidence to suggest otherwise. Children under 16 we respect their confidentiality if they can fully understand the information given to them, this is known as ‘Gillick competence’.
This means that unless your clinician has a concern about your child’s safety, behaviour, or something that they have shared, or a concern about the safety of someone else, aspects of your child’s session may remain confidential.
We often meet with children and young people independently of their parents. Conversations in this context remain private between the clinician and child or young person. Having a confidential space is therapeutically helpful for young people and that they need to develop a relationship of trust with their clinician for the work to be helpful to them.
We also recognise that there are times when sharing information with parents would be helpful to them and to parents. We encourage and would support such sharing, but it will always be the child or young person’s ultimate decision, if age and Gillick competence appropriate. We will tell you, however, if we have concerns for your young person and recommend next steps.
Please do not hesitate to get further clarification about our confidentiality policy by contacting NurtureNeuro.
APPENDIX ONE
Assessing Gillick competence
We will refer to the definition of Gillick Competency according to NSPCC guidance 2023. There is no set of defined questions to assess Gillick competency. We will consider several things when assessing a child’s capacity, including:
- the child’s age, maturity, and mental capacity.
- their understanding of the issue and what it involves, including advantages, disadvantages, and potential long-term impact.
- their understanding of the risks, implications and consequences that may arise from their decision.
- how well they understand any advice or information they have been given.
- their understanding of any alternative options, if available.
- their ability to explain a rationale around their reasoning and decision making.
We will ensure that children’s capacity is not affected by different factors, for example stress, mental health conditions and the complexities of the decision they are making. The same child may be considered Gillick competent to make one decision but not competent to make a different decision.
Links to other policies
Please see further information held in our other policies, such as to find out about confidentiality of your data, or consenting to treatment, see listed below:
- Privacy Policy
- Consent Policy
References
National Society for the Protection of Children
Accessed June 15th, 2023.
The Health and Care Professions Council: Standards
Accessed June 16th, 2023.
The British Psychological Society Practice Guidelines 2017 https://explore.bps.org.uk/content/report-guideline/bpsrep.2017.inf115
Accessed June 16th, 2023.
