Information Sharing

Information must be shared lawfully and proportionally between agencies on a 'need-to-know' basis. This should be explained to the adult at risk and, where possible, they should be told what information will be shared.

When any agency receives information about potential abuse or neglect, they should act, even if consent has not been given, in circumstances where:

• It is believed the Adult at Risk may lack capacity to make an informed choice;
• Emergency, or life-threatening situations may require Police or medical intervention; 
• A criminal investigation may be required; or the sharing of information could prevent a serious crime;
• It appears there is a wider public interest (i.e. there are other adults or children potentially at risk);
• Staff are implicated;
• The magnitude of the concerns meets MARAC or JMAPPA criteria.

Staff must not guarantee confidentiality to anyone who discloses abuse. It should be noted that in certain circumstances full disclosure may be required for legal or judicial purposes. The decision of whether to share confidential information must be made on a case-by-case basis; Consent should be sought where possible unless doing so would place the person at additional risk. All decisions made in terms of withholding or sharing information must be recorded.

1. Confidentiality

Adults at risk provide sensitive information and have a right to expect that the information that they share, and information obtained from others will be treated respectfully and that their privacy will be maintained.

Multiagency partners have a professional and moral responsibility to maintain confidentiality about people who require safeguarding advice and interventions. Jersey is a relatively small population – and people have a right to their information being handled with the utmost sensitivity.

The challenges of working within the boundaries of confidentiality should not impede taking appropriate action. Whenever possible, informed consent to the sharing of information should be obtained, with some exceptions:

• Emergency or life-threatening situations may warrant the sharing of relevant information with the relevant emergency services without consent;
• The law does not prevent the sharing of sensitive, personal information within organisations. If the information is confidential, but there is a safeguarding concern, sharing it may be justified;
• The law does not prevent the sharing of sensitive, personal information between organisations where the public interest served outweighs the public interest served by protecting confidentiality – for example, where a serious crime may be prevented.

In those instances where the person lacks the mental capacity to give informed consent, staff should always bear in mind the requirements of the Capacity & Self Determination (Jersey) Law 2016 and whether sharing it will be in the person's best interest.