Issue - meetings

Further to Minute No. 74(2) of the meeting of the Health Select Commission held on 18th April, 2013, consideration was given to a report presented by the Information Governance Officer concerning Information Sharing Protocols within Rotherham. Members noted that there was an Overarching Information Sharing Protocol (OISP) which was a multi-agency protocol and was used by many organisations within Rotherham as evidence and compliance to Information Sharing best practice.

The submitted report contained an overview of Information Sharing within Rotherham and how it was supported by the OISP.  Members were informed that processes place the service user at the centre of how their information was processed in accordance with their rights to privacy and confidentiality. The report explained the reasons why information is shared and why it was sometimes necessary to share information without obtaining an individual’s consent.

Members discussed the following issues:-

: the way in which organisations decide upon the information to be shared (use of consent and referral forms) and obtaining parents’ consent in respect of information about their children;

: the OISP was one example of best practice; any breaches of information sharing protocols may involve misconduct or illegal conduct;

: the sensitivity of sharing information about children at risk and the rigorous systems which were already in place to ensure confidentiality of information.

Resolved:- (1) That the report be received and its contents noted.

(2) That the work being undertaken to support the multi-agency Information Sharing Protocols within the Rotherham Borough area be noted.