Confidentiality and professional secrecy

Confidentiality in Your Work

When you work within the Social Services Department, you come into contact with sensitive information about individuals. This information must never be disclosed to unauthorized persons. The purpose is to protect the privacy of service users and ensure trust in care and support services.

Confidentiality Agreement

When you begin your employment in the Social Services Department, you will sign a confidentiality agreement. This confirms that you understand the rules and commit to following them.

What Professional Secrecy Means

Professional secrecy means you must not:

• Share or repeat anything about a service user.
• Disclose or show written documents about service users, such as care plans or case notes.
• Disclose or show images of service users.
• Share information about service users by email, on the internet, on social media, in text or image messages, or in any other way.
• Share information with anyone other than colleagues who need it to perform their work.

After Employment Ends

Confidentiality and professional secrecy apply not only during your employment but also after it ends. You are still required to protect any information you have learned.