Direct Care Emergencies

Introduction

There are occasions when intervention is necessary in order to save or protect a service user (patient)’s like or to prevent them from serious immediate harm, for instance during a collapse, diabetic coma, or serious injury or accident. In many of these circumstances the service user may be unconscious or too ill to communicate. In these circumstances we have an overriding duty to try to protect and treat the service user. If necessary we will share your information and possible sensitive confidential information with emergency healthcare services, the police or fire brigade, so that you can receive the best treatment.  

The law acknowledges this and provides supporting legal justifications.

Individuals have the right to make pre-determined decisions about the type and extent if care they will receive should they fall ill in the future; these are known as “Advance Directives”. If logged in your records these will be honoured despite the observations above.

Purpose of the processing

Our team have a professional responsibility to share data in emergencies to protect our service users or other persons. Often in emergency situations the service user is unable to provide consent.

Lawful Basis of the processing

This is a Direct Care purpose and there is a specific legal justification:

Article 6(1)(d) “processing is necessary to protect the vital interests of the data subject or of another natural person”

And  

Article 9(2)(c) “processing is necessary to protect the vital interests of the data subject or of another natural person where the data subject is physically or legally incapable of giving consent”  

Or alternatively  

Article 9(2)(h) ‘necessary for the purposes of preventative or occupational medicine for the assessment of the working capacity of the employee, medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems and services...”

We will also recognise your rights established under UK case law collectively known as the “Common Law Duty of Confidentiality”.

Data Recipient or Categories of Recipient

The data will be shared with healthcare professionals and other workers in emergency and out of hours services and at local hospitals, diagnostic and treatment centres.

Right to Object

You have the right to object to some or all the information being shared with the recipients. Contact the Data Controller using the information provided to do so. You also have the right to have an “Advance Directive” placed in your records and brought to the attention of relevant healthcare workers or staff.