1.1 – Legislation that relates to handling information in social care settings are; Data Protection Act 1998, Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Health and Social Care Act 2008 – Essential standards.
Codes of practice that relates to handling information in social care settings include; General Social Care Council (GSCC), Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the local or internal Codes of Practice such as code of practise within your company.
1.2 – The main points of legal requirements and codes of practice for handling information are as follows; the records must be fairly and lawfully processed, processed for limited purposes, adequate, relevant and not excessive, accurate, signed, dated, not kept for longer than necessary, processed in accordance to the data subject’s rights, kept secure and not transferred anywhere in or out of the country without adequate protection.
2.1 – To maintain records that are up to date, complete, accurate and legible, it must have clear and accurate writing, the information should be recorded straight away or as soon as practicable, the records must include a time, date, signature and printed name, it must always be completed using a black pen, any errors that may occur must have one single line put through with an initial next to it and all boxes on pro-formas to be completed.
2.2 – Practices that ensure security when storing and accessing information are; the correct storage of records, ensuring that no one can hear confidential information i.e. during phone calls and on handover, always returning records to the correct storage space, not removing reco0rds from the workplace, signing records out, reporting any issues and appropriate disposal of records.
2.3 – Features of manual and electronic information storage include the following; locked drawers or cupboards, password protected computers and files and access is only given to those with permission