Awareness and compliance

1. Everyone in the Trust must be aware of the importance of confidentiality. All staff need to be aware of their responsibilities for safeguarding patient confidentiality and keeping information secure.
2. Staff must comply with the requirements of the Caldicott Report and the Data Protection Act 1998
3. Breaches of confidentiality are a serious matter. Non-compliance with this policy and code of conduct by any person employed by the Trust may result in disciplinary action being taken. No employee shall knowingly misuse any information or allow others to do so.
4. This policy and accompanying guidelines and code of conduct are intended as an overview of the issues that you need to be aware of when dealing with patient information. If you have further questions you should seek advice from:
   • Your manager
   • The Caldicott Guardian
   • The Information Protection Officer (via ICT Contact Centre 22822)
   • (For internal users) The Trust's data protection intranet site.