/Privacy Policy and Procedure

Introduction

Privacy policy and procedures are there to support the human rights of the service user/client and ensure Jacross Enterprises Ltd T/A Bright Dawn Home Care complies with legislation and regulation to the privacy of individuals.

It is also there to support Jacross Enterprises T/A Bright Dawn Home Care in meeting the following Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOE):

Caring – C3: How are people’s privacy, dignity and independence respected and promoted?

Responsive – R1: How do people receive personalised care that is responsive to their needs?

Well-Led – W1: Is there a clear vision and credible strategy to deliver high-quality care and support, and promote a positive culture that is person-centred, open, inclusive and empowering, which achieves good outcomes for people?

The legal requirements of the regulated activities that Jacross Enterprises Ltd T/A Bright Dawn Home Care is registered to provide:

  • The Care Act 2014
  • Data Protection Act 1998
  • Equality Act 2010
  • The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014
  • Human Rights Act 1998
  • Mental Capacity Act 2005

Who will be affected?

The following roles may be affected by the policy:

  • All staff

The following people may be affected by this policy:

  • Service User/ Clients

The following stakeholders may be affected by this policy:

  • Family members
  • External health professionals
  • Local Authority
  • NHS

Jacross Enterprises Ltd T/A Bright Dawn Home Care’s objective are to ensure the service user/ Client’s right to privacy is respected and that the staff understand how they can deliver care and support that respects this right.

Policy

Jacross Enterprises Ltd T/A Bright Dawn Home Care recognises the right of Service User/ Clients to be left alone, undisturbed and free from intrusion. The Service User/ Client also has a right to privacy with regard to both their personal affairs and their belongings.

Staff will adhere to the human rights of individuals and work in accordance with professional codes of conduct and company policy and procedures. Intentional breaches of privacy will be investigated fully, and appropriate bodies informed, and lessons learnt.

PROCEDURE

Jacross Enterprises Ltd T/A Bright Dawn Home Care will implement our privacy policy in the following way:

 

  1. Care Planning at the start of a service

The needs of the Service User/ Client in relation to privacy will always be considered during the care planning stage to ensure that Jacross Enterprises Ltd T/A Bright Dawn Home Care can efficiently meet the person’s needs. This assessment should include what information about them can be shared and with whom.

The care planning process should be completed in a private area where the Service User/ Client can feel able to discuss areas of their care needs. This is particularly relevant if an assessment is taking place in a hospital or respite setting prior to discharge home.

The preferred Service User/Client’s wishes must be communicated to other relevant staff at Jacross Enterprises Ltd T/A Bright Dawn Home Care.

 

  1. Service User/ Client Rights

The individual requirement for privacy will be respected at all times and all information relating to individuals will be treated in a confidential manner.

Jacross Enterprises Ltd T/A Bright Dawn Home Care recognises the right of Service User/ Clients to be left alone, undistributed and free from intrusion and public attention. The Service User/ Client also has a right to privacy with regard to both their personal affairs and their belongings.

 

  1. Staff Expectation, Behaviour and Professionalism

Staff will also need to follow professional codes of conduct as operational policies and procedures when considering privacy for Service User/ Clients. This includes all staff expectations around professionalism of communication.

Staff will only discuss Service User/ Clients in the work environment if it is for the purpose of assessment, management and evaluation of care. Staff will not discuss any aspect of the Service User/ Client’s care outside of the work environment.

 

  1. Records Management

Records will be designed, used and stored in a manner which assures privacy. Records will be made available to the Service User/ Client’s main carer and family according to the wishes of the Service User/ Client. Staff should refer to the record keeping policy and procedure for further information and guidance.

 

  1. Personal Care and Privacy

Particular attention will be given to preserving privacy in the use of bathrooms, toilets and when dressing and undressing. At the same time, health and safety and the personal risk management will be considered and discussed. Staff will ensure curtains/blinds are closed in order to ensure privacy during personal care and moving and handling.

Any personal and sensitive items that could be deemed as necessary care equipment (such as continence aids, catheters, dressings) should be kept out of view at all times to ensure that privacy is maintained. Staff will always knock on the Service Users/ Client’s door and await a response before entering the room.

 

  1. Photography and Filming

Staff should refer to the policies available with regard to privacy, photography, filming consent and the use of CCTV at Jacross Enterprises Ltd T/A Bright Dawn Home Care and to relevant CQC guidance.

 

  1. Breach in Privacy

Any breach of the privacy of a Service User/ Client will be considered as a serious event. The incident will be fully investigated in accordance with local procedures and evidence of any lessons learnt recorded, to ensure the risk of reoccurrence is reduced. Disciplinary action will be taken where the incident is considered to have been caused with intent.

Any environmental or equipment fault which reduces the privacy of any Service User/ Client must be reported to the manager.

Breaches of Privacy of a serious nature will be referred to the local safeguarding board and a regulatory notification completed by the agency manager or delegated other with the relevant skills, knowledge and experience.

 

  1. Training and Education

Privacy forms part of the Care Certificate for care workers. New staff that have not already completed this will be expected to achieve this unit. Staff will be expected to review their professional code of conduct and be aware of what this means in practice.

Privacy should form part of Jacross Enterprises Ltd T/A Bright Dawn Home Care’s supervision process as well as staff and Service User/ Client meetings in order to review practice, seek feedback and determine quality assurance. Staff will receive training on the Data Protection Act and Associated regulations.

 

  1. Capacity and Privacy

The same rights of privacy apply to individuals who are proven to lack capacity, there sore should do the following:

  • Establish any previously expressed views or wishes og the individual regarding privacy from family and others.
  • Observe Service User/ Client behaviors to identify what the preferences may be for that individual wishing to have privacy
  • Continue to follow the core principles and practices as detailed with in this policy, if deemed in the Service User/ Client’s best interest to do so (in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act) when weighing up privacy. Refer to associated policies and procedures for further guidance.

 

Cookies Policy

Bright Dawn Home Care and service providers acting on behalf of Bright Dawn Home Care may set and access cookies on your computer or mobile device. A cookie is a small text file containing a unique identification number that is transferred from a website to the hard drive of your device so that the website administrator may identify your computer and passively track its activities on the website. This unique number identifies your web browser to our computer system. Cookies allow us to remember your web browser when you use the together marketing website(s) including subdomains. The use of cookies is an industry standard, currently used on the majority of major websites. You can adjust your web browser preferences to alert you when a cookie is sent to your hard drive or to refuse cookies altogether. It is not a requirement to use cookies but certain parts of the site will not function properly if you set your browser to refuse all cookies and this may affect your experience upon visiting BrightDawnHomeCare.co.uk and subsequent future visits to our website(s).

Bright Dawn Home Care uses Google Analytics to gather non-personal data to better understanding the behavior of visitors. We may also work with advertising companies such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and WhatsApp to collect information about online activities to provide advertising targeted to suit your interests and preferences. For example, you may see certain ads on this website or other websites because we contract with Google and other similar companies to target our ads based on information we or they have collected, including information that was collected through automated means (such as cookies and web beacons). These companies also use automated technologies to collect information when you click on our ads, which helps us manage our online efforts. You may opt-out of the automated collection of information by third-party ad networks for the purpose of delivering advertisements tailored to your interests, by visiting the consumer opt-out page for the Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising at http://www.aboutads.info/choices/ and you can edit or opt-out your Google Display Network ads’ preferences at http://www.google.com/ads/preferences/

When using Google Analytics we have opted to use IP anonymization to protect your personal information.

Find out more about cookies and how you can make changes, such as restricting cookies on various browsers at http://www.aboutcookies.org.uk/

Web Beacons

Web beacons, also known as clear GIFs or single-pixel GIFs, are small image files that we, or service providers acting on our behalf, may place in our web pages, advertisements, emails and any other forms of electronic communication. Working in conjunction with cookies, web beacons allow us to accurately count the number of unique users who have visited a specific page or section on the website, clicked on one of our advertisements, or interact with our emails or targeted communications. They also tell us the number of times advertisements or certain pages are displayed. This allows us to measure the performance of our site, advertising and email campaigns.

IP Addresses

Your Internet Protocol (IP) address is a number that is automatically assigned to the computer you are using by your Internet Service Provider (ISP).  In many cases, IP addresses can be shared by multiple people. This IP address is identified and logged automatically in our server log files whenever you visit our website, along with the time of your visit and the pages you have visited. Collecting IP addresses is standard practice on the internet and is done automatically by many websites.

How Do We Use Information Collected From You?

We may use your personal information to fulfil your specific requests, such as send requested information, send news updates about Bright Dawn Home Care or it’s partners or respond to any other requests you may have made.