Why we keep social care records
The Council's Adult Social Care service protects and promotes the wellbeing and rights of adults at risk. We rely on receiving and sharing information so that we can:
- Look at your social care needs
- Discuss with you the services that are available to meet them.
We do understand that for some people, sharing even the most basic information about themselves is a very sensitive issue. We may be given information about you by someone else, such as a member of your family or your doctor.
We know that you expect any information provided to be treated as confidential and we respect that.
What is in the records?
The type of information we keep will include details like your:
- Date of birth
- Name
- Address.
Depending upon the nature of the service that we provide we may also need to keep information, that is of a more personal or sensitive nature like your:
- Personal circumstances
- Health
- Lifestyle
- Financial situation
- Records of meetings with you and others
- Any decisions made
- Services provided
- Sometimes records are kept in paper files or they could be held on a computer.
Your records are always treated as confidential and are held securely. We will not give your information to anyone else unless:
- We have your permission
- We are required by law to share information
- It is essential to safeguard either your welfare or the welfare of others.
Some records are held for many years, others are destroyed after a period of time.
Requesting to see your records
Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you have the right to access the information that we hold about you. However, there are certain situations where some information may have to be withheld, for example if:
- It mentions someone else
- Providing the information may cause you harm
- It is needed for the prevention or detection of a crime.
If we are unable to give you access to some information we will tell you why.
We will give you your personal records within one month, once we have received proof of identification and any supporting information which we may need. This timescale can be extended by a further two months in some circumstances - if this is the case we will let you know.
We will usually post copies of your records to you by recorded delivery, but it may be possible to email them or make other alternative arrangements if you prefer.
