All health and social care service providers have an ethical, legal and contractual duty to protect service user confidentiality. Information sharing can help to improve the quality of care and treatment, but it must be governed by the legal and ethical framework that protects the interests of service users.

Service users entrust the healthcare providers with their personal information and expect us to respect their privacy and handle their information appropriately. Everyone should seek to ensure that protection of service user confidentiality on collecting and sharing information is built into all aspects of the business to provide safe and effective care.