You will need to demonstrate that your actions maintain the privacy of the individuals you support.

This could include:

Before discussing an individual’s care and support with another person who is not directly involved, the individual needs to give consent.

Each person in the discussion is bound by a “Duty of Confidentiality” to keep information confidential unless there is a compelling reason why it should be shared. 

In some situations, there is a greater risk of being overheard.

A discussion about personal details at an individual’s own home would have fewer risks.  

Whereas a discussion with an individual who is in a room with other people would have higher risks. This could be in a residential communal area or on a hospital ward where they are only protected by curtains. Curtains stop people from seeing but not from hearing.

Think about your own circumstances. If you are supporting someone to do something which would normally be private for you, then it is most likely that this would be private for the individual.

How would you feel if a professional decided to discuss your confidential issues loud enough for other people to hear. If it is appropriate, you can ask the individual if they would prefer to move to a more private place before you start any conversations.

You can demonstrate that your actions maintain an individuals privacy in various ways, examples are:

• Keeping private information about a person’s medical conditions, their financial situation, their end of life plans. This means not discussing this information with another person unless they are part of the care and support team who have a right to this information or if the individual has given consent.
• Providing personal care, like helping someone to go to the toilet or to wash and any other task which would normally be undertaken in private.