Chapter 13 – Sarah Joyce (D1SOP13)
Domain 1 Standard of Proficiency 13
Be aware of current data protection, freedom of information and other legislation relevant to the profession and be able to access new and emerging legislation
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KEY TERMS Data protection Freedom of information Legislation Modern social care in Ireland |
Social care is … empowering people to become the best version of themselves. |
In recent years there have been vast changes in social care in Ireland. What was once viewed as a vocation has now become seen as a broad profession. Social care is still based on caring for those who are vulnerable and marginalised in our society, but now it is underpinned by legislation and a professional title. The primary legislation underpinning social care in Ireland is the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005, which recognised ‘social care worker’ as a professional title, a pivotal moment in gaining professional recognition for social care workers. This shift to a professionalised sector ensures that service delivery is underpinned by legislation and accountability. One of the most recent changes to come into effect is how we use, store and share information.
Data Protection
In their day-to-day work, social care workers deal with large amounts of data, including information on service users and organisational information. The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) outlines how this information should be processed, in other words how we as social care workers use it. It is imperative to note that service users must consent to their personal data being processed (Tarafdar & Fay 2018). One example of information gathered by social care workers in the homeless sector is the holistic needs assessment (HNA). The HNA is a vital and comprehensive document that follows service users from service to service, enabling staff to have access to important information without service users having to re-tell their story, which is needlessly repetitive and sometimes difficult (Homeless Agency 2009:8).
Task 1
The Security Company Tessian list 18 of the biggest GDPR fines in the EU in 2020-2021. Read the list and discuss why the fine was given?
https://www.tessian.com/blog/biggest-gdpr-fines-2020/
Freedom of Information
The Freedom of Information Act 2014 gives people autonomy over their personal information.It allows any member of the public to access personal information about them held by government bodies, bodies receiving state funding, and any other bodies that may hold personal information relating to that individual. It also allows people to amend their information where necessary (Government of Ireland 2019).
An FOI application form for the HSE is shown below.
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Title of Form and destination of the request |
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Copy to: Decision Maker [ ] |
FOI Call Centre [ ] |
Application Ref No: |
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Health Service Executive |
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Request for Access to Records |
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Freedom of Information Act 2014 |
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1. Details of Requester (Please Use Block Capitals) |
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Surname |
Address |
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Maiden Name |
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First Name(s) |
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Date of Birth |
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Tel (home): |
Tel (business): |
Fax: |
E-mail: |
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2. Personal Information (If request is for non-personal information, go to 3. below) |
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Before you are given access to your personal information, you will need to provide proof of your identity. A copy of the identifying document accompanies this Form: [ ] Yes [ ] No (tick one) |
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If you are requesting personal information in respect of another person, the consent of that person is also required. A copy of this consent accompanies this Form: [ ] Yes [ ] No (tick one) |
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3. My preferred Form of Access is: (please tick one) |
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(a) To receive photocopies [ ] |
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(b) To inspect the original record [ ] |
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(c) Other format [ ] (Please specify): |
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4. Application |
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I request administrative access to the information/records detailed overleaf: [ ] (please tick) |
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If this is not feasible, I request access under Section 12 of the |
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Freedom of Information Act 2014: [ ] (please tick) |
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Signed: |
Date: |
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5. For Office Use Only |
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Admin Access |
FOI Access |
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Date Received |
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Signed: |
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Date Acknowledged |
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Signed: |
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Identity Confirmed |
[ ] Yes |
[ ] No |
Signed: |
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Consent Verified |
[ ] Yes |
[ ] No |
Signed: |
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Access Granted |
[ ] Yes |
[ ] No |
Signed: |
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Date: |
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6. Details of Information/Records Requested |
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Describe the records as precisely as you can. If you are requesting personal information, please state as accurately as you can the date the record was created, your exact name and address at the time the record was created, and the Department/Hospital/Clinic attended within the HSE. |
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Please note: to help in processing your request, the information on this Form will be stored in electronic format.
Case Study 1
An incident occurs in a homeless hostel. A service user is involved in a physical altercation with another service user. Two staff are alerted to the incident when they hear shouting. They try to calm down the two service users and find out what caused the altercation. Before the staff have defused the situation, one of the service users leaves the building. The second service user follows and a second verbal altercation ensues outside the service. After a calm word from the staff one of the service users returns inside the building and the second leaves for a walk to cool down.
TASK 2
Write up an incident report for the case study.
When writing up the incident report, it is vital to pay attention to facts. At what time did the staff hear the shouting? What did they hear being said? How did the staff approach the situation? What did they see when they got to the service users? Who else was present? When were management informed? How did the staff debrief afterwards? What was the follow-up?
It is important to archive all information in accordance with the organisation’s policies. Most records are held for between two and ten years, depending on the content. After this time they are destroyed. The retention of data has numerous uses, from government research to historic use (how data is analysed over time, generating trends) (Geraghty 2014).
Legislation
Legislation begins its life as a bill, often proposed by government. The bill can commence in either the Dáil or the Seanad, but it must be passed by both Houses to become law. The contents of the bill are discussed by government before it is introduced to the Dáil. The government will also consult with groups that the bill may affect, for example lobbyists, voluntary organisations and the public. Occasionally, a Green Paper is drafted – this is a discussion paper inviting ideas from the groups mentioned above. The report stage follows, when the bill is examined section by section. The bill is then sent to the Dáil, where it is voted on. If it is passed, the bill goes to the Seanad, and the Seanad has 90 days to pass, reject or return the bill. Once passed, the bill becomes law (Oireachtas 2020).
Some legislation relates specifically to homelessness. According to the DRHE, key legislation relating to homelessness in Ireland includes the Health Act 1953, the Housing Act 1988, the Childcare Act 1991 and the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009. The Housing Act 1988 was the first Act to legally define homelessness. The Act states that a person is considered homeless if:
a) there is no accommodation available which, in the opinion of the authority, he, together with any other person who normally resides with him or who might reasonably be expected to reside with him, can reasonably occupy or remain in occupation of,
b) he is living a hospital, county home, night shelter or other such institution, and is so living because he has no accommodation of the kind referred to in paragraph (a), and
c) he cannot provide accommodation from his own resources.
For information on all key legislation relating to homelessness, see www.homelessdublin.ie/info/policy.
Case Study 2
Joe is 42 and originally from Dublin City. He served a four-year custodial sentence for a drug offence in a prison in Dublin. While he was in prison, Joe tackled his addiction and is now over three years drug free. He is determined to turn his life around and turn his back on criminality. Before he was released from prison he had a factory job lined up through a friend. Prior to his release he reached out to family to see if he could stay with them on his release. Unfortunately, there was nowhere suitable for him to stay. As a result, Joe links in with his local county council to try to source a bed for when he is released. He is given a bed in a one-night-only hostel. He is told he will need to use the Freephone service to book back in each day and see if a bed is available. Joe is really worried that this will affect his sobriety and his job prospects post-release.
TASK 3
Discuss the above case study. What type of legislation would support Joe
on release? Where could he go for information and support?
Recommendations were made by two different Oireachtas committees to introduce emergency legislation in an attempt to tackle the homeless crisis. These recommendations included rent freezes, restricting the sale of rental homes, and ending the use of ‘one night only’ emergency accommodation. This is an example of recommendations that may emerge to become legislation in the future (Holland 2019).
TASK 4
Go online and type in your name. Find some information that is available about you.
Tips for Practice Educators
Divide the class into different groups resembling the different sectors of social care. Can the groups find out the legislation related to each sector?
References
DRHE (Dublin Region Homeless Executive) (2018) ‘Dublin Region Homeless Executive Confirms the Official Spring Rough Sleeping Count’. DRHE [online] <https://www.homelessdublin.ie/our-work/ news/dublin-region-homeless-executive-confirms-the-official-spring-rough-sleeping-count-2018> [accessed 2 February 2020].
