How we use your personal information for the Community Mental Health Team.
The Council provides services for local communities and the people who live in them. Undertaking this work means that we must collect and use information about the people we provide services to and keep a record of those services. Because we collect and use personal information about individuals we must make sure that they know what we intend to do with their information and who it may be shared with.
We have summarised in this privacy notice some of the key ways in which we use your personal information for the Community Mental Health team. This information should be read in conjunction with the Council’s corporate privacy notice.
1. Who we are, what we do.
The community mental Health Team provides secondary mental health services to adults, from 18 years, who have complex mental health needs. We can provide support that is in addition to what the primary care service can offer. The service is provided in conjunction with Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board
There are three teams based in Rhondda, Cynon and Taff Ely. The teams include a mix of workers, including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, community psychiatric nurses, occupational therapists and support workers.
2. What and whose personal information we hold?
The information that we collect about you, your family and friends includes (but not limited to):
- name, address, date of birth, telephone number and email address.
- name, address and contact details of family members and friends who may be involved in supporting you.
- name, address, contact details of your G.P.
- details about your mental health needs and how these are to be met.
- details of the outcomes of any assessments undertaken.
- details about any difficulties that you, your family or our staff may have had when meeting your needs.
To ensure that we have an understanding of all your needs we may ask you, your family and other health and social care professionals for some very personal and sensitive information about your:
- mental health.
- medication requirements.
- social interests, religious and cultural needs (if appropriate). .
- home and how it meets your needs.
- family involvement and how they support you.
3. Where does the service get my information from?
We receive referrals from a variety of sources, which includes, but is not limited to:
- The Council’s Single Point of Access Team (SPA)
- Health
- Police
- Self-referrals
- Assessment Clinic
- Social Services including children services
4. What we will do with your personal information?
Once we have received your details, a Social Worker will contact you to arrange a convenient time to undertake an assessment.
The purpose of the assessment is to establish what support we can put in place to help you.
Following the assessment, we will keep a record of the support that is to be put in place for you on your care plan. This will be regularly reviewed by your Social Worker, to determine whether the support you are receiving is still relevant or whether we need to make any changes.
All assessments, care plans and reviews are recorded electronically on our database called WCCIS.
5. What is the legal basis for the use of this information?
Data Protection law says that we are allowed to use and share personal information only where we have a proper and lawful reason for doing so.
Our lawful basis for processing personal information in order to provide you with support at home services and to meet the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is as follows:
Personal Information:
Article 6 1.(c),(e) - to fulfil our legal and statutory obligations under the:
- The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014
- Mental Health Act 1983
- Mental Health Measure 2010
Mental Capacity Act 2005
Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
Special Category Information ((i.e. information about a person’s race, ethnic origin, politics, religion, trade union membership, genetics, biometrics, health, sex life or orientation):
Article 9 2.(g) - to fulfil our legal and statutory obligations under the:
- The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014
- Mental Health Act 1983
- Mental Health Measure 2010
- Mental Capacity Act 2005
Article 9 2.(h) – To support the provision of preventative or occupational medicine, medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care treatment or the management of health and social care systems and services
Please note that whilst we may ask for your consent (under the common law Duty of Confidentiality and the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014) to share your personal information with others who are involved in your support, consent is not the lawful basis for processing your information under data protection law.
6. Does the service share my personal information with any other organisation?
The information that you and others share with us will be recorded in your assessment and your care plan.
Some of this information will be shared with the staff who may need to undertake a further assessment or provide you with support.
Sharing the information in your assessment reduces the need for you to provide the same information again and again to the staff or agencies who are involved in your care and support. This does not mean that we will share everything that you and others have shared with us. We will only share the information that is required to provide you with the support that you require.
We will only share your personal information with other Council departments or external organisations that work in partnership with the Council and its Community and Children’s Social Care Services. This could be but is not limited to:
- Your Social Worker
- Care Provider
- Health
- Police
- Any person or organisation that can help support you, for example, housing.
7. How long will my information be kept?
Records relating to Adults are kept for a minimum of 7 years after their involvement with any social care service has ended, for administrative purposes.
Records about a person’s health needs are kept for a minimum of 10 years from the date their involvement with any social care service ended.
For more information please see the Council’s Retention and Disposal Policy and Schedule (insert link).
8. Your information, your rights
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) gives you important rights, including the right to access the personal information the services hold about you.
Click here for further information on your information rights and how to exercise them.
9. Contact us
If you have any concerns or would like to know more about how the service using your personal information please contact us in one of the following ways:
- By email : socialservices@rctcbc.gov.uk
- By telephone : 01443 425527
- In writing : Adult Social Care Services, Ty Elai, Dinas Isaf East, Williamstown, RCT, CF40 1NY.