Caldicott Guardian
The purpose of the Caldicott Guardian originated from the 1997 Report produced by the Caldicott Committee and chaired by Dame Fiona Caldicott which dealt with the use of Patient Identifiable Information held by NHS organisations.
The idea of a Guardian was to have in each NHS organisation a senior person responsible for the oversight of the arrangements in that organisation for the use and sharing of clinical information. Subsequent work extended the requirement in 2002 to appoint Guardians into Councils with Social Services responsibilities.
In 2005, an elected body was created made up of Caldicott Guardians from organisations involved in the provision of health and social care services in the United Kingdom. It was set up to facilitate the sharing of good confidentiality practice and the promotion of a national approach to confidentiality and appropriate information sharing.
Caldicott principles
Eight principles relating to data handling and use were established on which the role was to be based. These key principles enable the safe and secure handling of client's personal data:
- Principle 1 - Justify the purpose(s) for using confidential information
- Principle 2 - Use confidential information only when it is necessary
- Principle 3 - Use the minimum necessary confidential information
- Principle 4 - Access to confidential information should be on a strict need-to-know basis
- Principle 5 - Everyone with access to confidential information should be aware of their responsibilities
- Principle 6 - Comply with the law
- Principle 7 - The duty to share information for individual care is as important as the duty to protect patient confidentiality
- Principle 8 - Inform patients and service users about how their confidential information is used
Who should perform the role?
The person best equipped to be the Caldicott Guardian should fit one or more of these requirements:
- Be a senior person within the Councils social care management team,
- Be a senior social care professional
- Have the responsibility for promoting information governance within the organisation
The current Caldicott Guardian for Southend-on-Sea City Council is Mark Harvey, Executive Director, Adults and Communities.