Confidentiality

This Confidentiality statement applies to the following services within Campus Life:

  • Counselling and Mental Health Service
  • Advice and Response
  • Occupational Health
  • Disability Advice and Support Service

The four support services that make up Campus Life work together to support student physical, mental and psychological health. We share the common goal of promoting the wellbeing of students. In order to facilitate this we may share information relevant to a student’s wellbeing across the services where this is in the best interests of the student. This is to enable us to coordinate care and to ensure that students don’t miss out on support that may be available to them. In circumstances where there is concern for a student or someone else’s safety or welfare it allows us to respond without delay and to work together to reduce risk.

Confidentiality

The four support services are confidential services and will usually only share information more widely within the University or with others outside the University with your consent. For example, with your permission, DASS will share information about your disability with your School so that they can make the changes necessary to support you, and Occupational Health and Counselling and Mental Health may also provide information to the School or others with your consent

If we do not have your consent, DASS, the Counselling and Mental Health Service, Advice and Response and Occupational Health will not release information about you to third parties unless we have significant concerns about your wellbeing as detailed below:

In circumstances where there is concern about your safety or welfare or we become aware of a risk to the safety or welfare of someone else we may share information with other appropriate individuals within the University e.g. School Support Office, Residential Life support, and more senior staff. This will, wherever possible, be done with your consent but in some instances where there is a significant concern we may need to share this information without consent. In such circumstances, this will be discussed with you first wherever possible.

Where there are significant concerns for your or someone else’s safety or welfare it may also be necessary for us to contact others such as your GP, other NHS support service or the emergency services. We may also need to notify your emergency contact of our concerns. (For more information see the student emergency contact statement.)
This will, wherever possible, be done with your consent following a discussion with you but in some instances we may need to share this information without your consent. This will, only be done with your best interests in mind and after consultation with and guidance from the Information Governance Office.