This page provides some examples of information sharing.

NHS England

Health colleagues support us by providing us with a list of the names and addresses of over 65s (see the NHS Privacy Notice below).

The list is handled with great care and does not include any information about the individual’s health.

By helping us prioritise our home safety work we can also provide a wider range of help. For example, we also provide awareness on smoking, slip, trips and falls, wellbeing and loneliness, signposting and referring to other agencies.

NHS Privacy Notice

NHS England, the Royal College General Practitioners and Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) in England work together to ensure preventative resources are offered to those who may benefit most. This is achieved by referrals and the sharing of information (where relevant, proportionate and necessary) to allow fire service personnel to undertake Safe and Well visits.

Research has shown that those at high risk from fire death and injury are those who are most likely to impact on a range of NHS services. Safe and well visits are developed between local health practitioners and FRSs to meet local health-risk priorities. They therefore represent an intervention which can improve people’s quality of life whole reducing demand on critical services.

The majority of fire deaths in the UK occur amongst the elderly population. However older people are most vulnerable to fire and a number of other risks. A Safe and Well visit from the FRS is proven to make them safer and can reduce risks significantly across a range of factors.

In one area of the United Kingdom where this work has been piloted since 2007, there has been a very significant reduction in fire deaths and injuries which has developed into a current trend well below the national average. So we know this work can save many lives.

The FRS and NHS will continue to work together in future to ensure the visits undertaken by the FRS are effective in helping to make people safe and well.

If you require more information about how NHS England use and share your information, please click on the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/contact-us/privacy-notice/your-information/

Home care assistants

Home care assistants have been trained by our staff to carry out a basic home safety risk assessment when visiting their vulnerable or elderly clients. Where agreement has been given or it’s been concluded that the individual is at serious risk of harm the details are then passed onto the Service to contact the individual to offer a full Safe and Well visit and fit smoke alarms as appropriate.

Home Fire Safety and Safe and Well Visits

As an outcome of a visit we may share information with other agencies that can provide more help to an individual. We will usually give the house holder the chance to say no if they don’t want us to share information. However, there will be occasions where the information is shared without seeking agreement, such as relating to crime, where there is a serious risk to personal safety or in cases of abuse or neglect and we feel the making of a safeguarding referral to Adult or Children’s Services is appropriate.

Vulnerable Person Intervention Partnership Scheme

Responsible authorities (which include county councils, police and Fire and Rescue Authorities) are under a statutory duty to ensure that that come together and work in partnership for the purposes of community safety.

The Vulnerable Persons Intervention Partnership Scheme is a joint Health and Adult Services, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority, North Yorkshire Police and North Yorkshire Trading Standards venture. The basic process underpinning the scheme is for staff from the partner agencies that have contact with vulnerable people to be able to recognise potential risks and associated service opportunities in terms of support that could be provided to reduce or eliminate that risk, and if any risks are identified by staff, they will complete a basic needs assessment checklist across a range of issues and refer matters on to the relevant partner agency through the simple referral process.

We will usually give the house holder the chance to say no if they don’t want us to share information. However, there will be occasions where the information is shared without seeking agreement, such as relating to crime, where there is a serious risk to personal safety or in cases of abuse or neglect and we feel the making of a safeguarding referral to Adult or Children’s Services is appropriate.

Firesafe

We work with children and young people who may be at risk of causing fires to try and change their behaviour. These individuals may have been referred to us by the parent / guardian, school, police or Children’s Services or because we are concerned about a fire incident. We only provide this work with parent / guardian agreement and we aim to include them in our work.

Oxygen cylinders

We receive names and addresses from BayWater HealthCare of those individuals who have an oxygen cylinder within their premises and have given consent for a home fire safety visit to be arranged.

Trading Standards

If a product is determined to be the cause of property fire, we will ask for your consent to share your information with Trading Standards. The sharing of this information will enable Trading Standards to identify trends involving products and identify products/traders requiring intervention or investigation of specific products thus making them less dangerous and our community safer as a result. If consent is not given, de-personalised information will be shared.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service

During a fire safety or risk based audit at business premises the responsible person will be asked whether they store a defibrillator which could be made available to the public. If permission is given, this information will be shared with Yorkshire Ambulance Service to store on their database. Ambulance control can then direct callers to the nearest one, saving vital time in the administering of defibrillation.

Whilst responding to an emergency incident we may collect medical information to support the ambulance service in providing care for you when they arrive on scene.