CONFIDENTIALITY

CROSSROADS PREGNANCY HELP CENTRE CONFIDENTIALITY

CrossRoads Pregnancy Help Centre is committed at every level and in all aspects of the service we offer to providing a confidential service to all those who are facing an unplanned pregnancy or who are traumatized after an abortion, miscarriage or pregnancy loss. Confidentiality is between the individual and the organisation, not between the individual and the counsellor. This means that:

  1. Information will be treated in the utmost confidence and will not be divulged to anyone outside the organisation except where extenuating circumstances exist (see below).
  2. No conversation about a client should take place with anyone who does not work for the organization, either as a volunteer or as a paid employee.
  3. No personal information about a client will be given to any third party, even if the person is a member of their family.
  4. Information will only be passed to another agency with the consent of the client. If a counsellor intends to get information from another agency to help the client or to refer them to another agency, this must be explained to the client and their permission must be obtained.
  5. Minors do not require parental permission to use our services, but counsellors will always encourage them to discuss the issue with their parents (see exceptions below)

Exceptions: In certain circumstances CrossRoads Pregnancy Help Centre reserves the right to break confidentiality should this be deemed necessary. These circumstances include:

  1. If the client is under 18 and he/she discloses information that may indicate risk to themselves
  2. If a counsellor believes that a client could cause danger to themselves or to others

We acknowledge that clients remain responsible for their own lives.

However, women and their families approach CrossRoads Pregnancy Help Centre because of the confidential service we offer and it therefore has to be the case that, once a counselling session ends, responsibility resides with the client.

In all of these cases, if a decision has to be taken to break confidentiality, it will be done only after consultation with a member of the Management team.

Counsellors will keep careful records of any incidents and all action taken will be recorded. We appreciate that this type of enquiry can be stressful for CrossRoads Pregnancy Help Centre staff; we will therefore ensure that all staff/volunteers receive training and regular supervision, as well as attend debriefing sessions.

Use of client information for publicity purposes: CrossRoads Pregnancy Help Centre wishes to publicize the numbers of enquiries which are received and also to be able to publicize information where appropriate about the kind of enquiries that we receive. Under no circumstances will names or personal information about our clients be disclosed.

Use of client information for training purposes: Examples of enquiries may be used for training purposes or case studies, but any details which enable identification will be changed.

Evaluation and Monitoring: In order to maintain and improve the level of service offered by CrossRoads Pregnancy Help Centre, counsellors will be monitored from time to time.

Data: Data will be collected to assist in planning, marketing and supervision. Data collected will have the sole purpose of enabling us to evaluate and monitor the services we are offering and will not, under any circumstances, contain personal information.

In some cases, CrossRoads Pregnancy Help Centre may wish to make information available to public bodies and the media about the kind of enquiries and situations we are dealing with. In these cases fabricated case studies will be used and will be identified as such.

Making the Confidentiality policy known: All staff and/or volunteers will be given a copy of the policy when they join CrossRoads Pregnancy Help Centre

We will ensure that all staff and/or volunteers are trained and able to give information about the confidentiality policy if asked.

This policy applies to all paid staff, Board members and volunteers of CrossRoads Pregnancy Help Centre.