Medical Confidentiality, GDPR and Consent

Programme

9.00

Registration and coffee

9.15

Welcome and introduction
Dr John Ballard, Occupational Health [at Work]

9.25

The GDPR, medical reports and OH records
Nick Hanning, Anthony Gold Solicitors

• Data protection principles and requirements – the GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018
• Records and reports – what’s the difference?The Access to Medical Reports Act 1988 and its relevance to OH
• Statutory health surveillance – the difference between health records and clinical records
• How long should the information be stored?
  • Statutory health surveillance
  • GDPR requirements
  • Pre-employment health information
• Subject access requests
• What happens to health records…
  • …when an employer goes out of business or is bought
  by another firm?
  • …a new OH provider is appointed?

10.15

Consent and confidentiality in OH
Prof Diana Kloss, barrister

• Consent and confidentiality
  • Common law principles
  • Update on the latest GMC, NMC and FOM guidance
  • Professional practice – role of the health regulators
  • Non-clinicians in the OH team
•  How long is consent valid?
•  OH response when consent is withdrawn
• Is consent always needed?
  • Consent in statutory health surveillance
  • Breaching confidentiality – ‘in the public interest’
  • Court orders • Public health
• Blanket consent statements – are they lawful?
• Implications of the Glasgow Bin Lorry accident inquiry
  for ensuring fitness for work and fitness to drive

11.10

Coffee

11.30

Managing difficult GDPR scenarios

Nick Hanning, Anthony Gold Solicitors
In this interactive session, a series of case studies takes
you through different scenarios from OH practice.
You will learn:

• The importance of careful drafting of policies and
  consent forms
• Systems and procedures you should have in place
• How best to manage a difficult subject access request –
  and the implications

12.30

Legal and practice Q&A

Your chance to put your queries to our experts

12.55

Lunch

14.00

Obtaining ‘fully informed consent’
in OH

Dr Steve Boorman, Empactis

• When is consent ‘fully informed’?
• Is the consent freely given?
• Oral or written?
• Telephone consultations
• Consent for the referral and for the report
• Obtaining information from other healthcare
  professionals and deciding when this is appropriate
• Consent at pre-employment (when a job depends on a
  satisfactory health clearance)
• Encouraging appropriate disclosure

14.50 

Tea

15.10

Confidentiality and disability
Prof Diana Kloss, barrister

• Who is protected on grounds of disability?
• Knowledge of disability
  • Knowledge and reasonable adjustments
  • What if the employer says it doesn’t want to know?
• Discrimination because of something arising in
  consequence of a disability
• Managing the complex relationship between medical
  confidentiality and providing appropriate support

16.00 

Final questions

16.10

Close of conference