Acacia Homecare Ltd believes that all records required for the protection of Customers and efficient running of the company should be collected, maintained and kept according to the Data Protection Act 1998.

Acacia Homecare Ltd is registered under the Data Protection Act 1998 and all storage and processing of personal data held in manual records and on computers at the offices of the Company will comply with the regulations of the act. Acacia Homecare Ltd understands that, according to the Data Protection Act 1998, personal data should:

1. be obtained fairly and lawfully
2. be held for specified and lawful purposes
3. be processed in accordance with the person’s rights under the DPA
4. be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to that purpose
5. be kept accurate and up to date
6. not be kept longer than is necessary for its given purpose
7. be subject to appropriate safeguards against unauthorised use, loss or damage

• Acacia Homecare Ltd will provide training to all staff to ensure that they are familiar with and able to adhere to the policies on data protection and on confidentiality as part of their induction process.
• Learning outcomes will be tested and they will be required to sign a confidentially agreement to evidence their understanding of the policies
• Training in the correct method for entering information in Customers’ records will be given to all care staff.
• Acacia Homecare Ltd will appoint a nominated data user/controller for the Company.
• The nominated data user/data controller for the Company will be trained appropriately in the Data Protection Act 1998.
• All staff who need to use the computer system will be thoroughly trained in its use.

When a support package first starts the person receiving services will be provided with a  ‘Customer Pack’. This pack will contain, amongst other things, the Company policies on confidentiality and within those policies there will be reference to the right to share certain information in the best interests of the person receiving support. These will have been explained to the person, their relatives or representatives and authority from them sought to use when it is in their best interests and related to their overall care.

Outside of such authority given by a person receiving support or their representatives and where not concerning people involved in a person’s care and thus legitimately authorised to receive it, all information regarding the person receiving support, their relatives, friends and representatives must remain confidential.

Records kept at the office regarding a person receiving support are also subject to control under the Data Protection Act and the person has a right to access any personal data information stored or being processed by the Company. They are entitled to know the source of such personal data; the nature of the personal data held about them, the purposes for which that personal data is being held and processed and the persons to whom that information may be disclosed and the source of that data.

When requested Acacia Homecare Ltd will inform its customers of the name of its Data Protection Guardian who ensures that we comply with all aspects of our obligations under the Act. They operate as protectors of data held and will offer the appropriate advice to all company staff. Therefore, if staff have any doubts about their/our obligations under the Act, they should refer to the Data Guardian for guidance. Before staff make any disclosure of information to anyone outside of the Company, they must check first with their Supervisor/Manager who will check with the named Data Guardian. The Data Guardian will inform them of whether the disclosure fits the purpose for which the data is being held. They will also advise on whether the person to whom staff intend to disclose the data is authorised by the Company to have it, and the data subject is aware that this type of disclosure is possible and most importantly has consented to it. This information will then be advised to staff directly by their Supervisor/Manager.

Acacia Homecare Ltd has an obligation to store such records for specified lengths of time as laid out in both the Data Protection Act 1998.

The Data Protection Act is underpinned by eight important principles. These say that
personal data must:

1. Be processed fairly and lawfully
2. Be obtained only for specific, lawful purposes
3. Be adequate, relevant and not excessive
4. Be accurate and kept up to date
5. Not be held for any longer than necessary
6. Processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects
7. Be protected in appropriate ways
8. Not be transferred outside the European Economic Area (EEA), unless that country or territory also ensures an adequate level of protection

Acacia Homecare Ltd treats the unauthorised disclosure of confidential information very seriously and will take disciplinary action against any member of staff who is found to have committed such a breach. The disciplinary action would take into account the seriousness of the proven breach. Where the breach of confidentiality was proven and deemed to be serious, such disciplinary action could lead to the dismissal of the person committing such breach.

Everyone who works for or with Acacia Homecare has some responsibility for ensuring data is collected, stored and handled appropriately.

Each team that handles personal data must ensure that it is handled and processed in line with this policy and data protection principles.

However, these people have key areas of responsibility:

The board of directors is ultimately responsible for ensuring that Acacia Homecare meets its legal obligations.

The data protection officer, Sanjeev Chowdhri, is responsible for:

• Keeping the board updated about data protection responsibilities, risks and issues.
• Reviewing all data protection procedures and related policies, in line with an agreed schedule.
• Arranging data protection training and advice for the people covered by this policy.
• Handling data protection questions from staff and anyone else covered by this policy.
• Dealing with requests from individuals to see the data Acacia Homecare holds about them (also called ‘subject access requests’).
• Checking and approving any contracts or agreements with third parties that may handle the company’s sensitive data.The IT manager, Sanjeev Chowdhri, is responsible for:
• Ensuring all systems, services and equipment used for storing data meet acceptable security standards.
• Performing regular checks and scans to ensure security hardware and software is functioning properly.
• Evaluating any third-party services the company is considering using to store or process data. For instance, cloud computing services.The marketing manager, Minal Chowdhri, is responsible for:
• Approving any data protection statements attached to communications such as emails and letters.
• Addressing any data protection queries from journalists or media outlets like newspapers
• Where necessary, working with other staff to ensure marketing initiatives abide by data protection principles.