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Confidentiality

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Confidentiality

(Please note this policy does not apply to Renewal Therapy or Listening service – please see Renewal Therapy SOPs for confidentiality within the Therapy or Listening teams.) 

As members of Renewal’s Pastoral team you cannot promise confidentially in any circumstances. In many cases it is in the best interests of the person you are supporting to seek further advice or 

guidance to ensure they can access the most appropriate support.

If someone asks for confidentiality simply explain that you will not share what you are told with other partners or attenders of the church but you may need to share some information with your leaders or team members to ensure the person gets the best support. Explain that where possible you will always let the person know before you share any information and gain their explicit consent to share.

Before sharing information within the pastoral team you must explain clearly who you will talk you, why you want to talk to them and what you will tell them.

For example:

“Would you be ok with me talking to the Forget Thee Not team leader so that they can contact you to support you, can I let them know that your friend has died?”

“I am unsure of how best to advise you in this situation – I am going to speak to my collective leader and share what you have told me about this situation so that they can advise us
both on the best next steps”

The only time when you would not seek permission to share information are when:

  • You believe a person is at risk of harming themselves or others
  • You believe a criminal act has been committed
  • You believe a child has been harmed or is at risk of harm
  • You believe an adult who may be vulnerable has been harmed or at risk of harm.

In these cases you must ring the church office immediately on 0121 711 7300. Out of office hours you will hear a message giving you the emergency phone number, ring the emergency phone and leave a message explaining you are a pastoral care team member with a safeguarding concern and you will receive a return call asap.