The Common Law Duty of Confidence and the Use of Information in Healthcare in Wales

Abstract

This thesis describes how information that is subject to the common law duty of confidence can be shared lawfully in the National Health Service in Wales. The complexities of modern healthcare and the exploitation of data to improve service provision necessitate a clearer understanding of the duty of confidence to ensure that information is shared lawfully. Guidance produced by the health service and professional bodies assists healthcare professionals and health service staff in making decisions around using information to ensure compliance with legal and ethical frameworks when everyday tasks are being performed. However, they lack a comprehensive legal perspective, potentially inhibiting lawful information sharing. The Law Commission highlighted that this issue extends beyond the NHS to the wider public service. There is an absence of detailed legal guidance that focuses on the common law duty of confidence, specifically in relation to the National Health Service in Wales. There are no texts that examine the provisions under section 251 of the National Health Service Act 2006 to create regulation. There are no studies that explain how statutory functions can confer powers to enable bodies to lawfully collect and use information that is subject to the duty of confidence. Employing doctrinal and empirical legal research methodologies, this thesis reviews primary legal resources and interprets them following established legal research methods to ensure an accurate representation of the law without social biases. The research aims to clarify misunderstandings and confusions around the duty of confidence and will be utilised in other work to create a comprehensive legal framework for healthcare professionals and organisations in Wales