Messaging, mobile working and passwords

Secure messaging, not personal WhatsApp

Messaging is part of modern care, but it must run on the tools your organisation provides: the approved care records app, NHSmail, or another sanctioned secure channel. Personal WhatsApp, Messenger and text messages are not appropriate for identifiable care information. The organisation cannot control them, messages sit on personal phones and personal backups, group members change without anyone checking, and information about people we support ends up somewhere no one can audit or delete. Staff WhatsApp groups for shift swaps are fine. The moment a resident's name, photo or condition appears, it is an incident. If a colleague shares care information in a personal group, do not pile in, and do raise it.

Paper, home visits and mobile working

Community and domiciliary work takes records out from behind locked doors, so the habits matter more, not less.

• Take out only the paperwork you need for that visit.
• Never leave records, bags or devices visible in a car. A boot is better than a seat, and taking them with you is better than either. Do not leave anything in a vehicle overnight.
• At home, keep work records away from household members and return them to the office promptly. Confidential waste goes back for shredding, never in the household bin.
• Position screens so others cannot read them on transport and in public places, and avoid working on confidential material where you can be overlooked.
• Post and hand-delivered letters need care too: check the name, address and contents match before sealing.

Passwords, shared logins and locked screens

• Your login is your identity. Everything done under it is recorded as you. Never share your password with anyone, including managers and IT, and never work under someone else's account. Shared logins are never acceptable, even when it is busy, even to be helpful.
• Use strong, unique passwords. Three random words make a good one. Never reuse your work password on other websites, and never write it where others can find it.
• Lock your screen every time you walk away, even for a moment. An unlocked screen in a communal area is an open record book.
• Use multi-factor authentication where offered, and never approve a sign-in prompt you did not initiate.