The Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003

Restrictions on disclosure of information under Article 40 or 41

43.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), a person shall not be required under Article 40 or 41 to provide confidential information which relates to and identifies a living individual unless—

(a) the information is disclosed in a form in which the identity of the individual cannot be ascertained;

(b) the individual consents to the information being disclosed; or

(c) the individual cannot be traced despite the taking of all reasonable steps.

(2) A person may be required to provide confidential information which relates to and identifies a living individual if—

(a) it is not practicable to disclose the information in a form in which the identity of the individual cannot be ascertained;

(b) the Regulation and Improvement Authority considers that there is a serious risk to the health or safety of any person; and

(c) having regard to that risk and the urgency of the exercise of those functions, the Regulation and Improvement Authority considers that the information should be disclosed without the consent of the individual.

(3) A person shall not be required under Article 40 or 41 to provide information the disclosure of which is prohibited under another statutory provision unless—

(a) the prohibition on the disclosure of information operates by reason of the fact that the information is capable of identifying an individual; and

(b) the information in question is in a form in which the identity of the individual cannot be ascertained.

(4) In a case where—

(a) the disclosure of information is prohibited under this Article; and

(b) the prohibition operates by reason of the fact that the information is capable of identifying an individual,

the Regulation and Improvement Authority or a person authorised by it under Article 40 or 41 may require the person holding the information to put the information in a form in which the identity of the individual concerned cannot be identified, in order that the information may be disclosed.

(5) In this Article “confidential information” means information which is held subject to a duty of confidence, and includes information contained in an accessible record within the meaning of section 68 of the Data Protection Act 1998 (c. 29).