Nurses and Midwives Act 2011
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Confidentiality. |
91.— (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (4), and to any agreement made under section 15 , a person who acquires any information by virtue of the person’s performance or assistance in the performance of functions under this Act relating to any professional competence scheme shall preserve confidentiality with regard to the information and, without prejudice to the foregoing, shall not— | |
(a) disclose the information to another person except where the disclosure is necessary for such performance or assistance, or | ||
(b) cause or permit any other person to have access to the information except where the access is necessary for that other person to perform or assist in the performance of functions under this Act (including the functions of the Preliminary Proceedings Committee and the Fitness to Practise Committee). | ||
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Board may disclose information— | ||
(a) in the form of a summary compiled from information provided in relation to registered nurses and registered midwives participating in a professional competence scheme if the summary is so compiled as to prevent particulars relating to the identity of any such nurse or midwife being ascertained from it, | ||
(b) with a view to the institution of, or otherwise for the purposes of, any criminal proceedings or any investigation in the State, or | ||
(c) in connection with any civil proceedings to which the Board is a party. | ||
(3) The Freedom of Information Acts 1997 and 2003 shall not apply to a record (within the meaning of those Acts) relating to any professional competence scheme. | ||
(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting a disclosure of information pursuant to a court order. | ||
(5) A person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a class A fine or a term of imprisonment not exceeding 6 months or both. |