When sharing information with third parties during NHS 111 calls, what should you do regarding consent?

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The guiding idea is to respect the caller’s privacy while still enabling safe and effective care. The best approach is to obtain consent whenever possible before sharing any personal health information with a third party. You should explain to the caller who you plan to share with, what information will be shared, and for what purpose, then get explicit approval and document it. This reflects data protection and NHS confidentiality rules, which require sharing only the minimum information needed and only with those who need it for the patient’s care.

There are situations where consent can’t be obtained—for example, if the person cannot consent and there is an urgent risk to safety or safeguarding concerns—but these are exceptions rather than the rule. Never sharing information by default undermines trust and privacy. Sharing only with family members isn’t appropriate automatically either; consent and a need-to-know basis still apply regardless of relationships.

So, obtain consent where possible, and only share without consent when there’s a legitimate urgent need and you act within the applicable safeguarding or legal allowances, keeping to the minimum necessary information.