We recognise that you will want to use social media in a personal capacity. However, you can still bring an organisation into disrepute even while not at work if you're recognised as being a Bank Member. We recommend you don't link personal accounts to NHSP or any of our clients. For example, don't include the name of your work place or Trust in your personal information.
If you choose to discuss your work on social media, you must include on your profile a statement along these lines:
“The views I express here are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Organisation I work for.”
Discussing your work includes giving opinions on a specialism or sector in which NHSP operates.
While using social networking sites in a personal capacity, and not acting on behalf of NHSP or one of our clients, you must not:
- Behave in a manner that would not be acceptable in any other situation
- Bring NHSP or our clients into disrepute
- Breach confidentiality. For example by revealing information owned by the organisation, giving away confidential information about colleagues, or customer internal workings
- Pursue personal relationships with patients or service users
- Post inappropriate comments about work colleagues, patients, NHSP or our clients
- Post links to inappropriate content
- Comment on work related issues
- Post pictures/comments/personal details/clinical details which identify any individual without their prior consent. This includes pictures taken on wards or in other work areas where patients or patient details could be captured or pictures in your uniform
- Post any information, photos or other items online that could embarrass you, your family, your colleagues, NHSP, our client Trusts and any Patients. This includes information that may be posted by others on your page.
- Do anything that could be considered bullying, harassment or discrimination against any individual. This can include but is not exclusive to:
- making offensive or derogatory comments relating to:
- sex
- gender reassignment
- race (including nationality)
- disability
- sexual orientation
- religion or belief
- age
- using social media to bully another individual (such as a colleague, employee NHSP or client Trust
Before participating in any online community, please understand anything posted online is public. This means it may be available to everyone, everywhere. Any text or photo placed online becomes the property of the site(s). It is completely out of your control the moment it's placed online - even if you limit access to it.
For more information on the NHS Professionals Code of Behaviour, download the PDF here.
For more information on our Social Media policy, download the PDF here.
For more information on our Email and Internet Usage policy, click here
