Use of Social Media Policy

Introduction

This policy forms part of Ashford & St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s (ASPH) commitment to create a positive culture of respect for all individuals including staff, patients, their families and carers as well as community partners. The Trust’s values (the ‘4Ps’) and Staff Pledge are integral to all aspects of day-to-day life in the organisation and underpin the application of all our employment policies and procedures.

This policy sets out the standard that should be followed by all Ashford and St Peters NHS Foundation Trust staff when using social media, either through individual social media accounts or through a Trust operated account.

Social media is a term commonly used for web-based tools available on the internet that allow people to interact with each other in some way by sharing information, knowledge, opinions and interests.

Examples of social media sites include:

• Social networking sites (e.g. Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn)
• Micro-blogging sites (e.g. Twitter)
• Blogs and personal websites
• Messaging boards/personal messaging (e.g. WhatsApp)
• Bookmarking websites (e.g. del.icio.ous)
• Photo and video content sharing sites (e.g. YouTube, Pinterest and Flickr)

This list is not exhaustive as social media is a constantly evolving area and the types of social media available may change over time.

The organisation does not allow access to social networking sites from work computers for the majority of staff. However, it is recognised that many staff use these sites on personal devices such as smart phones.

When a member of staff identifies that they work for the Trust and/or discusses their work on a social networking site, they must behave professionally and in a way that respects confidentiality and protects patients, members of the public, work colleagues and the reputation of the organisation.

Policy Details

See also:

• Confidentiality and Data Protection Policy
• Information Governance Policy
• Internet Usage and Security Policy