Mobile Phone and Devices Policy

MOBILE PHONE AND DEVICES POLICY

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CONTENTS

QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE

1.INTRODUCTION

2.PURPOSE

3.SCOPE

4.DEFINITIONS

5.DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

6.PROCESS

6.1Personal Use Of Trust Mobile Devices

6.2Restrictions On The Use Of Trust Mobile Devices

6.3Personal Use Of Personal Mobile Phones At Work

6.4Loss / Replacement

6.5Health And Safety – Driving And Mobile Phones

7.TRAINING REQUIREMENTS

8.REFERENCES AND ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTATION

9.EQUALITY IMPACT STATEMENT

10.MONITORING COMPLIANCE WITH PROCEDURAL DOCUMENTS

APPENDIX A – ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

APPENDIX B – PROCUREMENT OF MOBILE DEVICES AND SERVICES

QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE

1.This policy governs the allocation and use of mobile telephones (including smartphones/blackberries), 4G cards/dongles, laptops and idesktop remote access services in PHT and includes options for the use of personal devices for business purposes.

2.CSC General Managers and Heads of Corporate Services are responsible for the approval of requests for mobile devices or services for their staff. Before doing so they must review the request against the eligibility criteria in Appendix A to confirm it is justified and, if it is for a Trust device, accept the five-year term with the contractor.

3.All recipients of mobile devices must ensure mobile devices covered by this policy are charged and switched on during normal working hours, but switched off or put in silent mode during meetings, lectures, seminars, training courses, etc.

4.All recipients of mobile devices must not share or loan it to anyone else unless agreed by their Line Manager, nor remove or replace the SIM card in, or otherwise tamper with, the device.

5.All recipients of mobile devices must return it to the appropriate Issuing/Receiving Department before they leave the employment of the Trust or move to a role in which they are no longer eligible to hold one.

6.All recipients of mobile devices must:

• Ensure calls from a Trust mobile device to other networks and landlines are kept to a minimum and, in circumstances where a fixed telephone is available to make outgoing calls to another fixed telephone, to use this in preference to the mobile device;
• Not re-route land line phones to mobile devices;
• Ensure confidential information is not discussed in open areas or inappropriate locations;
• Not leave Trust mobile devices in unattended vehicles or other insecure locations; and
• Comply with restrictions on mobile phone use in locations where they are imposed by the Trust or other organisations (e.g. in the Department of Critical Care).

7. Trust staff may be required as part of their role to give their mobile device number to patients/relatives/suppliers. In such circumstances they will be required to sign to agree to the disclosure of their personal number to the public. This is a legal requirement.

8. Recipients of mobile devices must not make personal calls on them without the explicit, prior permission of their line manager. They must reimburse the Trust for any approved personal calls they make.

9.Personal calls during work time, even on personal mobile phones, are at the discretion of line managers and must be limited to essential calls only.

10.Recipients of Trust mobile devices are responsible for their security and care. Recipients must report any defects, damage or losses as soon as reasonably practicable to their line manager and the Issuing/Receiving Department. Recipients losing or damaging a Trust mobile device where they are deemed not to have taken appropriate care of it will be required to pay in full or in part for a replacement.

1.INTRODUCTION

Mobile technology is pervasive in the modern world and used responsibly can deliver benefits to the Trust and its patients. In some cases the Trust will purchase mobile devices for the use of staff when appropriate to their job roles. Mobile technology can also blur the line between work and home and this policy allows staff to use personal devices for business purposes if they so wish and they meet the eligibility criteria.

2.PURPOSE

This policy is to establish a standard set of conditions and framework for the allocation and use of mobile telephones (including smartphones/blackberries), 4G cards/dongles, laptops and idesktop remote access services in PHT and includes options for the use of personal devices for business purposes. The principle behind the policy is to meet the business needs of the organisation whilst ensuring best value for money.

Adherence to this policy will ensure the devices are allocated and used appropriately and that they are managed during their contract period to minimise overall costs to the Trust.

3.SCOPE

This policy is mandatory and non-compliance may result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal and notification to the appropriate authorities of criminal or suspected criminal actions. It covers the following Trust devices:

• Standard Mobile Phones – for making and receiving calls and SMS texts;
• Smartphones – as standard mobile phones plus the ability to access and send email(including viewing some attachments), view and make appointments and access the web;
• 4G cards/dongles – to enable laptops to access the internet using the commercial mobile phone carrier network, generally used with the idesktop remote access service;
• Laptops – mobile computers, specified by and managed by the Trust IT Department; and
• idesktop remote access service – service that allows an Internet-connected computer to securely access the Trust network and systems.

This policy includes the use of personal smartphones for business purposes, but excludes pagers and bleeps.

The policy applies to all staff employed within the Trust wishing to apply for, or who have been issued with, a mobile device for work purposes.

In the event of an infection outbreak, flu pandemic or major incident, the Trust recognises that it may not be possible to adhere to all aspects of this document. In such circumstances, staff should take advice from their manager and all possible action must be taken to maintain ongoing patient and staff safety

4.DEFINITIONS

Recipient – any member of staff issued with or using a mobile device covered by this policy.

Issuing/receiving department – the department responsible for the issuing of, or the safe receiving of returned mobile devices covered by this policy.

• The issuing/receiving department for standard mobile phones is the Carillion switchboard.
• The issuing/receiving department for Trust smartphones, 4G cards/dongles, laptops and the idesktop remote access service is the Trust IT Department.

More details of the processes are given in Appendix B.

Mobile devices and services – mobile devices and services as listed in section 3.

Contractor – The supplier of Trust mobile devices covered by this policy, excluding laptops. The current contractor is O2.

5.DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

RECIPIENTS

All recipients must:

• Ensure they understand and comply with the provisions of this policy.
• Sign for a Trust device on receipt to confirm their understanding of the policy.
• Not share or loan the Trust device to anyone else unless agreed by their Line Manager and a method of checking the calls made by the person using it during this time is in place.
• Not remove or replace the SIM card in, or otherwise tamper with, the Trust device.
• Return the device to the appropriate Issuing/Receiving Department before they leave the employment of the Trust or move to a role in which they are no longer eligible. The Trust will impose penalties on the recipient or department if the recipient does not comply with this requirement.
• Inform their Line Manager/Budget Holder if they are not going to use their device for more than 30 days (e.g., holiday, sick leave, maternity leave, etc.) so the device can be returned and reallocated if necessary.
• Ensure mobile devices covered by this policy are charged and switched on during normal working hours, apart from the exceptions covered below.
• Ensure mobile devices are switched off or put in silent mode during meetings, lectures, seminars, training courses etc. other than in very exceptional circumstances where it is necessary to take an urgent call. In these circumstances it is courteous to alert colleagues to the fact that an urgent call is expected.
• Ensure calls from a Trust mobile device to other networks and landlines are kept to a minimum and, in circumstances where a fixed telephone is available to make outgoing calls to another fixed telephone, to use this in preference to the mobile device.
• Not re-route land line phones to mobile devices.
• Ensure confidential information is not discussed in open areas or inappropriate locations.
• Ensure the E-Mail Usage Policy is followed with respect to the transfer of person identifiable information and data for all mobile devices covered by this policy that have the capability of sending emails.
• Not leave Trust mobile devices in unattended vehicles or other insecure locations.
• Reimburse the Trust for any approved personal calls they make.
• Comply with restrictions on mobile phone use in locations where they are imposed by the Trust or other organisations (e.g. in the Department of Critical Care).

Trust staff may be required as part of their role to give their mobile device number to patients/relatives/suppliers. Staff using their personal smartphones for making and receiving calls and SMS texts in such circumstances will be required to sign to agree to the disclosure of their personal number to the public. This is a legal requirement.

Trust staff who meet the eligibility criteria for having a Trust smartphone, but who choose to use their personal smartphones for making and receiving business calls and SMS texts, will be required to sign to agree to accept those costs. If they don’t agree they have the option of requesting a Trust smartphone or using their personal smartphone for email and calendar and having a Trust standard mobile phone for business calls and texts.

GENERAL MANAGER/HEAD OF CORPORATE SERVICE

The appropriate General Manager or Head of Corporate Service is responsible for the approval of requests for mobile devices or services for his/her staff. Before approving new or additional devices or services, the GM or HoCS must:

• Review the request against the eligibility criteria in Appendix A to confirm the request is justified and, if it is for a Trust device, accept the five year term with the contractor. The same eligibility criteria apply if the request is for use of a personal device for business purposes, but the five year term is not applicable.
• Ensure that budget holders / line managers:
• comply with the process for issuing new Trust devices,
• monitor usage,
• are aware of their obligation to continue to pay the five year term of the contract unless the device is reissued to another service who will pay for the remaining term, and
• not retain the device when no longer required by the recipient, but return it to the appropriate receiving department.
• Maintain a central register of all Trust mobile devices issued to, and services supplied to, staff within their service.

BUDGET-HOLDER/ LINE MANAGER

Recipient’s budget-holder/line manager must:

• Monitor, review and authorise their departmental staff’s Trust mobile device and services bills, to ensure appropriate use. The contractor’s bill manager software is available for this purpose. A training manual is on the Trust Intranet.
• Take action over any inappropriate use, including investigating any alleged abuse of this policy and, where appropriate, instigating disciplinary action in accordance with the Trust’s disciplinary procedures.
• Ensure all recipients understand the contents of this policy.
• Manage pooled mobile devices, for example if staff member’s duties require them to be on-call after normal business hours, or to be out of the office on an ad-hoc basis only, they may be issued with a pooled mobile device.
• Ensurea recipient follows the process for personal use if they have given permission for the recipient for such use of a Trust device (see section 6 below.)
• Ensure recipients of Trust mobile devices sign for receipt of these on the appropriate Trust form, see Appendix B. This signature is an acceptance of responsibility for the custody of the handset and the restrictions of its use by the individual and the manager’s authority for that individual to hold the device for the period of employment in the role for which it is required.
• Ensure they or the recipients return the device to the receiving department at the end of therecipient’s employment or if they move to another role that does not meet the eligibility criteria to hold such a mobile device.
• Inform the IT Department when staff that use personal smartphones for business use are no longer eligible so the software licences can be reused.
• Promote the safe use of mobile devices to their staff, and ensuring they are trained in the requirements of the Data Protection Act and patient confidentiality.

IT DEPARTMENT

The IT Department must:

• Act as the Issuing/Receiving Department for Trust smartphones, 4G cards/dongles, laptops and the idesktop remote access service, keeping a record of devices and recipients.
• Undertake spot audits each month on usage of those devices and provide the Corporate Finance Section Manager with details of high usage and usage outside normal parameters for that recipient, including under-use.
• Disable any devices unused for 3 months.
• Monitor idesktop remote access usage and refer any underused accounts to the relevant budget holder/line manager for a decision on whether the service is required.
• Maintain a record of recipients authorised to use their personal smartphones for business purposes and ensure numbers are within the total number of Trust licences.
• Monitor business e-mail and calendar usage to identify any underused software licences so they can be reallocated as necessary.
• Notify the Corporate Finance Section Manager of relevant changes to recipients.

The IT Service Desk (tel. 7701-2333 or useMyCall via the Intranet) will provide support for Trust smartphones, 4G cards/dongles, laptops and the idesktop remote access service, including providing support for users authorised to use their personal smartphones for business purposes on how to download the relevant app and instructions on its use.

CARILLION

Carillion must:

• Act as the Issuing/Receiving Department for Trust standard mobile phones, keeping a record of devices and recipients.
• Undertake spot audits each month on usage of those devices and provide the Corporate Finance Section Manager with details of high usage and usage outside normal parameters for that user, including underuse. If a device is unused for 3 months it will be disabled.
• Notify the Corporate Finance Section Manager of relevant changes to recipients.

The Carillion Helpdesk (tel. 7700-6321 or e-mail ) will provide support for Trust standard mobile phones.

FINANCE DEPARTMENT

The Corporate Finance Section Manager must:

• Agree a consolidated bill with the contractor.
• Update their records of recipients from information provided by the Issuing/Receiving Departments.
• Escalate the results of spot audits carried out by the Issuing/Receiving Departments as appropriate.

6.PROCESS

6.1Personal Use Of Trust Mobile Devices

Recipients of Trust mobile devices must not make personal calls on them without the explicit, prior permission of their line manager. There may be exceptions to this, such as emergency situations where no other means of communication is available. In such an event the holder must raise the event to the attention of their line manager at the earliest opportunity.

Recipients of Trust mobile devices will be required to reimburse the Trust for any personal calls they make. They should use the contractor’s bill manager software to identify all personal calls. They must pay for these calls at the Trust Cashiers’ Office, requesting the money be credited to the budget from which the mobile device charges are paid. They must provide the receipt they are given by the Cashiers to their line managers as proof of reimbursement.

Where personal calls values are low, it is acceptable for recipients of Trust mobile devices to agree with their line managers to accumulate the charges throughout the year and make a single payment, provided this is within the same financial year that the bill is paid.