I completely disagree.
The patient has given a contact number to the hospital for them to use for
purposes like the making of appointments. While it would be absolutely
unfair for the hospital to reveal proactively any personal information, they
didn't actually do this. They left a name and a number and answered the
phone in exactly the way that any patient would expect. Unless we have to
have a situation where hospital departments answer the phone with "yeah?",
how can these problems realistically be avoided? You can't have public
service organisations not identifying themselves when they answer the phone
- if the patient dials the wrong number, and is used to *not* hearing the
hospital identify themselves, they might divulge their own data to someone
else.
If a patient wants their confidentiality protected in "in every way
possible", they should give the hospital a mobile number. The problem here
is not the action of the hospital, which is reasonable. Here you have people
keeping secrets from their families, and family members checking up on them
- it's their problem, into which the hospital has inadvertently been dragged
through no real fault of theirs. I don't think it's reasonable to impose a
bureaucratic system which might confuse and intimidate other patients just
to keep up with a family's inability to talk to one another. This does not
in any way justify a disclosure, but that isn't what happened.
Tim Turner
Data Protection / FOI officer
Legal and Property Services
Wigan Council
-----Original Message-----
From: This list is for those interested in Data Protection issues
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ekin Caglar
Sent: Wed 02 May 2007 16:21
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [data-protection] Hospital Scenario
I was visiting my parents and they stepped out of the house for a couple of
hours. The phone rang. I didn't pick it up and let the answering machine
take it. The caller was a doctor, saying he "had the results of the
operation and it was successful". That's when and how I found out that my
mother had cancer!
So John, although you have avoided the first obvious mistake, which is to
leave sensitive personal data on an answering machine or with a "family
member", I think your processes and procedures should have followed through
and protected the patient's confidentiality in every way possible. I agree
with Tim's point that the direct / unlisted number should have been answered
accordingly.
Ekin
-----Original Message-----
From: This list is for those interested in Data Protection issues
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Tim Trent
Sent: 02 May 2007 15:36
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [data-protection] Hospital Scenario
Possibly the only error might be if this is not recorded as a procedure to
follow. Procedures, in general, are a defence against accusations like
this.
Where the department might be controversial it would also be an idea, but
not mandatory, for a unique number to be given out in this set of
circumstances where the phone is answered "hello" and then you wait to hear
who is wanted, and answer "suitably"
-----Original Message-----
From: This list is for those interested in Data Protection issues
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Hughes2 John (RJ6)
MHC-TR Manager
Sent: 02 May 2007 15:20
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [data-protection] Hospital Scenario
Nothing hypothetical about this. It happened at our acute Trust recently.
A nurse needed to contact a patient urgently to alter the time of her
appointment for a clinic at the hospital the following day, so she phoned
the only contact number we have, her home number. The patient wasn't at home
so the nurse left a message with a family member to phone back. She said it
was a personal call, left only a first name and a phone number - no mention
of hospital, clinic or any hint of what the call was about. The number given
was a direct line to the department.
For some reason the family member then took it on herself to phone the
number and when someone answered she heard "Early Pregnancy Unit, how can I
help you". The cat was out of the bag and the next call they received was a
very angry patient accusing us of breaching confidentiality by telling her
sister that she was pregnant.
Did we do anything wrong?
John Hughes
Data Protection Officer
Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust
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