I know you have really addressed this to Nigel, I simply think that, using
the facilities you had at your disposal, you acted correctly. I think that,
for the future, you might consider altering the facilities.
-----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: 03 May 2007 09:30
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [data-protection] FW: [data-protection] Hospital Scenario
In which case can you suggest how else we could have handled it? The
patient is due in the next day for an appointment that has had to be changed
at short notice. The home phone number is the only number we have and we had
to do what we could to prevent her from coming into the hospital and being
turned away. There was not enough time to write, and the only other
alternative was to do nothing.
-----Original Message-----
From: This list is for those interested in Data Protection issues
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Nigel Roberts
Sent: 03 May 2007 09:24
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [data-protection] Hospital Scenario
Actually while Tim's analysis is rational, it is mistaken.
You need to start from the basis that the fact this person has contacted
this particular medical service as 'sensitive personal data'. Would anyone
object to that idea?
Secondly, it is therefore expected that employees of medical facilities will
act with discretion.
Thirdly, the provision TO A THIRD PARTY of a number which, when answered
in the normal way, identifies not only that it is a medical facility, but
the type of medical facility, discloses sensitive data unfairly. The patient
was entirely right to complain of a breach of medical confidentiality, IMO.
The mistake was not in the way the phone was answered, but in leaving an
identifiable number. The hospital should have simply left no message and
tried again, if that was possible. (And not, if not).
Run the scenario again with "GUM/STD Clinic" instead of "Pregnancy Clinic"
and see if you think the actions of the medical staff were correct.
Tim Turner wrote:
> 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
>
>
> This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential. If you
> are not the intended recipient, any reading, printing, storage,
> disclosure to another person, copying or any other action taken in
> respect of this e-mail is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you are
> not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately by
> using the reply function and then permanently delete the email from
> your inbox.
>
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> All archives of messages are stored permanently and are
> available to the world wide web community at large at
> http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/data-protection.html
> If you wish to leave this list please send the command
> leave data-protection to [log in to unmask] All user
> commands can be found at http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/help/commandref.htm
> Any queries about sending or receiving messages please send to the
> list owner
> [log in to unmask]
> Full help Desk - please email [log in to unmask] describing
> your needs
> To receive these emails in HTML format send the command:
> SET data-protection HTML to [log in to unmask]
> (all commands go to [log in to unmask] not the list please)
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> All archives of messages are stored permanently and are
> available to the world wide web community at large at
> http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/data-protection.html
> If you wish to leave this list please send the command
> leave data-protection to [log in to unmask] All user
> commands can be found at http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/help/commandref.htm
> Any queries about sending or receiving messages please send to the
> list owner
> [log in to unmask]
> Full help Desk - please email [log in to unmask] describing
> your needs
> To receive these emails in HTML format send the command:
> SET data-protection HTML to [log in to unmask]
> (all commands go to [log in to unmask] not the list please)
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> All archives of messages are stored permanently and are
> available to the world wide web community at large at
> http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/data-protection.html
> If you wish to leave this list please send the command
> leave data-protection to [log in to unmask] All user
> commands can be found at http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/help/commandref.htm
> Any queries about sending or receiving messages please send to the
> list owner
> [log in to unmask]
> Full help Desk - please email [log in to unmask] describing
> your needs
> To receive these emails in HTML format send the command:
> SET data-protection HTML to [log in to unmask]
> (all commands go to [log in to unmask] not the list please)
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> All archives of messages are stored permanently and are
> available to the world wide web community at large at
> http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/data-protection.html
> If you wish to leave this list please send the command
> leave data-protection to [log in to unmask]
> All user commands can be found at
> http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/help/commandref.htm
> Any queries about sending or receiving messages please send to the
list owner
> [log in to unmask]
> Full help Desk - please email [log in to unmask] describing
your needs
> To receive these emails in HTML format send the command:
> SET data-protection HTML to [log in to unmask]
> (all commands go to [log in to unmask] not the list please)
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
All archives of messages are stored permanently and are
available to the world wide web community at large at
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/data-protection.html
If you wish to leave this list please send the command
leave data-protection to [log in to unmask]
All user commands can be found at
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/help/commandref.htm
Any queries about sending or receiving messages please send to the list
owner
[log in to unmask]
Full help Desk - please email [log in to unmask] describing your
needs
To receive these emails in HTML format send the command:
SET data-protection HTML to [log in to unmask]
(all commands go to [log in to unmask] not the list please)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential. If you are
not the intended recipient, any reading, printing, storage, disclosure to
another person, copying or any other action taken in respect of this e-mail
is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you are not the intended recipient,
please notify the sender immediately by using the reply function and then
permanently delete the email from your inbox.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
All archives of messages are stored permanently and are
available to the world wide web community at large at
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/data-protection.html
If you wish to leave this list please send the command
leave data-protection to [log in to unmask]
All user commands can be found at
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/help/commandref.htm
Any queries about sending or receiving messages please send to the list
owner
[log in to unmask]
Full help Desk - please email [log in to unmask] describing your
needs
To receive these emails in HTML format send the command:
SET data-protection HTML to [log in to unmask]
(all commands go to [log in to unmask] not the list please)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
All archives of messages are stored permanently and are
available to the world wide web community at large at
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/data-protection.html
If you wish to leave this list please send the command
leave data-protection to [log in to unmask]
All user commands can be found at http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/help/commandref.htm
Any queries about sending or receiving messages please send to the list owner
[log in to unmask]
Full help Desk - please email [log in to unmask] describing your needs
To receive these emails in HTML format send the command:
SET data-protection HTML to [log in to unmask]
(all commands go to [log in to unmask] not the list please)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
|