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This is ridiculous. I can't believe i've got myself worked up over it after so much time has passed.

Background:

7 Years ago, i found myself expecting a baby at the age of 17 (it all worked out very well in the end, my lovely DS is now nearly 7).

When i was about 10 weeks, my very good friend came to me to tell me that i was apparently the subject of village gossip. Whilst my friend and a few people (mainly my family) knew, she hadn't yet told her parents as i was doing the sensible thing of waiting til i had my first scan to share the news.

She told me that during a meeting in the village hall (something about planning permission i think) a woman had approached her parents and said 'Oh, your daughter is friends with that Jellybean isn't she? I can't believe she's pregnant! Etc etc'. Other people overheard this and started to talk about it too. Understandably, friends parents were a bit confused, mainly because they had no idea who this woman was and no idea that i was pregnant!

I remember feeling so utterly humiliated when she told me. I was quite a shy person at the time and even now i really don't like to be the centre of attention. I was also quite upset as i thought someone close to me had betrayed my trust, even though i didn't know who. It stuck with me for quite a while afterwards and made me feel really quite sick at the thought of it.

Anyway. Fast forward to today. I had a few friends over for coffee on my day off, one of which was the friend who told me about the gossip. She mentioned that she'd seen the mother of someone in our year at school the other day and had got talking to her. Anyway, the mum, really oddly, asked how I was doing. Friend said fine and she didn't know we knew each other. The mum then said that we don't, but she remembers when i was pregnant as she worked in admin at the doctors surgery where i was receiving my antenatal care and that she had been the person who had told friend's parents at the meeting
She said she had noticed the name on my file, thought it sounded familiar and then asked her child wether we were the same person and bloody well told them i was pregnant! She then saw friend's parents and thought she'd confirm i was the same person with them too!

I'm flipping fuuuuming! Surely she's broken the Data Protection act by doing that? Worst thing was that friend said she didn't even seem to think she'd done anything wrong. She also now works at the hospital where i'm due to have my second DS in two months time (strange, because i now live in a different county!)

Obviously officially complaining about this woman 7 years after she'd shared this info would be totally nuts. But please someone tell me that she was out of order?

She was out of order and completely unprofessional.

I don't think it would be at all nuts to complain about it now. You've only just been made aware of it.

She sounds incompetent and dismissive of others, and needs dealing with by the health service who employ her and who are responsible for her breaches of patient confidentiality.

I'm glad everything worked out ok for you - must have been tough.

I would complain!

If she did it then she could do it again (to anyone). Totally, totally unacceptable.

You poor thing, no wonder you're upset and annoyed. I'd definitely complain about her, it's not like you've know for seven years and them decided to complain, you've not just found out. I can't believe anyone would do that, and then to confess that she had done it to someone she barely knows! what a horrible betrayal of your trust.

She should not have access to any personal information as she clearly cannot be trusted. It may be that she has done this before or that her colleagues have suspicions about her so you complaining could ensure she never does this again!

I'm really sorry this happened to you but glad everything has worked out for you and your son

Your right, it's really unprofessional of her and worrying that she now works in a hospital if he has so little regard for patient confidentiality.

That is dreadful. No-one in a position of trust should be sharing information they have come across at work with anybody. It is so beyond wrong. If she's still working in the health field I think you'd be perfectly within your rights to complain about her, even after this long. She could be still doing the same thing.

she was COMPLETELY out of order and she must have known she was doing wrong. Even the stereotypical old fashioned doctor's receptionist "OI MR JONES HOW'S THOSE NASTY WARTS?" must twig that maybe a pregnant 17 year old wouldn't want it spreading about without her knowledge.
(I hope you don't take offence obviously it has worked out well for you but 17 is young to have a baby, and you'd think she might realise that!)

Perhaps put this on Legal thread so that you can contact and inform the correct people. As she has left the surgery she worked in they won't do anything I shouldn't think.

Very wrong of her to do that. Most likely a sackable offence.

(My friend from school was on a Youth Training Scheme as a gp's receptionist and told me, and several others that one of our old school mates was pregnant. She complained when she found out and friend got sacked on the spot)

That is really, really nasty.

I think perhaps she thought since you were 17 and technically not an adult, she could somehow treat you like a child? What a horrible thing to do. It's hard enough when people will insist on gossiping but that is completely unacceptable.

(Not that it'd be ok to do that about a child either, I know, it's just difficult to imagine her trying to get away with it had you been, say, 35 and pregnant.)

This is something the NHS are incredibly strict about, I've been on some of the training courses in this area and I think you'd be doing lots of other people a favour if you lodged a formal complaint. If she doesn't know she's done something wrong, she won't change her behaviour, and then someone much more vulnerable could be damaged.

This is really bad , I'm a nurse and I'd lose my job over something like this , chances are if you make complaint nothing major will happen but I think it will be flagged up to the woman and maybe make her realise she had no right to disclose your information to all and sundry.

Complain, she probably does that to everybody.

I would agree to complaining, as you've only just found out about this. She does need to be taught the error of her ways.

I would complain, truly.

Unbelievably unprofessional and totally out of order. It was none of her business and she had no reason other than to gossip for doing what she did. I would complain in writing and make it official.

You have every right to be angry now, as now when you found out who it was.

Absolutely complain. She should not be working there.

The time frame is irrelevant.

What a horrible betrayal of you trust. You haven't known for 7 years and kept quiet, so I imagine you'd be quite jusified in complaining now.

Vile. And just as bad, she is STILL discussing your confidential information inappropriately 7 years later!

She is obviously someone who uses this information as a way of feeling powerful. You should report her.

Oh my goodness, how awful! I would definitely complain. That's not on at all. I had a horrible gossipy HV when I had DD2 and she told my FIL, whom she knew, that I was suffering from PND. I complained about her and demanded a new HV and an apology.

This is very bad. The time frame is completely irrelevant here. She needs to be disciplined at the very least.

I'd be really pissed off. Problem is she now has a different employer so I don't see the pointing complaining. If she still worked there then I'd say complain.

I think that even though she has a different employer, her actions merit some complaint. After all, she could be doing the same to other people, whose records she's seeing now.