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Original poster

NHS - Who do I report this to?

34 replies

WickedlyPetite · 12/03/2020 12:31

Long story short, there is some poor woman out there who is dreadfully ill and having lots of different treatments, and the NHS keep sending appointments, test results, consultant letters, to my address.

This woman has never lived here and each time I get a letter I inform the department/secretary/booking line, that they've got the wrong address.

Another letter has turned up today for her to attend an appointment on Monday. They're taking the piss now. They're breaching data protection and I've got copies of 4 emails informing them they're sending all this stuff to the wrong address.

Who can I report this to? There's clearly some kind of IT system failure or human error at their end needs sorting.

OP posts:
FlibbertyGiblets · 12/03/2020 12:33

Tbh I would hand to your MP. They can sort stuff like this.

ArtisanBreadBin · 12/03/2020 12:35

PALS? That's ridiculous and a huge GDPR issue. You could try the ICO but the trust should have a data protection officer.

ChardonnaysPetDragon · 12/03/2020 12:39

That's really bad.

It's a breach of GDRP and that woman must be missing her appointments.

Can you look up their ICO officer, it should be on the trust's website.

FormerlyFrikadela01 · 12/03/2020 12:40

How do you know the content of the letters? Presumably you've been opening the letters... stop doing that.

By all means get in touch with the data protection officer at the trust however you should just be writing unknown at this address and putting them back in the post box. The letters are not for you to open.

Original poster
WickedlyPetite · 12/03/2020 12:45

I sent the first two back with 'not known at this address'.

Which clearly did sod all.

So yes, I am opening them.

If I don't phone the department this woman is meant to be at on Monday she will probably be recorded as 'did not attend', because sending the letter back 'not known at this address' won't even get there by Monday.

OP posts:
HappyHammy · 12/03/2020 12:47

Don't open them, you need to get in touch with the Information Governance Department or Hospital Records and inform them that you are receiving her post. If there is any mention of her GP then you can also contact them.

HappyHammy · 12/03/2020 12:51

Maybe it would be better to contact PALS at the hospital, by phone and email and tell them that you are getting her post and that if her records are not updated immediately you will contact the ICO. Perhaps the patient gave out the wrong address. Don't open any more, you don't need to now.

Original poster
WickedlyPetite · 12/03/2020 12:59

Ha when googling who is the hospitals data protection officer - the first google hit was a story from September 2019 where the trust admitted that a serious data breach had occurred involving thousands of patients medical records.

Unbelievable.

Anyway I've emailed the Data Protection Officer, copying in Pals and all of the previous secretaries, etc that I've emailed. Hopefully that'll do it.

OP posts:
PawPawNoodle · 12/03/2020 13:00

I would be cautious about blaming the secretary for this - it's just as plausible that the woman has used your address to be in her chosen catchment to get treatment at that hospital. I know at least one person that does this because the care available at that hospital is better than the local, although they do have the good sense to use the address of someone they know.

They also may not be able to change the address until the patient confirms that it's incorrect and gives the alternative (this would be to protect from malicious reports of not being at an address, which isn't the case for you but could be for someone else).

I'm not sure it'd be classed as a data breach given that the letter is addressed to her in a sealed envelope, regardless of the address.

SillySpaniel · 12/03/2020 13:00

There is no need to keep opening these letters. Please stop. It is illegal to open mail not addresses to you without a reasonable excuse. You've opened one so you know who to contact about the error. Speak to PALS at the hospital because it's a serious breach of GDPR

mumwon · 12/03/2020 13:09

@SillySpaniel that is inaccurate - you can open letter - so long as you don't use the letter to the disadvantage of the person its addressed to which op is patently not - rather the reverse -I checked this when receiving old tenants debt mail (& that was another nightmare) Op is trying to get the post directed to the patient concerned & has done everything she can
I bet the person concerned has moved & they cant trace her - suggest to PALS that they should contact her GP?

Daffodil55 · 12/03/2020 13:10

Similar situation to mine. I get medical reminders and invitations for screening for a person who probably lived at my address around 20 years ago and I can not trace them myself (they may be dead or living in another part of world) and all I can do is return the large envelopes with "Not known at this address" Yes I used to open the correspondence but no longer do that. It is always from NHS departments and the envelopes show this.
This has been going on for more than 5 years.
Admin at it's worst but not unusual in my experience.

Spam88 · 12/03/2020 13:12

It absolutely is a data breach. A letter being sent to the wrong address is one of the standard examples they use in all information governance training ive done.

If you don't get anywhere with your most recent snail then I'd report to the ICO (although they should have done this themselves when you first reported it, but seems unlikely given they still haven't sorted the problem).

SillySpaniel · 12/03/2020 15:54

@mumwon yes as I said it is illegal without a reasonable excuse as is stated in the Postal Service Act 2000. OP had an excuse to open ONE letter which was acceptable to be able to inform them of the mistake and have the error corrected but not every single letter from the hospital with this poor woman's name on.

SharpieInThe · 12/03/2020 16:19

Talking mince there @SillySpaniel

SillySpaniel · 12/03/2020 16:27

@SharpieInThe http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/26/part/V/crossheading/offences-of-interfering-with-the-mail

"A person commits an offence if, intending to act to a person’s detriment and without reasonable excuse, he opens a postal packet which he knows or reasonably suspects has been incorrectly delivered to him."

There is no excuse to open every single letter. If you think that's "talking mince" then that's your opinion but there is legislation about interfering with post so I suggest you have a read. HTH Grin

CuriousaboutSamphire · 12/03/2020 16:34

"A person commits an offence if, intending to act to a person’s detriment and without reasonable excuse, he opens a postal packet which he knows or reasonably suspects has been incorrectly delivered to him." Except the bit you quote allows for what OP is doing, She isn't trying to act in anyone's detriment, quite the opposite. She has a perfectly reasonable excuse for what she is doing!

I do the same thing with a variety of local council correspondence to the previous owner of our house. I open them to get the name of the person sending the letter and any relevant account number. Then I email them with as much detail as I have. It is in the previous owner' best interests to get some of these. What I am doing is not illegal, is not 'interfering with the mail'. OP's actions are much the same!

SillySpaniel · 12/03/2020 16:47

Yes it is a reasonable excuse for ONE letter but not every single one! Nothing more is being gained by opening them. OP knows where they've come from so no further information from the letters can help.

CuriousaboutSamphire · 12/03/2020 16:54

??? Different appointments that the intended recipient is missing? OP is telling the possibly different departments, specialist etc that there has been a cock up! Given the expense of hospital appts, it seems reasonable to me!

ChardonnaysPetDragon · 12/03/2020 16:56

The intended recipient is clearly not missing all of her appointments, because some letters are test results and consultant letters.

Not ideal though.

Original poster
WickedlyPetite · 12/03/2020 17:24

@SillySpaniel if I hadn't opened some of these letters and informed the relevant hospital departments (I'm assuming they've then contacted her some other way to tell her of these appointments, as she is going to appointments and having treatment) she'd have missed lots of them and might even be dead by now.

And I'm not being dramatic either.

Like I have already said, this letter today is an appointment for Monday. So if I stick it back in the post 'return to sender' it won't even be back at the hospital by Monday - and she possibly misses her appointment.

I've been transparent with the hospital each time that I've opened the letters, and I've given the hospital a chance of rectifying their mistake and making sure she's there at her appointments - I've done this with every. single. letter. bar the first two.

If they want to report me to the police or take legal action against me they're more than welcome Hmm.

OP posts:
SillySpaniel · 12/03/2020 17:29

It doesn't matter if the letters have potentially been sent from different departments. They are still being sent from the same hospital and it's not up to OP to chase these potentially different departments. The hospital have only one PALS and one data protection officer. They should have taken the steps necessary to make sure this patient's data is updated. OP shouldn't have been put in this situation in the first place. The hospital is at fault for not rectifying the error in the first instance.

Beachagain · 12/03/2020 17:30

Im glad you are trying to help this poor woman Sad

Howmanysleepsnow · 12/03/2020 17:32

Google to see how to contact that NHS Trust’s Caldicott Guardian. Contact them.

titchy · 12/03/2020 17:34

Sillysoaniel the key bit of the legislation is INTENDING TO ACT IN THE PERSONS DETRIMENT.

Your link ffs. There is nothing wrong legally with the OP opening this post. Stop spreading incorrect rubbish.

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