Question about NHS staff looking themselves up on medical system

[whatisdrowsybutawake]

Hi, my DH is a newly qualified mental health psychiatrist and has been employed by NHS (Scotland) for few months. I have name changed for this post.

He admitted yesterday that out of curiosity he looked himself up on the system, and was able to access records from when he received treatment for his own mental health. He quickly realised this was inappropriate and is now very worried that this will be picked up in an audit and he could face disciplinary.

Does anyone have experience of this, or know if he is likely to be caught? He is unsure whether to raise it with his manager or just keep quiet about it. Thanks

Clerkess? Is this 1967? ( misses point of thread entirely)

Sacked more than one nurse for sharing their log ons.

doctors are almost untouchable though.

Only in England. The OP is in Scotland. I’m in Wales. We don’t have the app.

Things are better now, but when I first qualified, it was standard for junior doctors not to be given access to systems they needed access to in order to do their jobs. For example, there was a system for referring patients for a neurosurgical review in the next trust over. As we were not neurosurgeons, we weren’t allowed a log in. But you couldn’t refer a head injury patient any other way. So THE ENTIRE TRUST including consultants used some former SHO’s login - the password was “Zaynmalikisgreat02”. Every so often it would change to “Zaynmalikisgreat03” etc and everyone would lose access until we worked out what it had changed to. Completely ridiculous and dangerous. Nobody shares log ins for fun.

one had trained her team wrongly, advising they get a booking system by using her log in and going through her record, which they queried as they were not sure it was okay and she told them it was how they had to do it. It wasn’t how the system worked and wasn’t necessary because all of her team had logins. She had worked for the organisation for 20 years. There was no justification for such poor systems management.

I have accidentally clicked on my nhs file but didn’t look at anything on it but then looked on my sons to stupidly check the medication the nurse had recommended he start on so I could request it from his gp, however I work in the department that he is under so wondered whether this would be flagged up. I don’t know why I did it, I recently lost my dad and my son was badgering me to order his new medication. I’m so worried I’m going to loose my job.

Im sorry, but how can you accidentally click on your file you have to search and out in details. And for your son also as records are not linked. It is literally the first thing you are told as an NHS worker- do not search for people who are not you patients. You could be sacked for this, theres really no excuse

Thanks for your helpful comment. I didn’t comment on here to be made to feel worse than I already do. I know I shouldn’t have looked on my sons file, it was a split second and I didn’t think! It was an accident that I clicked on my own file first however I didn’t look at anything on it.

I think you need to speak to your line manager and let them know what happened. It's a lesson learned and I very much doubt you'll lose your job, just have a stern talking to.
I'm not sure how you can "accidentally" click on your own file as there are steps to follow to access records. You can't just knock the keyboard and you're in.

I searched up my sons file and my whole family came up and I accidentally clicked on my own file but clicked off it as soon as I did it. I did intentionally mean to look at my sons notes but purely to remember the medication the nurse had told him to go on so I could request it from the gp. However as he is under the department I work for anyway, I didn’t know whether this would flag up? I absolutely know I shouldn’t look anyone’s file including my own and I don’t know why I did it, but like I said I recently lost my dad just before Xmas and my son was harassing me to get his medication ordered. I know it’s not an excuse and I feel so upset with myself. I’m so scared to flag it up in case they sack me for it and I live my job.

Yep. Will get picked up. Will be a problem.

The NHS app people mention on here is not available on scotland. Anyone can apply to see their records but you have to apply. You can't just look. There is good evidence that people who think it's OK to breech policies like this will breech other policies, so it's risky behaviour.

Can I ask how you know this? Have you had experience of people being sacked and how long would it take for them to contact me?

Seems a bit OTT to sack a nurse over it and then say ‘doctors are untouchable.’

Perhaps doctors are under the management of their clinical lead, also likely a doctor, and thankfully doctors tend not to make rash, knee jerk reactions.

in my NHS trust, you can access notes for caseloads where you have automatic right to view - your own ward for example, or patients under your wider team.

if you try to access anything else, you have to give a reason in a free text field. I assume that those are the ones that are audited. You’d be a bit daft to make up a reason and enter it into that box.

Ive never had a message flag up to give a reason why I’m accessing a persons notes. There have been occasions when I have accessed notes of a patient that hasn’t been seen in our department and it has never been audited or mentioned to me. Obviously This is for genuine reasons. I don’t work on a ward and I’m not a medical professional so I’m not sure if they have different prompts to me. I just wondered as my son is under our department whether it would be flag up in an audit?

I know it’s something I will never do again though.

He knew what he was doing & I hope he does get disciplined. If he views rules on confidentiality as flexible & thinks rules don't apply then 100% he should not be a consultant. I doubt he's the only one & wouldn't surprise me if NHS turns a blind eye (they seem to for doctors) but it's very wrong

Hey, what was the end result of this?

Some things are not on there and if you want to see them you have to do a subject access request (even then some info can be withheld in limited circumstances) but it has to be done this way. What OP describes is a circumnavigation of the legal system to obtain your own medical history and depending on the trust it could be quite a serious offence.

Did anything come of this?