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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think that this is a breach of patient confidentiality?

65 replies

mamaggie · 19/02/2012 13:30

My daughter (17 now) was diagnosed with a degenerative illness in late childhood.

Last night, whilst out for a friend's birthday, I was approached by the (now retired) practise nurse at the surgery, offering condolences. She said - in front of work colleagues and assorted acquaintances - "oh Maggie my heart sank when I saw the results of X's blood tests" - leaving me having to then have to go into more detail than is required about my child's health and prognosis.

AIBU to think she should just fuck right off?

OP posts:

bucketbetty · 19/02/2012 13:33

Yes indeed it's a breach of confidentiality and a rather stupid thing to do. What a silly woman. You could make a complaint. Ring PALS if you want to discuss further.

susiedaisy · 19/02/2012 13:34

YANBU she shouldn't of said that in front of others. How did she see the results if she's retired?

susiedaisy · 19/02/2012 13:37

Oh was your Dd illness diagnosed sometime ago and the women was talking about old blood tests?

BreastmilkDoesAFabLatte · 19/02/2012 13:45

Yes - unequivocal breach. If she simply wanted to ask how your DD was, she could simply have come up to you and said 'hi Maggie, how's your DD?' thereby leaving you free to disclose as much as you wanted or simply to reply 'she's fine thanks, how's your DD?' and thereby revealing nothing.

belgo · 19/02/2012 13:47

YANBU. Totally unprofessional.

Rhinestone · 19/02/2012 13:49

A complete breach of confidentiality and totally wrong. I would make a formal complaint but not sure how this would work given that she's retired.

What did you say to her?

Original poster

mamaggie · 19/02/2012 14:00

I told her I liked her earrings and ignored the request for information about my daughter's health.

The retired practise nurse was referring to the original results back in 2005 when she was working at the surgery.

OP posts:

susiedaisy · 19/02/2012 14:04

Sounds like she incorrectly assumed that most people knew as it was from 2005, doesn't make it right though,

CrashLanded · 19/02/2012 14:19

Whether the results were from 2005 or yesterday, she breached patient confidentiality. The retired nurse was discussing with you a third person's (albeit your daughter) medical records at a party in front of others. Not on. I would be very angry.

Levantine · 19/02/2012 14:25

Terrible. I would complain I think

NotWell · 19/02/2012 14:31

Cheeky and rude and terrible. I would also complain. Sorry you had to discuss your DD when you were not prepared for it nor' wanting to. Sounds like an ignorant woman to me.

Original poster

mamaggie · 19/02/2012 15:53

Okay. So who do I complain to? The lady is retired. The NMC will have no jurisdiction over her, nor will the practise she used to work for.

OP posts:

HexagonalQueenOfTheSummer · 19/02/2012 15:55

Hmmm I'm not sure if there is anywhere you can complain to tbh. She sounds very unprofessional. I would have said something about it to her there and then.

McHappyPants2012 · 19/02/2012 16:03

I would contact pals

fullofregrets · 19/02/2012 16:04

It was unprofessional, but it is difficult because she isn't actually in the profession now! Maybe she said it without thinking and was horrified afterwards? She might have been kicking herself retrospectively. Still very annoying though, she shouldn't have said anything because she doesn't know how much you have disclosed to other people.

bucketbetty · 19/02/2012 16:06

You can still complain. There will be an investigation. You can contact PALS
www.pals.nhs.uk/cmsContentView.aspx?Itemid=944.

It doesn't matter that she doesn't work there anymore, it's not about her personally, it's about the information being leaked or did you say she already knew? If she already knew and she's retired there's really very little you can probably do. She clearly wasn't thinking properly; it was very inappropriate.

LaughingGas · 19/02/2012 16:21

tbh i actually don't think she meant the least bit of harm. Honestly I don't.
BUT she has breached confidentialility. I would say she has presumed that because this is 7 years ago, the people you were at the party with are friends who would presumably inow about your dd illness. And in a lapse moment of stupidity has spoken about it when clearly she shouldn't.

I expect that she would be mortified if she thought about what she has done.

belgo · 19/02/2012 16:24

Do you really want to complain? She was wrong, but it will cause her a lot of stress if you do complain.

WilsonFrickett · 19/02/2012 16:26

I would hope that if you phoned the current practice manager and explained the situation s/he would write a letter to remind her that even though she is no longer employed by the practice, she is still expected to respect patient confidentiality. I'm not sure if there could be an official complaint given she's retired. But I would start by phoning the practice manager tomorrow and seeing what she suggests. YANBU.

LaughingGas · 19/02/2012 16:29

i am with belgo.

It would have been better to have had a word at the time, rather than contacting relevant agencies.

The woman, as i said would no doubt be mortified. She won't want to end her career on some orm of legal action.

As a nurse, I feel for her as well as you. But she is human.

HexagonalQueenOfTheSummer · 19/02/2012 17:04

belgo, and the woman didn't cause the OP stress by forcing her to explain to her friends about her DD's condition?

It's all very well some of you saying the OP shouldn't complain and that the nurse is only human but at the end of the day a fundamental part of nursing is confidentiality. This applies to every nurse working in the UK. thousands of nurses manage to protect confidentiality, why should this nurse not have to?

LaughingGas · 19/02/2012 17:13

well, each to their own , but as a nurse, I would have looked at it from a fellow clinicians point of view and thought. God what a terrible Human Error, but knowing that everyone makes mistakes, and that everyone is human, I would let it go.

If the OP had felt that strongly about all this, she woud have said to this woman, that she was shocked that she was clearly breaching confidentiality. At the time.

I suppose we need to ask the OP what she would like from alll of this. An apology or are we going down the compensation route??????

Mia4 · 19/02/2012 17:14

YANBU. Personally i wouldn't complain about her to the profession, unless she starts on again but i would send her a letter explaining that it was a breech of confidentiality, it upset you and she really shouldn't discuss those kinds of things. It gives her the chance to apologize to you and p off in future.

TheMonster · 19/02/2012 17:17

I would complain. It might be that the current staff get more training on confidentiality (which the woman in question should have had) so it doesn't happen again.

belgo · 19/02/2012 17:52

Yes she did cause stress. But as others have said, this is human error, and she is probably mortified at her foot in mouth mistake.

This is why nurses are advised to have have insurance long after retirement, because they can be called up for anything. However long the career, however good the service, a small mistake can ruin someone.

What would be the point of complaining? Make her pay for her mistake? Looking for compensation? Punishment?

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