To think that this is a breach of patient confidentiality?

[mamaggie]

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?

yes it was insensitive and breached Pt confidentiality,putting you in v fraught situation of having to discuss private family business
you could complain
but got to decide how how you want to expend your energies because complaining will be stressful

Yes she shouldnt have said it, but you didnt have to go into detail or explain anything to anyone. You could have just brushed over it and asked your colleagues about their earrings surely?
I dont see what you would acheive by complaining about it, but perhaps you could speak to her and tell her she made you feel uncomfortable. We're all human, and we all make mistakes.

YANBU - it was a breach of confidentiality and a stupid way to start a conversation. I notice she used your first name - do you know her? I guess that will affect how you choose to proceed.

YANBU however I concur that no malice was involved and this was human error (in judgement).

I would have reminded her of her priviledged position in knowing your family's health records and how it makes you feel that she shares them.

I have had a similar experience and it rankles to this day and I wish I'd addressed it at the time with the person concerned

At no point was the OP made to discuss the sensitive issue of her dd.

She could have said the the nurse about it not being up for discussion, and the friends or whoever were listening in would also know not to ask questions.

I also would presume that if my friend had not told me about an illness, it was not a subject she wanted to discuss so would not have even asked the OP about it.

The shite that nurses go through honestly. We all make mistskes. If someone was going to shove a complaint in for every basic human error, nobody would be a nurse. Shit pay, and conditions much of the time, with the threat of someone wrecking your career at the first mishap.

The majority of nurses are doing the job because they love the job. The job satisfaction is what keeps them going. Because it sure as hell isn't much else

I would complain, because I don't think this is the sort of thing that can be explained by human error. She had time to think about what she said and the fact that she said it in front of other people shows a massive lack of common sense. I'd be worried about what else she has said, it seems likely that of she can do that, she would also be prone to breaking confidentiality at other times.

I would complain.

The outcome I'd be looking for would be a warning letter to the retired nurse reminding her that she is still expected to maintain patient confidentiality and stop her from doing the same thing again to someone else.

Silly silly woman. What on earth was she thinking?!

She may be retired but if she still does any bank shifts she will be registered with NMC. Check online on the NMC register for her name.

I have no intention of seeking compensation, whoever suggested that - bloody hell, I was annoyed but that's ridiculous.

I shall go round and see her after work today and tell her that talking about my DD in front of others (who don't know the specifics of her illness) was out of order. It's up to my daughter who she tells and how much she wants them to know about her prognosis. She doesn't like being the object of pity.

I felt like I was being disloyal to her, by being forced to acknowledge her illness in front of people who don't know her.

I will be happy with an apology.

I think you do need to talk to her. Tell her how you feel and let her apologize. No need to be confrontational as I imagine she meant no harm and felt genuine concern. She does need to know when to keep her mouth shut though.

She certainly does need to know when to keep her mouth shut - just because she has retired doesn't give her license to discuss former patients. I expect she was trying to be sympathetic, but she should let people she knows from her previous job, be the ones to open the dialogue about health issues, not her. And she's not a friend either, I know her as well as I know the woman who runs the wheelie-bin washing business.

She probably spoke without thinking. I bet she wouldn't approach the local vicar and ask him how his haemorrhoids were healing though.

(That is not a breach of confidentiality on my part, I wouldn't know the local vicar if I fell over him, and as for whether he has piles....)

YANBU

I would complain to the practice so that they can:

a - contact her themselves to remind her about patient confidentiality (how many other people has she done this to?)
b - ensure that all confidentiality training is up to date especially for employees exiting the practice

I wouldnt contact her directly

YANBU shocking breach and the woman was also insensitive towards you and your daughter , I dont think there is anybody you can complain to though , maybe your health centre and they can review their results policies , but if a secretary or receptionist is going to see them then there isnt anything a patient can do ,

No fucking way would I let this go, what an absolutely outrageous thing to have done!

Retired or not, I'd be seeing what I could do to take this further.

Stupid, fucking bitch.

oh she was a nurse i read it wrong i thought she was admin staff , as a nurse thats bloody worse she should know better , I guess she thought she was entitled because she knew you but still a breach and insensitve although she was being sympathetic,

Agree with Gnome, let us know how you get on

I wouldn't complain. She was very silly but her heart was in the right place. I'm not saying you SHOULDN'T complain, I think you're within your rights. I'm more than aware how easy it is to lose your job because of a slip of the tongue as I've been on the receiving end of a verbal warning about it (my slip was to a colleague working in the same house, but she wasn't directly involved with the service user I was responsible for) and as jobs are difficult to find it could have devastating consequences. She may not work at the same place now but she might still be working in the same field.

Have a think about how you'd feel if the roles were reversed.

Gossiping about a patient's test results in public is not "silly", it shows an incredible lack of basic understanding of your moral and legal obligations as a HCP.

Her heart was in the wrong place - wanting to blather about how she had been affected by a child's medical test results is so crass, so self-obsessed that it would have been a big error of judgement to have brought this up, even if she hadn't been doing it in public and breaching the child's right to the confidentiality of her medical files.

The NHS is presumably still paying her pension, so she is absolutely not beyond the law on this.

Hmm, I can see both sides on this but think, overall,you're doing the right thing by going to see her yourself.

You can decide whether or not to take it further once you see her reaction. I would hope she will be utterly mortified.

I wouldn't speak to her myself. I think she needs a formal reminder that breaching confidentiality in this way is totally unacceptable. I'm astonished after - what I presume is a long time Nursing and a senior position - that she made such a 'slip'. IME this is the sort of thing that happens early in a career and is never forgotten.

I like to think I would have said something immediately but the reality is that I'd probably have been too shocked and upset.

Reading this has made me want to leave the nhs. Not because I don't think she should have done this, clearly it was stupid and unthinking, but because of the nasty comments. I live in fear of getting something wrong every day and these expressions of hatred just don't help. You never get any thanks just complaints and anger.

karismatik, so if someone does something ILLEGAL people shouldn't complain?

Good grief. Leave the NHS then. It sounds like you want a situation where people are not able to complain when they have a good and legitimate reason to.

No matter how much HCP might be afraid of getting things wrong, they should be held accountable if they do.

It wasn't "stupid and unthinking" it was unethical and illegal.

If you want thanks for not being able to manage to comply with the most basic requirements if your job, then maybe you should give up working anywhere.

I don''t think that poster was begging for thanks Athing, she was stating how it is always complaints, or nothing.

And as for the poster who called the nurse a "stupid fucking bitch'' - umm nice. Let's hope you or a loved one never needs the help of a ""stupid fucking bitch" who may have made a slip up {not gossiped as someone saysas it was clearly not that if you read the OP because she was talking to the OP about the OP daughter so hardly gossip} at the end of a quite possibly long and successful career.

I am quite surprised at some of these comments actually.I never realised mn was so full of angry misgiving people. It is plainly obvious what this woman did was wong, and it should not have happened, but i still feel the OP needs to speak to her directly to say she had been upset byt the remark, and I Know the nurse would be mortified. As would anyone else who had made such an error in their field.