To think confidentiality at hospitals is terrible

[Saucysusieisinbed]

Admitted yesterday for knee operation. Full nursing completed at bedside. (Name, date of birth, address) full medical history, kids etc.

Handover completed at each bedside so easy to hear what’s going on with each person.

Ward round completed again at bedside.

I guess logistically the hospitals will always struggle to manage this. When cqc visited our place (mental health) they were really harsh on us having a soundproof room but it not being away from client area.

I have never been in hosp before but was pretty surprised but I also don’t know the answer!

Agree. It’s shocking. I remember being admitted a few times where all conversations take place on an open ward where anyone can hear (other patients, staff and visitors). Being asked loudly if there is any possibility of being pregnant; why was I sure that I couldn’t be pregnant, asked when my last period was, and then, being told in the A&E waiting room (in front of many other patients) that my pregnancy test was negative. Visiting my MiL, the nurse then started nagging her (in front of me) that she was underweight and her BMi was too low. I was horrified on her behalf. She is a really private person, and i know she didn’t want me knowing what weight she is. Patient dignity really isn’t a thing on the NHs

We have to have bedside handover, it’s about involving the patient in their care. Where else would ward rounds be done if not with the patient?

But how would you fix this? Space is at a premium. There isn’t anywhere else to take the patients to.

I say this all the time about my local hospitals. I’ve taken to telling them if they want to discuss my medical history or anything private they need to find a private room because I’m not discussing it with an audience of strangers.

This was following a friend being admitted and being on a ward where they were told they had to have curtains open at all times to ‘socialise’ despite it being a mixed ward and some needing to discuss private issues regarding their conditions- I heard the elderly lady next cubicle over saying how she didn’t want to discuss it because anyone could hear. They continued anyway and went to examine her when I got up and pulled her curtains around and told them straight that she was a patient who deserved dignity and strangers not hearing her business not a piece of meat in the supermarket. Ffs they told her she needed to pass a bowel movement because it had been x amount of days within earshot of strangers.

It’s foul. And I’m dreading my own op next month

People go into hospital to get medical treatment, they are hard pressed for time and space, they don’t have time to worry about hurt feelings.

You could go to a private hospital/doctor if you are that upset

how does that hold up under gdpr?
probably badly. this is as confidential as information can get.

I am not saying I am that upset. I was saying I was surprised and in my mental health hospital we manage it completely confidentiality even with physical health issues

Women across for me just offered her methadone at full blast!

OP I'm also in hospital with my knee. I've thankfully been moved to my own room but my previous bedmates were equally charming!!

I love it when they draw the curtains around the bed as though this gives privacy.

My pregnancy and labour notes went 'missing. They were eventually found in 'a room' more than a year later. I complained at length to PALS - eventually they were found and I was given a copy of them. Shocking.

Correct care to the people who need it (and not the wrong person or wrong care) trumps privacy; also, people being treated need to be told at moment of treatment what they are getting and why.

I look forward to hearing about OP campaigning hard for tax rises soon so the NHS can afford completely different care model to ensure more privacy.

People go into hospital to get medical treatment, they are hard pressed for time and space, they don’t have time to worry about hurt feelings

Yup. Me and my silly hurt feelings, when two student doctors asked about the unusual damage to my cervix, when I was in for a hysterectomy. That’d be the damage caused by childhood sexual abuse. But sure never mind, privacy is so unimportant. 🙄

Correct care to the people who need it (and not the wrong person or wrong care) trumps privacy; also, people being treated need to be told at moment of treatment what they are getting and why.

This may be so, but people need to be made explicitly aware that doing this WILL compromise their confidentiality and privacy and it should be acknowledged that this can cause distress.

They could talk quietly tbh. But I've found hospital staff make zero effort to keep their voices down, even at night.

Of course you're right, but the problem is that the NHS is suffering from decades of under-investment. There is no easy fix - I've worked for the NHS for years and believe me if there was any way to fix issues like this then they would be fixed.

However if the general population still wants a free at the point of care, universal health for all system, then this is what there is. It's not the fault of hospital trusts. It's not the fault of medical staff. There simply is not the provision of single rooms in order to have these discussions with patients. Just because there "ought" to be, doesn't mean it will happen.

The NHS is on its knees. How the hell it continues to operate is a bit of a miracle really. I dread having to need hospital treatment, I really do. My daughter has just started work as a nurse and the horror stories she tells me about under-staffing, over worked staff, shortage of beds etc is truly chilling. And this isn't any kind of seasonal crisis thing - her hospital operates like this all the time.

I'm afraid that what we are seeing is the legacy of decades of government interference and under-funding.

Unless our taxes rise dramatically to pay for a properly funded and run health service - this is what we have. Scary.

to be fair it is pretty shocking - in a childrens hospital, DCs issues were discussed in front of the other parents in the room, but god forbid I have a flick through the notes carelessly left at the bedside - they berated me and snatched them away in a flash stating I didn't have the patients permission... DC was just weeks old!

Yes, I remember aged 16, when going for an IVP (x ray of the kidneys), being asked loudly by the receptionist in front of a room full of people, and in particular my mother:

"ARE YOU PREGNANT? IT IS VERY IMPORTANT WE KNOW AS IT COULD BE HARMFUL TO THE BABY?"

I was mortified, because I was a virgin!

Yanbu, I have a relative in hospital and heard the nurse very loudly talking about their bowel movements so the whole ward could hear, my poor relative was mortified

Agree it’s a difficult one to manage. Some staff have particularly penetrating voices which is tricky to fix within policy and guidelines. Some of the examples given here should be challenged at the time which isn’t at all easy.

Another place in hospitals where patient privacy is nil is the whiteboards on the walls in almost every area giving all sorts of details.

Staying private within the nhs is hard.

A lot of older patients are hard of hearing and you can’t speak quietly! There is nowhere else to take patients to talk to them. Even if there was, many of them aren’t mobile so it would involve pushing beds around etc.

I really emphasise with the points made but realistically what are your suggestions on how to solve this? You cant shift a person out of bed into a private room every time you want to discuss something or carry out some sort of procedure or test. There simply isnt the staff or the room and often patients struggle with mobility issues. All healthcare practitioners should be aiming to speak quietly but sometimes this just isn't possible.

I agree about the personal data - anything which could identify me outside of the hospital is stuff I would rather they did not share around for my own privacy and personal security. Telling everyone in the room I have to stay in overnight and then giving out my address is surely begging to get me robbed, right? 🤣

As for the medical stuff, they can crack on. I will bluntly answer about any medical condition they ask me about because I want the best care. I had to have bowel surgery earlier this year and have had more than enough discussions about vomiting and bowel movements that I'm completely immune... And this is after pregnancy and all of that horror. I'll merrily talk to medical students, show them my scars, describe my symptoms in detail. But that's just me, my meat suit doesn't embarrass me. I'll probably never see any of these people again and either they are professionals or they are going through some shit themselves and I'll probably never see them again. Meh.

I work on a mental health setting within nhs and we have handovers to professionals in separate room (but not away from pt area as cqc pointed out🙈)

Then patients are brought into ward round and key worker handover. More time consuming but works.

Might be more difficult with drips etc though

We used to do staff handover in the staff room. But the staff room was taken away and turned into a patient side room.

So handovers had to be done bedside.