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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to report this?

60 replies

avoidingcleaningagain · 06/04/2019 14:45

Posting here for traffic as I know I should report this really.

Friend is in a job in a medical setting. She herself is not medical.

Got talking last week and she mentioned something about another friend of mine (call her A) who had a baby in December. I queried how she could know this information (it was to do with how A gave birth last year) and she said that she had been doing some back logged admin work moving paper onto electronic copies and knew when A had given birth so looked her up on the list.

I'm a bit confused about this. I think from what she has said that the maternity unit must have a record on paper of everyone who gave birth that day or something and she was moving them onto the computer system and decided to look for A.

Now clearly it is not a secret that A has had a baby girl but friend knew the details of the birth (think the method of birth, c section, instrumental etc).

I was taken aback when she casually told me this and said she is not allowed to do that. She said ah it was just coincidence which completely backtracked on what she had said about looking A up.

I feel I should report this as obviously she should not be looking up people who she knows medical history and I am also concerned she may do the same to me when I give birth next month. Am I projecting? I know A has not made all of the details of her birth (was quite traumatic) public and would probably be upset to know my friend has done this. A and I have already discussed the birth but what if I hadn't already known?

Also worried it will be my word against hers as I guess she could have stumbled on the info by accident.

OP posts:
Cantthinkofanythingrightnow · 06/04/2019 16:15

Just be very aware that if you report this she will most likely lose her job. And struggle to get another. She could lose her home etc.

She is the one in the wrong, not you. But if you report her it may well ruin her life.

Jimmers · 06/04/2019 16:18

Report in writing, to the Information Governance Manager. Please don’t phone the clinic manager - they might not follow up on it. This is a serious breach of confidentiality, not only looking up information but passing it on. As NHS staff we have IG training annually so there is no excuse for your friend.
The IG Manager will deal with the breach of confidentiality. Don’t feel guilty doing it - we are all vulnerable to people in positions of trust and your friend really shouldn’t be in her job if she’s going to treat confidential info as gossip.

flameycakes · 06/04/2019 16:31

I'd definitely report, she could just as easily be looking you up and talking about you x

ItstheGFAStupid · 06/04/2019 16:39

NHS staff are not allowed to look up records of people they know, out of curiosity. Major breach of confidentiality.

wigglypiggly · 06/04/2019 16:41

data breaches can have serious consequences for staff but that is the risk they take when they gossip about patients, all nhs staff have training and sign a document to say they understand confidentiality, if she does get investigated and loses her job then it's not your fault.

darlingtwinklebum · 06/04/2019 16:43

I've worked within the nhs and as pp have said please report her. Training is given so she should know that she can't just access someone's information without a valid reason. They'll be able to check what she's been accessing. I don't know why the thought would cross her mind to do that and even if she did just want to be nosey she shouldn't be sharing it with you. I bet she looks at people's records all the time.. she probably even knows things about you she just won't say it to your face.

SunshineCake · 06/04/2019 16:49

You sound a lovely friend to A. Hope your birth goes well.

user1493413286 · 06/04/2019 16:53

Even if she came across it by accident she should never have told you. I’d be worried she do the same thing to me too.

WonderTweek · 06/04/2019 16:54

I'd definitely report as it is a massive breach of confidentiality. As pp have pointed out that there's a good chance she will get sacked though, but personally I think she shouldn't be working in this role if she can't adhere to the rules and is risking patients highly sensitive data. I can appreciate it's a tough call to make as she's your friend though!

MamaLovesMango · 06/04/2019 16:59

Just be very aware that if you report this she will most likely lose her job. And struggle to get another. She could lose her home etc.

Who’s fault she’s that?! It’s made plainly clear the consequences of breaching patient confidentiality. She obviously doesn’t give a shit and the fact she’s brazen enough to pass the information and how she got it on to a mutual friend says to me she rather gets off on the power trip.

OP, you need to write to the Information Governance Manager and they will be able to back your story up by accessing the records in the system. You might even be able to do it anonymously and they can just say they did an audit and saw she shouldn’t have been there. You need not have any guilt for the consequences though. This is a major abuse of power and she shouldn’t be working for the NHS.

StealthPolarBear · 06/04/2019 17:10

She can't claim ignorance. This stuff I'd basic training, repeated regularly

TooManyPaws · 06/04/2019 17:13

This is a huge breach of confidentiality and she will have known this. I work in health and social care and it is very much emphasised right from the beginning in training. We even have separate databases for training and I am not even allowed to look up my own records. I regularly have to trawl through records for my job and I am aware at all times that I may have to justify why I looked at any page in a random audit. It has been further emphasised lately with more training for GPDR. Serious, serious consequences.

Can you imagine what she has been looking up that she DIDN'T tell you? I've come across friends in my work data but I would never look more than I needed to nor tell them that I had come across them, let alone someone else. She can't argue that she didn't know and to tell anyone at all is appalling, a serious action as well as a serious defect in character. Not a 'friend' that I would like to have.

Littlebird88 · 06/04/2019 17:13

if it's computer they will see what she has looked up.

Gottleogear · 06/04/2019 17:18

Please report her.
30 years ago I was having fertility problems. My period was late and I got a pregnancy test done at my GPs surgery, which sadly was negative. I hadn't told anyone as I did not want to broadcast my issues.

An acquaintance who worked at the surgery told a mutal friend that I had had a pregnancy test, mutual friend then told my best friend as in " Oh didn't know Gottle was trying for a baby" I was absolutely furious, How dare she tell anyone my business!
I so wish I had had the confidence to report her!!

Twisique · 06/04/2019 17:26

Has she looked you up?

Redglitter · 06/04/2019 17:29

Definitely report it.

This time shes gossiping to you. Next time she might be gossiping about you. Who knows who elses information shes looked at

WeeDangerousSpike · 06/04/2019 17:33

It will have been made crystal clear to her that it's not OK tk so this. She will have signed an agreement not to do this. It wasn't an accident, she did it on purpose. Then she told someone (you) on purpose.
Reporting her is the right thing to do, she's clearly not got the right attitude / morals to be in that job.

BetsyBigNose · 06/04/2019 17:45

I fully agree that you need to report this and I'm glad you say you're going to - I know it's hard, but it IS the right thing to do.

My Mum works in the same GP surgery I'm registered with and she suggested to me that I asked to have my records 'locked' so that only my own GP and one specific Practice Nurse was able to access them without my written consent, just in case she was asked to look something up or enter something on my records and saw things I didn't want her to know. It seems some people take their responsibilities when it comes to confidentiality more seriously than others.

I worked for a Financial Advisors many moons ago and we had several very famous clients on our books - all of who's investment records we could look up at any time, as access wasn't recorded back then (I have no idea if it is now), but we knew that if we were to share any Client information outside of the organisation we would be dismissed for gross misconduct.

Anyone who either accesses information they have no business looking at, or shares it outside of the organisation it's stored within knows full well that the punishment is instant dismissal.

I'd be surprised if your 'friend' isn't already looking for another job if she's realised you knew she was out of line.

Jasmin82 · 06/04/2019 17:45

It's not just data protection/GDPR she's breached. She's breached Caldicott. Not just one of 2 points of Caldicott, either. She's managed to breach all 7 principles of Caldicott! It really does need reporting.

randomchap · 06/04/2019 17:52

Every NHS IT system that I've worked with keeps an audit log of who accesses what. As part of training all users are told about this, if she has looked at someone's information with no valid cause then she will most likely be sacked.

The Caldicott principles www.igt.hscic.gov.uk/Caldicott2Principles.aspx define how the NHS deals with data. She's in breach of these.

Principle 4 - Access to personal confidential data should be on a strict need-to-know basis

and if she hasn't been told about these principles then the organisation are in breach

Principle 5 - Everyone with access to personal confidential data should be aware of their responsibilities

spacewitch99 · 06/04/2019 17:57

I reported a long time friend (nurse) recently for giving me details of a patient she had been looking after- he was being transferred to a hospital in my area and she asked me to look in on him. Our friendship has since ended but she really put me in a compromising position. I too am a registered nurse.

Queenofthestress · 06/04/2019 18:02

My mum works in the maternity unit I gave birth in twice, I could see her office from the delivery room. Even though she was in the room with me when I gave birth both times, she is still not allowed to look at my records without due cause, eg booking me in for another pregnancy. That is how serious they take confidentiality there.

Sleephead1 · 06/04/2019 18:46

I work in this area sometimes we will find things out about people we know e.g they might make an appointment with the midwife , social services might call and ask to speak to the doctor , we might issue their script. We are bound by confidentiality and must never repeat this to anyone. It's gross misconduct and we would be sacked. It's taken very seriously and we have lots of training on this. If you came in for an appointment and went in then 2 mins later your husband walks in saying is my wife gone in we can't even confirm she is in the surgery unless she has told us her husband is on his way let him know. Everything we see is confidential we sign agreements to say we agree to that

Sleephead1 · 06/04/2019 18:52

is it a surgery or hospital? surgery you would speak with practice manager who may well be the Caldicott guardian aswell if hospital I would ask for details of caldicott guardian and speak with them.

ScarletBitch · 06/04/2019 20:48

Word of mouth is not proof.

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