Should I complain after a nurse shared my 16-year-old's medical details?

[Midglet]

My 16yr old had an incident this week that required medical intervention. They didn’t want people, even immediate family and close relatives, to know until they had underwent the operation and we respected those wishes. However a theatre nurse recognised their name and before my child was even under anaesthetic, the nurse had texted a distant relative of ours and divulged that not only was our child in for an operation , but the nature of such. The child was in theatre for four hours but within twenty mins of them being taken in the distant relative , who doesn’t have our mobile numbers, then started calling the hospital demanding details of our child’s prognosis and treatment. Thankfully we had been tipped off very quickly as the relative started contacting other family members ( who themselves weren’t aware of the situation until they themselves contacted us to see what was happening) and were able to request staff to refrain from divulging such. After several failed attempts the relative then turned up at the hospital and demanded access to our child, by which point they were out of surgery. The ward staff asked our 16 yr old ( with us present) if they would like the relative to gain access and our child immediately burst into tears with the thought …the relative is particularly difficult at the best of times and the children try to avoid all contact by their own choice . Thankfully again the staff were able to refuse the relative entry into the ward (Although our child is 16 and should have been in the adult wards a lack of beds had resulted in them being housed in the children’s ward with better security) . Anyway I am sitting stewing about the actions of this initial theatre nurse divulging private medical information to a third party . I know this is a huge breach of confidence and I hope such would be a disciplinary if I was to raise a complaint but I don’t know if I should . The nurse is a friend of the relative hence why she reached out and my family are divided as whether to take action as it will cause trouble within the wider family. Hubby thinks I should just forget it to keep the peace but I think the theatre nurse should be made aware her actions were totally unacceptable. I’ve never complained about anything before . Your thoughts would be appreciated !

100% put that in!! We are all given fair warning when we start and they absolutely breached confidentiality there and needs to face the consequences!!

Don’t think twice. Report this today. It’s unthinkable that a professional person would do this. And I agree with PPs that your child deserves this support.

If the nurse's actions had been merely irritating then I'd understand your hesitancy but she has put your child in an incredibly difficult position and actually upset them when they're deeply vulnerable.

You've been dealing with a difficult relative. Imagine it it was an abusive and dangerous family member. This nurse has to be made to understand the consequences of their actions and face the consequences.

That nurse should have known better and was being totally unprofessional, they will likely do it again as well. Use the proper procedure and guidelines to make a complaint. And your husband should wise up - never-mind what the wider family think he should be outraged that this happened to his child.

That’s a breach of GDPR you must report this

Do it for all the future patients whose confidentiality she could breach.

whenever I read that a health care “professional” has looked up - for example - the records of the Princess of wales or the Nottingham stabbing victims without due cause I think how could they possibly be so stupid. And it will start with examples like this and not being reported and facing the consequences of their illegal actions.

Surely data protection breach? Get it reported.

It is your duty to complain. Do it.

Ex-NHS and I agree with the overwhelming majority of posters here that the OP ought to report the nurse to the trust and to the NMC.

But what I don't quite understand is how the OP knows this: "... However a theatre nurse recognised their name and before my child was even under anaesthetic, the nurse had texted a distant relative of ours and divulged that not only was our child in for an operation , but the nature of such..."?

Has the nurse admitted it to the OP or to someone else. or has the troublesome relative confirmed it?

It’s a breach of both statute law (DPA and GDPR) and the common law duty of confidence. The young person could sue the hospital for the breach of the duty of confidence and the ICO can levy fines under the DPA. Not to mention the professional misconduct consequences

As a nurse this is absolutely not allowed and you should take this further! This is terrible!

Nurse here. Absolutely report this. It’s a cardinal sin. No excuses for this behaviour. If they’ve done it once they will do it again. Whatever the outcome they’ve brought it on themselves. You are not to blame.

Unacceptable 100% complain.
Hope your son is ok now. ♥️
Confidential information shouldn't be passed on. No excuses. Id be livid.

You have to report this it was a terrible breach of data protection and she needs to face the full consequences.

I'm very much a 'don't rock the boat' person but this is disgraceful.
I'm actually so cross on your behalf @Midglet

You absolutely should report as clearly this nurse sees nothing wrong in what she's done. If it's a stackable offence (which I'm sure it is) then so be it. Appalling.

It's a clear breach of privacy which is totally unacceptable within the NHS.

You must report this asap to the ward manager and ask for it to be dealt with according to their staff policies.

This is not something that the hospital managers will 'sweep under the carpet', they will deal with it robustly and the staff member concerned will be dealt with accordingly.

Exactly this! Definitely report the nurse. I'm sorry your child had to go through this. I hope they're ok and healing well.

Nurses like this could be putting people in grave danger as well as breaching GDPR. What if your child had been a victim of abuse or something and had been in hiding from certain family members or those they associate with? It doesn't bare thinking about.

Truly shocking, she needs striking off. Wouldn't surprise me if she has broken confidentiality in the past as it appears she has no understanding of it/thinks the rules are open to flexible interpretation! Appalling behaviour .

Senior nurse here! You must absolutely complain to PALS! This is gross misconduct and said nurse may have a history of doing this! You must also make it formal, as it will then be fully investigated!

Your far too calm I’d of kicked off there and the, the full hospital would have known what she’d done by the time I’d of been finished completely unacceptable. This persons had access to your child in a vulnerable position under anaesthesia fuck knows what other boundaries have been crossed. They could do this again to someone else they need stopping! Luckily your relative is just difficult imagine you had fleed abuse from them and then this dopey bitch goes and tells them personal details about your child and where you are! She deserves to be sacked!

This hurts me just reading it all
What it must be doing to your child (and you and your husband) is likely 1000's of times worse.
Sending so much strength and hoping your child manages to fully recover from their operation and the unnecessary indiscretions and violation of privacy

Completely breach of data. Imagine if DV was involved. It's gross misconduct op complain .

A formal complaint is more effective than kicking off in the hospital.

I have a close relative who works for the NHS. They have it drummed into them that confidentiality is absolutely non negotiable. There’s no disclosure, no hinting, no general chit chat. Nothing. My relative dealt with a friend recently and I mentioned it to them. The first thing they said was for me not to tell them my friend’s name because they didn’t want to be in a position of potentially confirming whether or not they had dealt with my friend.

The point is, every single one of them knows they mustn’t tell anyone anything. And they all know the consequences for breaking that rule. Your nurse doesn’t get to bypass that rule because your DC is only 16 or because they’re a family friend. She knew what she was doing was gross misconduct and she knew the consequences for doing that. And if anyone tells you to let it go, ask them how they’d feel having their entire medical history gossiped about by people they didn’t like.

Absolutely report. If they have accessed medical records as well, the hospital will be able to trace that too.