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 !

Absolutely report! You may already find other staff have reported them already. I’m an ex privacy officer and would have no problem reporting a coworker for doing this.

i hope your dd is ok x

That is VERY bad OP.Report 100%. This nurse needs sacking.

Of course you should complain. She should be fired.

😳 what?! Complain that’s shocking.

Not necessarily.

It will be impossible to prove that the nurse made a phone call and divulged private medical information if she doesn’t admit to doing it and no-one overheard her who can corroborate what happened.

They can’t demand access to her personal phone or demand the relative to confirm the accusation either.

She’s not had to look up any medical records as she knew the patient personally and was in the theatre at the time, so there’s actually very little provable evidence they can use.

Chances are she’ll get a warning at best.

What?? Complain to both the NHS and the NMC.

former nurse here . Definitely complain . This is completely unacceptable and unprofessional and that nurse is a liability to be honest . If she has done this she will be doing it to other patients as well. How horribly upsetting for you , I’m so sorry this happened.

Definitely report this, it's wildly inappropriate!

ex NHS manager. Please report this.

@Midglet
I am a senior nurse.
This theatre nurse will lose her registration with the NMC over this. She won't just lose her job in theatres; she will not be able to nurse again full stop.
It is a gross breach of the Code of Conduct that we must practice under.

Yes - complain. They should be sacked. It's gross misconduct and a breach of GDPR. The hospital will need to act on it. The ICO and NHS are clamping down (rightly) on people pissing about and taking and sharing medical details like this.

100% complain! This is disgusting. The nurse knows the rules and risk she was taking to get job any consequences of that is her own fault.

Does anyone at the hospital know this has happened? It might be out your hands anyway but I would complain regardless and document that the relative called and harassed etc.

Your child needs to know you have your back. If it’s a distant relative it’s no big loss.

@Midglet sackable offence.

Absolutely inaccurate. All of it.

Absolute breach of confidentiality and professional misconduct by the nurse involved. I’m sorry this has happened to your daughter.

If you’re not sure who to go to - contact your local PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service). They can help you with this and will ensure your complaint goes to the right person.

What difference does that make?

@Midglet ‘s role is to report her experience, not decide the outcome.

How awful for you and your DC. I hope they’re on the road to recovery.

I would 100% be making an official complaint on the back of this deliberate and proactive breach of confidentiality. To stop this nurse doing it again, be clear on the relative massively overstepping and to show your DC you have their back.

Good luck.

This is a clear breach of patient confidentiality. I would be furious and 100% complain. Actions have consequences and there is no way she didn’t realise what she was doing at the time. I work in the NHS and shit like this drilled into is all repeatedly as being against the rules, plus basic ethics and patient care.
Any fall out is purely because of what she started. If she can do this so easily, what other things has she been up to.
Please do the right thing. It’s up to you if you tell others or not. Anyone could have reported it (shame in those who don’t).

Report. Confidentiality breach. Nurse should know better.

@Midglet‘s first responsibility is to her DC and their privacy and dignity, not the nurse who by account isn’t right for a job that requires total confidentiality as a core professional standard and patient empathy as expected.

Another senior nurse here. You really must report. As others have stated the gross beach of confidentiality is incredibly concerning but compounded by issues around safeguarding of a minor. I really struggle to understand how any member of staff at any level could behave like this. I’m so sorry your child was upset, please do your best to stop it happening to somebody else.

The only person who needs to “bear in mind” that breaching patient confidentiality is a sackable offence is the nurse.

They chose to risk their job by gossiping to their friend about a vulnerable patient and giving information that absolutely was not their place to do so.

In doing so they distressed their patient and put them in a difficult position.

they absolutely should be sacked - they are not professional enough for the job they currently have.

Yes, do complain.
Normally when I see MN "should I report this person" threads I don't feel particularly comfortable with the idea of getting someone into trouble, but this is such a clear case. Clear in two ways - a very straightforward severe breach of professional duty, and one that caused needless and avoidable severe upset for your poor child.

This is a huge breach of confidentiality. Please take time to write up some notes of everything that happened. If you can recall names of other staff members it ensures that you have recorded the incident clearly.

Also I would be reporting to the hospital AND to the NMC. This will ensure it is taken seriously.

You should absolutely report her. It's a gross breach of confidentiality, which she will know.