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Breach of patient confidentiality

Posted By phoenixnc85

"Breach of patient confidentiality"

About: Derby Hospital / Emergency Department

(as the patient),

I attended emergency at Derby Hospital recently and that is /was fine as I did receive excellent care. Tests/x-rays being done.

My complaint relates to staff that since then having, I believe, literally broadcast false information that has not been confirmed healthwise throughout the town of Derby due to quite simply gossip due to myself having to have tests done.

In my opinion, some staff working at the hospital really need a wake-up call as to patient confidentiality. I do not need to go shopping or bump into people who are asking about my personal health, nor do I need persons coming to my place of residence to try to find out what is going on. I do not need people making judgements on myself looking after my parent for many years.

This is a small town but primarily at the end of the day, a patient who attends emergency/ or is in hospital has the right to confidentiality. I think some staff at the Derby Hospital really need to be spoken to as to the confidentiality of persons attending/or residing in the hospital. This extends right through the hospital.

If any future incidents may happen I will sue the hospital for breach of confidentiality. I think this is not good enough and again your overall staff need to be spoken to on patient confidentiality.

As a further, aside this has now caused confusion/distress for my parent who has Alzheimer's & Vascular Dementia. I believe the gossip happening with workers has to be addressed! This really is not on!

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Responses

Response from Jodie Omodei, A/Operations Manager West Kimberley, Derby and Fitzroy Valley, WA Country Health Service (WACHS) 3 years ago
Jodie Omodei
A/Operations Manager West Kimberley, Derby and Fitzroy Valley,
WA Country Health Service (WACHS)

Submitted on 15/02/2021 at 3:48 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 3:48 PM

Dear phoenixnc5,

Thank you for taking the time to share your concerns with us.

While I am pleased to hear that the treatment you received while in the care of our team in ED and Radiology was excellent, it was very concerning to hear that you feel that your information has been inappropriately disclosed.

All WA Country Health Service (WACHS) staff have a responsibility to demonstrate responsible care and ethical behaviour in relation to their communication and use of official information. In September 2020, the WACHS Executive team mandated the completion of the WACHS Confidentiality eLearning Pack for all staff to ensure that staff have a sound awareness and understanding of confidentiality and how it applies to them. I will be personally following up on the completion rates of these training modules to ensure that all staff understand their responsibilities in regards to confidentiality as a trusted health service provider.

I would like to better understand what took place and ensure that you are receiving the support you need. I also want to investigate the details of what happened to make sure that this does not happen to another patient. If you are happy to speak with me, please call me on (08) 9193 3674 or you can email me at Derby.OperationsManager@health.wa.gov.au.

I will ensure that all department managers speak to their staff as a matter of urgency and ensure the objectives of the eLearning package are understood and completed by all staff.

Once again, I am so sorry that this has happened to you and I would like to thank you for giving us the opportunity to reflect on the care we provide for everyone in the community.

Kind Regards,

Jodie Omodei

A/West Kimberley Operations Manager

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