*suicide trigger Nurse hoax and confidentiality in hospitals
Of course everyone knows the tragic turn of events with the DJ hoax call to the hospital where Royal Kate was recouperating from severe morning sickness. Statements from the Royal family were that they were not going to complain, and from the hospital that they were not pressing charges/ taking action.
Recently, I was in an accident and the owner of the bar where the driver had been was able to call the hospital and find out information on whether I had been discharged- and posted on facebook...anyone who reads my post knows that I was hospitalised and a nurse in the MH ward broke confidentiality and basically ruined a big part of my life...
I thought that confidentiality laws were clear in the UK, that the nurse(s) who breached protocol would have got censored, suspended if not fired and struck off the register for their profession. Also I thought it would be a serious breach of security as it has to do with the Royal family. It is kind of giving justification to why people check into rehab and hospital under false names if they are famous. But apart from it being a sad event,
Persons with HIV/AIDS and mental health issues have serious risks if anyone can just call and ask questions. What do you think?
~Happy tomatoes together we will be~
You say toe- may- toe, I say toe- mah- toe:
Let's call the whole thing- red
“It’s time to lead the third revolution, which is not to say we want to be at the top of the world, but to say we want to change the world. Because the way the world has been designed by men is not working. It’s not working for women, it’s not working for men,
it’s not working for polar bears.” Arianna Huffington 2014
Just a point which I think seems to have been missed everywhere- she didn't give out any information but transferred the call as far as I am aware, which in itself is a bit dodgy but yeah.
Also with regard to confidentiality laws, I guess the problem is, who is responsible for it- the first person to answer the phone at the switchboard, the person who answers on the ward? I called to see if my friend had arrived at new MH unit the other day and I spoke to the wrong ward to start with but they said as I was family they couldn't give out information. The second ward I called told me that she was there without any questions. It is a locked ward so noone could access it unless let in by staff but still I was like :/
I know that things get complicated when people are unwell- so there may be a list of people that are not allowed to visit- that was a problem I had with a patient once, I guess the family didn't want persons they were not paying to visit the person- even though the person was competent mentally. It is a bit scary.
To me personal info should not be given over the phone- like you call to speak to a family member and it goes in the notes. So you cannot talk to any and everyone about the patient.
In my case, the nurse called my home and spoke to my stepmother who is not even my relative...my family didn't know about my mental illness and I was never allowed to babysit my siblings again. I am now in court fighting for my inheritance.
So I guess I am a bit sensitive, but I do think that what the nurses did was wrong- I just don't think we have all the info. Plus, I don't believe that the hospital was not going to take action- it is an embarrassment for them, and a breach of security for the royal family.
~Happy tomatoes together we will be~
You say toe- may- toe, I say toe- mah- toe:
Let's call the whole thing- red
“It’s time to lead the third revolution, which is not to say we want to be at the top of the world, but to say we want to change the world. Because the way the world has been designed by men is not working. It’s not working for women, it’s not working for men,
it’s not working for polar bears.” Arianna Huffington 2014
I dont think she made any mistake, she transferred a call to the right place.
The problem is that when you bring someone in on a joke and you have no idea about who they are or their struggles/mental health youre playing with fire.Its tragic and something that she should have never have been subjected to.
There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you.
But there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.
I aint no abacus but you can count on me.
I think it is terribly sad. It's difficult to know what was going on when she decided to do that, or if there were any other mitigating factors that were already putting her under a lot of strain. The hospital states that they were supporting her, but it's likely she would have faced trouble from some people/ the NMC. It's incredibly sad it cost her her life.
I've had my GP (receptionist) massively breach confidentiality to my sister and a friend once, who had manipulated her into giving them information. I was incredibly hurt, and it only reminded me why I hadn't trusted them with the information in the first place.
It doesn't matter where you come from; it matters where you go.
No-one gets remembered for the things they didn't do.
We won't all be here this time next year,
so while you can take a picture of us.
We're definitely going to hell,
but we'll have all the best stories to tell.
I dont think she made any mistake, she transferred a call to the right place.
The problem is that when you bring someone in on a joke and you have no idea about who they are or their struggles/mental health youre playing with fire.Its tragic and something that she should have never have been subjected to.
Yeah I agree that she didn't make any mistake. I think she was obviously not very well anyway and to be honest she could have already planned to commit suicide.
Quote:
Originally Posted by talaiporia
I think it is terribly sad. It's difficult to know what was going on when she decided to do that, or if there were any other mitigating factors that were already putting her under a lot of strain. The hospital states that they were supporting her, but it's likely she would have faced trouble from some people/ the NMC. It's incredibly sad it cost her her life.
I've had my GP (receptionist) massively breach confidentiality to my sister and a friend once, who had manipulated her into giving them information. I was incredibly hurt, and it only reminded me why I hadn't trusted them with the information in the first place.
I don't understand why she would get punished for transferring a call. Why would she have faced trouble?
Thats really bad about your GP and also your sister!! Did you make a complaint to the GP practice?
I think the problem is who is supposed to establish whether the person on the other end of the phone is supposed to know what is going on? In a high profile case such as that, perhaps a password should be established?
I am really annoyed at the ridiculous amount of backlash there has been about the whole situation.
She couldve been fired for not picking up on the fact that it wasnt the queen/transferring the call.
The problem is that it wasnt obvious to her that these people werent who they said they were. She had only been in england for 10 years or so and how often does the queen give a public speech?Not often enough for everyone to know what she would sound like. The DJs who rang the hospital used a lot of assumptions that they never should have done.
The fact is that this lady knew it had happened and had been in turmoil over whether the radio show would broadcast it and I am sure that the hospital also thought that it would not be allowed on air.
I can imagine that should wouldve been scared of the backlash from the UK as a whole (and the world.) Its not surprising given the way the UK seems to react to a lot of bad news. Its not possible to know what was going through her head but she couldve been worried about being arrested or deported....or just living with the shame forever.
I dont believe the DJs should be fully blamed although partial responsibility is important. But I do think that both of them need to step back and think about how theyre going to conduct themselves in future.
There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you.
But there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.
I aint no abacus but you can count on me.
Thats really bad about your GP and also your sister!! Did you make a complaint to the GP practice?
I didn't in any way blame the receptionist or my sister; the friend in question was very manipulative, and they certainly weren't to blame.
It's sad to see more news about the nurse coming out today. I suppose if it had been the Queen, and she'd refused to transfer it she could have got in trouble too. And in regards to shame, it can be a powerful motivator, as many of us know.
It doesn't matter where you come from; it matters where you go.
No-one gets remembered for the things they didn't do.
We won't all be here this time next year,
so while you can take a picture of us.
We're definitely going to hell,
but we'll have all the best stories to tell.
i do't think transferring the call was the problem. She didn't do anything wrong by putting it through - just did what a switchboard operator normally does. the one who made the big mistake is the nurse who gave the information out. She should have given the usual non commital response - she is doing fine and is resting sort of thing. I think it's all very sad. Tragic for the nurse who killed herself and her family and sad too for the djs. Radio wind ups are nothing new. I suppose they thought people would just laugh at them. Anyone listen to Real Radio wind ups?
