NHS worker loses job fight over star's file

Published on Wednesday 7 January 2009 00:59

A MEDICAL records worker with the National Health Service, sacked for accessing a high-profile patient's confidential file, lost her unfair dismissal claim yesterday.

Elaine Duncan, a cancer information officer with NHS National Services Scotland, admitted that, out of curiosity, she viewed information about a high-profile individual who had been featured in media reports.

An Edinburgh employment tribunal heard that NHS National Services Scotland, a healthcare information group, was allowed on a consensual basis to access and search individual health boards' confidential patient records for the purpose of fulfilling their statutory function: collecting, collating and providing statistics from and to all parts of NHS Scotland.

All information, which related mainly to cancer sufferers, was provided on the basis that staff did not breach patient confidentiality. Workers with NHS National Services Scotland were allowed unrestricted access to individual health boards' confidential records at the health board premises.

Ms Duncan, who was sacked for gross misconduct after more than seven years' service, viewed the file of a high-profile individual twice on 22 November, 2007, and a third time on 23 November when working at the premises of Lothian Health Board.

Ms Duncan, from Edinburgh, who was required to sign her acceptance of the confidentiality and security policy every year, was suspended pending an investigation.

She admitted she had accessed the patient record in question out of curiosity.

The tribunal said that, even if her dismissal was found to be unfair, she would have been substantially to blame by her conduct.