HSE sends psychiatric notes to wrong family

A WOMAN who had previously received a HSE letter that wrongly stated her husband was dead has now been sent confidential information about a psychiatric patient to whom she was not related.

The mental health service in Clare has apologised to Dolores Keogh for “this unfortunate error and breach of data protection”.

Before she was sent the letter, Mrs Keogh, from Sixmilebridge, Co Clare, had demanded a public inquiry into the treatment provided to her husband John and other patients at an acute psychiatric unit.

She expressed her dismay at receiving a document about physical restraint carried out a in a psychiatric unit in Ennis.

The document was discovered by Mrs Keogh in files released following a Freedom of Information request for records concerning her husband — a Parkinson’s sufferer who is still alive.

It disclosed information about physical restraint being used on a patient with the same first name as her husband but a different surname. Physical restraint had to be used when the patient became threatening, aggressive, verbally abusive, threatening self harm and being un-cooperative with nursing staff.

A Mid-West HSE official has written to Mrs Keogh concerning the inclusion of a “copy of a single page record relating to another patient”, which was inadvertently released to her as part of her FoI request.

“The matter has been notified to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner by the HSE as a breach of data protection and arrangements are being made to notify the other person,” the letter states.

“On behalf of the Clare Mental Health Service, I wish to apologise to you and your family for this unfortunate error and breach of data protection.

“I can assure you that every effort is being made to rectify matters and steps have been made to notify the person to whom the record refers.”

The Clare Mental Health Service also recently apologised to Mrs Keogh over its failure to properly deal with a complaint concerning the treatment of her husband, who was admitted as a voluntary patient to Ennis Hospital in February 2009.

This follows a release of a report by the Office of the Ombudsman, which stated that a local manager could not find any record to indicate whether or not the complaint was ever referred to a senior medic. It acknowledged that, in all probability, it was not done.

Mrs Keogh expressed her shock and upset at receiving the “shameful” letter as part of the FoI release of medical records, which incorrectly stated her husband was dead.

A HSE spokesman stated the authority did its best to rectify mistakes.

“We have already dealt with this matter directly with Mrs Keogh and other interested parties. The public will be aware that the HSE does not comment on individual cases except in the unusual circumstances of major issues of public confidence. The reasons for this are not simply legal or professional, they are also ethical.”