FOI Request
- Disclosure ID
- FOI 02627
- Request Date
- August 7, 2018
- Subject
- Messaging Incidents
- Description
I am looking into incidents of trust staff or contractors improperly using messaging platforms (such as, but not limited to, WhatsApp) to communicate information relating to patients.
For each of the last five years (2014 to 2018 inclusive), please tell me:
1. How many staff or contractors at your trust have been investigated for doing so.
2. How many staff or contractors were sanctioned / disciplined for doing so. For each sanction, please say what it was: for example, it if was a monetary fine, please give the value; if it was a suspension, please give the duration.
3. For each incident of a staff member or contractor being investigated and / or sanctioned, please say:
a. What messaging platform was involved;
b. That individual’s broad role at the trust, for example doctor (junior or consultant), nurse, management.4. For each incident of a staff member or contractor being investigated and / or sanctioned, please say whether the patient or patients concerned where informed that a possible misuse of their data had taken place.
5. Does your trust have explicit rules against such use? If so, please point to them.
- Response
1. For each of the last five years (2014 to 2018 inclusive), there have been a total of 25 staff investigated for improper use of messaging platforms.
As this information relates to a very small number of individuals providing further detail may breach their confidentiality. Therefore we are exempting this information as personal and applying section 40(2).
2. Our Trust only holds very limited information about contractor sanctions/investigations as we only deal with staff employed by the Trust. We also only retain records where there has been a formal process rather than informal discussion, so the figures provided are representative of that process.
For each of the last five years (2014 to 2018 inclusive), there have been a total of 25 staff sanctioned for improper use of messaging platforms.
With regards to the sanctions applied, as this information relates to a very small number of individuals providing further detail may breach their confidentiality. Therefore we are exempting this information as personal and applying section 40(2).
3a. Predominantly Facebook and Snapchat are the messaging platforms involved.
3b. As this information relates to a very small number of individuals providing further detail may breach their confidentiality. Therefore we are exempting this information as personal and applying section 40(2).
4. Our Trust follows the guiding principles of the GDPR supported by the Caldicott Principles and the Duty of Candour and would base the decision to inform by following this guidance. Please see the attached policies for further information.
CORP-PROC-101
CORP/POL/5385. Yes – Social Media Policy – CORP-POL-220.
Confidentiality Code of Conduct – CORP-POL-107.