FOI Request
- Disclosure ID
- FOI/03191
- Request Date
- July 1, 2019
- Subject
- Recording At Appointments
- Description
Would you please be able to provide the following information regarding appointments and / or consultations that are held in private settings (i.e. not settings where there is the potential for a breach of other patient’s confidentiality (e.g. group therapy sessions or bays in accident and emergency departments)):
1) Does your Trust allow patients and / or their nominated representatives to make audio recordings of their appointments and / or consultations with a member of staff when they ask the staff member if it is acceptable to do so?
2) Could you please provide the name(s) of the policy / policies and a copy of the specific section of the policy / policies that is used to inform staff of the policy / policies when a patient and / or their nominated representatives requests to audio record their appointment / consultation?
3) Does your Trust allow patients and / or their nominated representatives to make video recordings of their appointments and / or consultations with a member of staff when they ask the staff member if it is acceptable to do so?
4) Could you please provide the name(s) of the policy / policies and a copy of the specific section of the policy / policies that is used to inform staff of the policy / policies when a patient and / or their nominated representatives requests to video record their appointment / consultation?
5) Does your Trust allow patients and / or their nominated representatives to make audio recordings of their appointments and / or consultations with a member of staff without informing the member of staff about it (i.e. a covert recording)?
6) Could you please provide the name(s) of the policy / policies and a copy of the specific section of the policy / policies that is used to inform staff of the policy / policies if they discover a patient and / or their nominated representatives has audio recorded their appointment / consultation covertly?
7) Does your Trust allow patients and / or their nominated representatives to make video recordings of their appointments and / or consultations with a member of staff without informing the member of staff about it (i.e. a covert recording)?
8) Could you please provide the name(s) of the policy / policies and a copy of the specific section of the policy / policies that is used to inform staff of the policy / policies if they discover a patient and / or their nominated representatives has video recorded their appointment / consultation covertly?
9) Should your Trust’s policies not allow patients and / or their nominated to make audio and / or video recordings (having informed the member of staff and / or covertly) of their appointments and / or consultations could you please provide a copy of your Trust’s policies regarding what procedures should be followed by both members of the Trust’s staff and the patient and / or their nominated representatives where there may be a specific need for the patient and / or their nominated representatives to audio and / or video record their appointments and / or consultations (e.g. medical issues such as dementia, the patient having nobody available to act as an advocate for them or any other need identified by the patient and / or their nominated representatives)?
10) Could you please provide a copy of the impact assessment undertaken of the policy / policies cited in response to question 9?
11) Should your Trust’s policies not allow patients and / or their nominated representatives to make audio and / or video recordings (having informed the member of staff and / or covertly) of their appointments and / or consultations could you please provide a copy of the information that staff can give to the patient and / or their nominated representatives explaining why it is not allowed?
12) Should your Trust’s policies state that it is for the staff member to decide whether they are prepared to allow appointments and / or consultations to be audio and / or video recorded by the patient and / or their nominated representatives could you please provide the name(s) of the policy / policies and a copy of the specific section of the policy / policies that states what procedures should be followed by both members of the Trust’s staff and the patient and / or their nominated representatives when the member of staff states they are not prepared to be audio and / or video recorded but the patient and / or their nominated representatives are insistent on doing so?
13) Should your Trust have no policy regarding the situations as detailed in questions 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 or 12 could you please detail what procedures should be followed by both members of the Trust’s staff and the patient and / or their nominated representatives should any of the situations detailed occur?
- Response
1).At our Trust it is at the discretion of the Nurse in Charge / Consultant and in-line with Trust policy and patient confidentiality.
We do allow patients and/or their nominated representatives to make audio or video recordings of their appointments and/or consultations with a member of staff when they ask the staff member if it is acceptable to do so. As a general rule, if a patient (or their representative) is recording their own treatment, then it is their information, and they are entitled to do so.
Patients and visitors are not permitted to to make audio or video recordings in patient areas without Trust permission. This is primarily to protect the confidentiality and dignity of other patients who may be in view. Recordings without permission are challenged and an incident reported. If the recording takes place in a private area, such as a clinic room or patient’s home, then these concerns are not usually applicable.
2). CORP-POL-107
Please see Appendix 2 on the accompanying document.
CORP-PROC-002
Please see section 3.10 on the accompanying document.
3). Please see answer to Q1 above.
4). Please see answer to Q2 above.
5). Please see answer to Q1 above.
6). Please see answer to Q2 above.
7). Please see answer to Q1 above.
8). Please see answer to Q2 above.
9). N/A
10). N/A
11). N/A
12). Please see answer to Q2 above.
13). N/A