Hospitals giving out information

I don't know how it works on the adult side but in children's we are only allowed to give out information to the parents. So if grandparents or anyone else phones we can't tell them anything.

To be honest most of the time we just go and get the Mum or Dad to tell them what's happening when relatives phone.

After I had given birth my inlaws phoned the hosiptal askign for details about me. The MW they spoke to handed the information out to them and then came and told me off for letting them phone the hosiptal asking for details. I hadn't given them permission for them to phone or for detaisl to be given out. During a recent hospital trip details wwere given out to a person that shouldn't have received information as well.

I am a nurse, and i don't give out any thing about the person other than they are comfortable etc.. but i suggest if they want to know more then call the person personally most people have mobiles now.. or i ask if they are coming in later.. and if they say yes then i say i am more than happy to talk about it then and give them my name so they can find me when they come in..

I've contacted hospitals to gain information about a staff members admission (or not as was the case) when dealing with disciplinaries. The info has been freely handed out.

When I was in hospital recently I had to give an "allowed" list. It only had MrMini on it. I doubt anyone else called up to see how I was mind you.

When Mum was in a coma they asked for a very specific list as it was very serious and she could have died. There were only me, my dad and my 2 siblings on this list. We asked for the person to contact if this happenned very suddenly and none of us were there(unlikely) to be changed from my Dad to me as he was not coping at all well with the situation. We didn't have to sign any forms to do this or anything which looking back is maybe strange? Next of kin etc?

Whenever I have been in my Husband, Mum, sister, brother, friend have all rang asking about my welfare and as far as I know have all been told minimun ie "She's comfortable" "She had a good night" the nurses will then let me know whoever it was has rang. I dont think they can give out real specifics except to the next of kin.

Which with soemone famous is fairly easy info to come by I'd have thought.

I've never been asked anything like that! Quite often I've not even been asked my name (I'd say I was X's daughter/sister but no other introduction), scary!

I have managed to find out information about both my grandparents when they were in hospital and also H's grandfather (we weren't married at the time - I said on the phone that I was Mr S's grandson's girlfriend).

I've never been asked to verify who I was nor provide any info such as dob etc for the patient. I was given a potted "low down" on who I was asking after.

I was going to put this on the other thread. I have never had issues getting info out of hospitals, and had no clue there was an 'allowed list'. But to be fair, when it's royalty, you would expect there to be high security in place. When I was enquiring about relatives, people were quite happy to give info over the phone, not knowing who I was which is worrying.

I work with hospitals and doctors surgerys as part of my job and its like getting blood from a stone trying to get any information out of them (and I'm only contacting them for the information they should have included in their referrals but failed to do so)

<ponders> maybe it is the level of formality that you take with them, they reflect back? So if you act casual their tone becomes casual in reflection? Whereas if your ring and give them your credentials they become formal in return?<ponders>

Excellent pondering.

I have called up and said that I am calling from my place of work and I have a few questions about one of my employees absence etc. Normally they have no issues spilling the beans.

I know that whenever I've been in hospital, I've been asked for details of who I would details given to, and when I was giving birth I had written in big letters at the top of my file not to give details to specific people as I would out of an abusive relationship

I currently have 2 of my grandparents in different wards of the same hospital, they have both been in for about 3 weeks now.

My mum or I regularly call the hospital for updates as it is not local to us and they happily tell us anything we ask them without even asking who we are.

When we go and visit twice a week the wards are both completely open, with a big board tell anyone who walks in who is in which bed/room and not once have we been asked who we are and/or who we are visiting, usually when we walk past the nurses station no one even looks up from whatever we are doing.

If someone was that way inclined they could easily walk in to the wards and harm a patient without too much trouble, especially if said patient is in a private room. Last night we sat with my grandma for nearly 2 hours and not one single member of staff entered her room the entire time we were there.

I have worked at 2 GP surgeries where we couldn't give out any information what so ever. Then when I worked in A&E, which is different to the wards, we couldn't even confirm that someone was in the department. If they knew a relative had been bought in then we would pass the call over to medical staff to decide what they told them.

The official line is that no medical information should be given over the phone without confirming consent with the patient themselves and checking the caller is who they say they are. This is what we are all trained to do. However, I know that a lot of staff will give out basic information ("He/she had a comfortable night/has had breakfast/is with the physio") and sometimes more than that in some situations, though I try very hard not to. Where possible you try to get the relatives to come in to speak to you face to face, but this isn't always easy.

In my student nurse days we were told no information was to be given over the phone. Over time you did get to 'know' the relatives so would confirm that they were comfortable etc but nothing more specific. Sometimes a code word was set up for relatives that couldn't make it into the hospital much i.e. an elderly spouse.

With Boy's Mum, I think there was a password that they had to give to get information.

I'm in A&E, we give very little out over the phone. If someone phones and their relative is in then we check with the patient and tell the relative what the patient has told us to say. If its a serious case and police are involved then we set up a password and info is given to the police on a patients condition when they provide a password. If police want to know if a certain person has attended then they need to contact the consultant on call with a signed request from the inspector on duty. Tbh we get so many phonecalls, our department (and most places iv worked) will speak to one relative and if another relative calls then we tell them to liaise with the first relative who has called that's why I'm surprised so many of you have been able to get information about relatives/friends

I'm in A&E, we give very little out over the phone. If someone phones and their relative is in then we check with the patient and tell the relative what the patient has told us to say. If its a serious case and police are involved then we set up a password and info is given to the police on a patients condition when they provide a password. If police want to know if a certain person has attended then they need to contact the consultant on call with a signed request from the inspector on duty. Tbh we get so many phonecalls, our department (and most places iv worked) will speak to one relative and if another relative calls then we tell them to liaise with the first relative who has called that's why I'm surprised so many of you have been able to get information about relatives/friends

I wonder if everyone is working with the same definition of 'information'? For example Cherry Pie/other medical practitioners, would you ever say anything like "I can't discuss his case other than to say he seems to have had a good night" or the old "he is stable"? Does that statement confirm that 'he' is present in your ward and does that fact count as 'information'? Or is 'information' more detailed such as "his blood pressure has now stabilised and we will be moving him to x ward in the morning" etc?

That is a superb point... for me acknowledging that someone is there is information in itslef. Saying they are tsable or comfortable is information.

From what i recall when my Nan and Aunt were in hospital, they asked who I was but would give basic information. "she had a good night" she is better todau" etc but never too much detail.

I would have thought with high profile patients there would be a member of their staff that was the point of contact rather than hospital staff?!