Nurse Cautioned For Taking A Picture Of A Child And Showing It To A Colleague, UK

Main Category: Nursing / Midwifery
Also Included In: Medical Malpractice / Litigation
Article Date: 05 Mar 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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A registered adult nurse employed in Fife, Scotland, has been given a 12 month Caution Order at a hearing by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) in Edinburgh on February 22nd, 2008.

Ms Bernice Brown admitted that she breached patient confidentiality by taking a photograph of a child on an unknown date and showing it to a colleague in January 2006. Ms Brown defended her actions by saying that she showed the photograph of the child to a work-colleague in her role as a mentor to demonstrate the difference between the tracheotomy connections of the child's ventilator and another type of ventilator.

The independent panel of the NMC's Conduct and Competence Committee found that she had overstepped professional boundaries by taking and showing the photograph to a colleague but also concluded that there had been no malicious intent. Although Ms Brown's behaviour did not cause direct harm to the child and there was a genuine expression of regret the panel considered her fitness to practice to be impaired and issued her with a Caution Order.

In determining the appropriate sanction, the panel took into consideration Ms Brown's previous good history and noted that there had been no repetition of the behaviour. For the next 12 months, future employers will see that she has a Caution Order and she will be required to reveal the details to them.

Commenting on the panel's decision to impose a caution order for 12 months, NMC spokesman, Colin Joseph, said: "The registrant retained patient information on her personal mobile phone in circumstances where she had no authority to do so and then went on to disclose the information to a third party."

"We recognise that this was not a malicious act and no harm came to the child. However the Nursing and Midwifery Council Code of Professional Conduct requires a registered nurse guard against breaches of confidentiality by protecting information from improper disclosure at all times."

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the UK regulator for two professions, nursing and midwifery. The primary purpose of the NMC is protection of the public. It does this through maintaining a register of all nurses, midwives and specialist community public health nurses eligible to practise within the UK and by setting standards for their education, training and conduct. Currently the number of registrants exceeds 682,000. The Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001 (The Order), sets out the NMC's role and responsibilities.

The independent panel is selected from a pool of individuals appointed by the Appointments Board. They come from a variety of backgrounds and are not NMC Council members, nor do they sit on any committee of the Council.

Nursing and Midwifery Council