Hospital sends man's info to wrong person

NATASHA MARTIN/ The Timaru Herald

CONFUSION: Hairdresser Sarndra Cleland is in a tangle after receiving a young man's personal details in a letter from the Timaru Hospital, along with her appointment card.

Relevant offers

Health

ACC levies may climb again Ageing population lifts death rate Repairs force disabled red-zoner to sleep outdoors Suing doctors a return to 'dark days', court told 5000 deaths after surgery each year - report Thousands die each year post surgery Swimming again after tumour removed PM backs plane flu scare response Whooping cough strikes baby Caring for these kids a job for life

A Temuka hairdresser is seething after receiving someone else's personal details in a letter from the Timaru Hospital.

Sarndra Cleland had her appointment with an orthopaedic clinic cancelled last Tuesday because of the power cuts. A confirmation letter was posted to her with a new time allotted for her to see a doctor.

But on Saturday night she opened the correspondence to discover a 19-year-old Waimate man's personal details and a list of his emergency contacts, along with her appointment card.

After the initial shock, Mrs Cleland was left wondering who might have her personal information and how a 53-year-old woman could end up with a 19-year-old male's name, date of birth and contact details.

"It's not that there is a hell of a lot of information but what if it got into the wrong hands."

Mrs Cleland said she thought it may have been an oversight by hospital staff.

However, she wanted some answers as she felt the mistake was an invasion of privacy.

Mrs Cleland said she would like to see the hospital take more care with documentation and wanted to know if anyone had received correspondence with her personal details on it.

South Canterbury District Health Board chief executive Chris Fleming apologised for the error.

"The incident was caused by a simple administrative error and we have reminded staff of their need to take care in handling patient appointment information being mailed out."

Mr Fleming explained that process errors could occur and said he appreciated being made aware of the incident so staff could ensure that the patient whose letter was mishandled received his outpatient appointment urgently.

- © Fairfax NZ News