Council’s medical probe

THE state’s Health Complaints Commissioner will launch an investigation into claims the Glamorgan Spring Bay Council copied and stored ratepayers’ medical records on a council server.

Tasmanian Health Complaints Commissioner and Ombudsman Richard Con- nock confirmed to the Mercury that an investigation into the allegations would be carried out after his office received multiple complaints.

“I can confirm that we have received a number of complaints in relation to the alleged copying and storage of medical records and, as a result, will be conducting an investigation,” he said.

Last month, the Sunday Tasmanian revealed ratepayers were claiming the council copied and amalgamated the medical records of practices in the municipality, then stored them on a council network from 2012 to 2016, without informing residents or obtaining their consent.

The council manages the East Coast Health centre, which contracts Dr Winston Johnson at Triabunna and Dr Okafor Omenka at Bicheno.

Dr Pranesh Naidoo runs the private Spring Bay Medical Centre in the same building as Dr Johnson at Triabunna.

In a letter to Glamorgan Spring Bay council general manager David Metcalf, seen by the Mercury, Dr Naidoo in June wrote that the move to copy the records five years ago did not have his consent and that none of his patients had any knowledge of it. In the letter, Dr Naidoo also wrote that, because of his database being copied without his knowledge, “this leaves one to assume that what council did was illegal”.

Mr Metcalf has said the medical records had only ever been held on the council’s network temporarily as an encrypted backup for security reasons.

Glamorgan Spring Bay Mayor Michael Kent said he was aware of the investigation and Mr Metcalf was complying with requests for information.

“There have been a small number of people who have raised concerns about it with council,” Cr Kent said.

“We are very confident that there will be no finding against council once the investigation is complete.”