Nosey nurse looked up private medical files of friends and neighbour
Suspended after accessing 28 patients’ confidential records
A NURSE accessed the confidential records of 28 patients, including friends and a neighbour, out of “curiosity”.
Jud i t h Naug hton admitted looking at the information without a clinical justi fication betwe en June and December 2018 while working at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.
The former deputy charge nurse also accessed her own records, despite a previous warning that it was against NHS Lothian’s rules.
A Nursing and Midwifery Council hearing noted that a “significant number” of the patients were men who had been admitted to A&E or toxicology departments, including some who were potentially suicidal.
Naughton admitted looking at confidential records of a friend, a friend’s mother, a neighbour, a friend of a friend, and complete strangers.
She also breached patient confidentiality by telling her partner that his long-time friend and former brother-in-law was in hospital.
An internal IT audit carried out by the health board in 2018 brought Naughton’s concerning behaviour to light.
A probe and disciplinary proceedings were launched, which resulted in the nurse being sacked by NHS Lothian in April 2019.
The Nur sing and Midwifery Council found that Naughton’s fitness to practise was impaired and handed her a four-month suspension after she admitted the data breaches.
The panel noted that while she was a “competent and able nurse” who had shown some remorse for her actions, she had failed to properly explain why she had accessed the information.
The ruling stated: “You placed patients at an unwarranted risk of psychological and emotional harm by violating their right to privacy.
“The panel was satisfied that your actions brought the nursing profession into disrepute.
“The panel also found that you had breached fundamental tenets of the nursing profession by breaching patient privacy.”
The ruling added the panel “considered that your remorse was linked to losing your job and damaging your reputation, and that you did not demonstrate genuine remorse or insight into the impact of your actions”.