An Inishowen family are seeking legal advice after being contacted by Letterkenny hospital authorities to say their mother’s medical file was found on a “public premises’ in Letterkenny.
The incident happened on May 9th last when a doctor’s ‘team sheet’ was found.
The sheet contained sensitive information on the patient including the woman’s name, medical record number, the reason for admission and the management plan for her condition.
A letter of apology was sent to the woman who said the matter had been reported to the HSE Consumer Affairs Department and to the Data Protection Commissioner.
It is the FIFTH such incident of a lost file or personal information after Donegal Daily first reported the discovery of another medical file in Bernard McGlinchey Park on Sunday.
We also reported how TWO patient lists of 33 people were found in March and May of this year on the streets of Letterkenny.
The latest case involves another elderly woman, who suffers from lung disease COPD, who is receiving treatment at Letterkenny University Hospital.
The woman’s family was contacted by staff at the hospital and told that proper procedures had not been followed and that the woman’s medical file had been found on a “public premises” but did not specify which premises.
The spokesperson for the hospital said the incident had been passed on to a “higher level” for investigation.
The family say their mother is very upset and they are now speaking with their solicitor with a view to taking a case against the hospital for negligence.
The family contacted local county councillor and member of the Western Health Forum Gerry McMonagle about the situation.
He told Donegal Daily “This family came to me and are very upset and I can completely understand this.
“The hospital now has to take responsibility and to put the proper measures in place to stop this from happening again.
“From the evidence, I have heard this is happening too often and it has to be investigated and a stop put to it.”
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