Good news and bad for Coasties using public hospital services.
Following revelations that a doctor using fake credentials worked at both Gosford and Wyong Hospitals, there’s news that patients have potentially been put at risk with the mishandling of private information.
But at least we’ll pay less for parking!
It was recently revealed that Shyam Acharya allegedly spent 11 years working at hospitals in Gosford, Wyong, Hornsby and Manly using the stolen identity of Sarang Chitale; he is currently believed to be overseas with Australian authorities trying to track him down. The Department of Immigration and Border Protection says it’s aware of visa fraud allegations and investigations are underway.
However NSW Health said Central Coast Local Health District (CCLHD) had no documented complaints against the ‘doctor’ in question, nor did it have any record of performance issues.
Now the State Opposition is calling for an external review of hospital privacy, after patient records were found in a public car park on the Central Coast.
It’s alleged that patient privacy was breached almost 50 times since 2014- 16 times in the year 2015-2016, including a confidential list containing patient names and medical information found in a walkway near Gosford hospital.
Another patient’s emergency assessment paperwork was found in the hospital’s car park. These patients were not informed because the situation wasn’t deemed to put them at “serious risk of harm”.
In another breach of privacy, a patient was given test results belonging to a different patient with the same surname. In this case the patient whose privacy was breached, was informed.
Other cases include the address of a patient being given to their former partner after their child was brought to the Emergency department, and a staff member allegedly accessing electronic medical records of their ex-partner and child.
CCLHD has apparently implemented a number of measures to reinforce the importance of patient privacy, with extra training for staff.
But a great prognosis for those who have to visit hospital often. On Monday NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian responded to 14 year old Gidon Goodman’s petition to cut costs for parking at public hospitals. The teenager started his petition after his family spent an estimated $10,000 in parking fees for his regular visits to hospital. 70,000 people backed him up and the Premier has now announced a huge reduction in fees at all public hospitals in the state.
Patients and families who need to make regular or return trips to Gosford or Wyong hospitals will now pay around $20 a week instead of up to $200 – a saving of around $1600 over a year of weekly visits. The parking fee comes in effect on 1st July 2017. Carpark operators affected by the cuts will receive $11 million a year in compensation.
