A Dundee nurse has been struck off for inappropriately accessing the medical records of cancer patients at a city hospital.
Jennifer Ramsay was discovered to have seen the electronic files of 10 people attending the Macmillan Day Care Unit in Roxburghe House at Royal Victoria Hospital between August and December 2009 without clinical justification.
After a two-day misconduct hearing in Edinburgh, the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) disciplinary panel decided to remove the Macmillan day care nurse from the register.
They had heard that a patient had complained about details of her medical condition being discussed on the unit without her consent.
An inquiry was launched and it was found that Ms Ramsay had accessed the files when she was not authorised to do so.
A further audit was carried out and it uncovered unauthorised access to the records of a total of 10 patients by Ms Ramsay on more than 40 occasions over the period.
The NMC said nurses hold a position of trust which entailed people’s right to confidentiality being respected.
Nurses also must not abuse their position for their own ends and must uphold the reputation of the profession.
The panel found that the actions of Ms Ramsay, who lives near Broughty Ferry, amounted to misconduct and that her fitness to practise was impaired.
They thought that her failings could be remedied but Ms Ramsay, who did not attend the hearing, had not provided any evidence that she had taken steps to remedy her shortcomings.
They also noted it was not an isolated incident. The breaches were numerous and took place over a sustained period of time and the panel viewed that there was an issue of future repetition.
Ms Ramsay provided a written statement in which she said: ”I worked in a very irresponsible manner and am left with this thought daily.”
The statement also referred to wanting to help some of the patients.
She did not address the impact of her actions and the panel thought this showed a lack of insight into the possible repercussions of her failings risking the possibility of her acting similarly in future.
In light of the wider public interest to protect patients, the panel decided to issue a striking-off order to remove Ms Ramsay from the register.
They thought it inappropriate to take no action or to caution her. Although there was no evidence of actual direct harm, there was distress caused to the patient who made the complaint.
Ms Ramsay had admitted the facts at the outset but denied the allegation relating to the initial complaint. The regret she expressed was limited and she failed to address the impact of her actions.
Ms Ramsay had significantly departed from the standards expected from a registered nurse, the judgment said, and her actions ”are fundamentally incompatible with her remaining on the register.”
On legal advice, an interim suspension order of 18 months was also imposed on Ms Ramsay to prevent her from working as a nurse should she decide to appeal against the verdict.
NHS Tayside said prior to the hearing that Ms Ramsay no longer worked for them, and that all patients connected to the case had been contacted and invited to talk to a senior member of staff.
No comment was available from Macmillan Cancer Care.