A Fife politician has strenuously denied breaching the confidentiality code after a post on social media allegedly identified the address of a member of the public being tested for coronavirus.
SNP Councillor Lea McLelland, representative for Lochgelly, Cardenden and Benarty, has defended her decision to share a post on her personal Facebook page on Sunday, highlighting NHS Fife staff were in Lochgelly testing for a potential case of the virus in her constituency.
Ms McLelland was one of nearly 500 people to share a Facebook post adding the comment which read: “Someone being tested in Lumphinnans Road, Lochgelly.
“There is no need to panic, this is precautionary measure to keep us all safe.”
An email highlighting the councillor’s post was sent to both co-leaders of the administration as well as Steve Grimmond, Fife Council’s chief executive.
Ms McLelland has denied her actions were in breach of Fife Council’s confidentiality code, adding the address was already in the public domain.
She said: “Having read through more than 500 comments on the individual’s original post about her brother being tested, I shared the post in a bid to dispel some of the speculation and anxiety being voiced by some within the local community.
“Understandably there is a huge amount of public in interest in the coronavirus and my post was made in good faith in a bid to keep the public informed and take the necessary precautions as being advised health experts.
“I’m aware my post has been highlighted to the council leaders, but having sought clarification on the matter I’ve been informed that in no way did my post constitute a breach.”
Fife Council chief executive Steve Grimmond said: “We have been made aware of this and at the moment we are looking into the circumstances surrounding the post.”
David Alexander, co-leader, added: “Fife Council treats every complaint it receives with the utmost seriousness and will investigate accordingly.
“However I’m not sure in this instance that an anonymous email actually constitutes an actual complaint.”
Public speculation regarding the coronavirus in Fife has continued to escalate since the announcement on Friday of the first two confirmed cases of the those with the virus in the Kingdom.
