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Terrible Hospital admin

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It is a human error, not an error with the computer systems. You stated earlier the address was correct on the letter but on the handwritten envelope, a 6 had been mistakenly replaced with a 9.

Have you never made an innocent mistake? Nobody is infallible.

I think you have to choose your battles wisely. Life is hard enough as it is.
 
'Tis better to plant the seed,
And let someone else do the gardening.

Just my own way of going about things...
 
It is not a battle it is an error concerning Information Governance whether hand written or not no one will get in serious trouble an investigation will bring to light the circumstances regarding this error and procedures will be put in place to prevent it's recurrence.

Think of it as providing feed back as to it being simple human error that may be so but it is indicative of a system gone wrong they need to be informed via the proper channels.
 
JohnEGreen said:
will bring to light the circumstances regarding this error and procedures will be put in place to prevent it's recurrence.
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The circumstances are thus; some under-paid, over-worked individual was addressing letters and got one digit wrong.

You can not prevent recurrence of human error. Unless the NHS are going to hire robots to address letters. They can only inform that it's happened and staff be asked to pay extra attention, which they try their best to do anyway.

It was a small mistake and writing to PALS or whoever, is blowing the whole thing out of proportion. In my ever so humble opinion.
 
mahola said:
The circumstances are thus; some under-paid, over-worked individual was addressing letters and got one digit wrong.

You can not prevent recurrence of human error. Unless the NHS are going to hire robots to address letters. They can only inform that it's happened and staff be asked to pay extra attention, which they try their best to do anyway.

It was a small mistake and writing to PALS or whoever, is blowing the whole thing out of proportion. In my ever so humble opinion.
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I haven't said anything about writing to PALS I said I'll bring it to their attention and based on their response I'll determine my next step. To you all they did was get one digit wrong but to me it's more than that.
Underpaid or not it should be brought to their attention and prevented from happening again. Mistakes will happen but it doesn't mean we shouldn't strive for better. I work in the NHS and the things are taken seriously and not just seen as a SIMPLE mistake.
The data protection Act is there for a reason. It's not a matter of a battle my daughter has the right to have her privacy protected.
If nothing the person in question and their colleagues will be more vigilant and the chances of it being repeated will be reduced.
 
Having accidentally opened other people's letters in the past (both my husband who has a different surname to myself, and my neighbour who has a different address AND name), I would put it down to pure human error, and forget about the entire thing.

If they had done it intentionally, or with any kind of nosey malice, then they certainly wouldn't have then gone to the trouble (and kindness!) of walking round to your house and hand delivering the letter. I would take that as a strong sign of their apology and goodwill.

As for the hospital's error. Sure, let them know. Let them lecture the poor worker and review their data protection protocols. But human error is human error, whether it is by an overworked administrator or a neighbour or you, or me. We have all done it. And none of us intend to do it again. And we will. Sure as eggs is eggs. No one is infallible.
 
JohnEGreen said:
Wrong it should be reported via PALS it is a serious matter hospitals are fined quite often for these instances of IG failings and it is taken quite seriously by hospital authorities and staff. .What can happen is the patient details are input on one part of the system and the letters are generated using another part of the system mistakes have to be corrected at a basic level across the whole system.

One department at our local hospital where my wife works in Admin over the last 2 years has sent out over 30,000 letters the people typing and sending out the letters can't check each one for correct address or details but has to go by what has been entered into the system.

Bye the way she dictated my earlier post. .
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Not wrong at all, just offering an opinion how I'd go about things, mistakes do happen...........it's human nature and I'd feel a lot happier personally speaking to the person who made the clerical error than report them to PALS.
 
I think what has been overlooked here is that the letter concerned a child and was addressed to the parents. Unless we are parents ourselves, we cannot fully appreciate the protectiveness we feel for our offspring and our desire to ensure confidentiality in matters concerning the health of a minor
 
poshtotty said:
I think what has been overlooked here is that the letter concerned a child and was addressed to the parents. Unless we are parents ourselves, we cannot fully appreciate the protectiveness we feel for our offspring and our desire to ensure confidentiality in matters concerning the health of a minor
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I am a parent.
 
mahola said:
The circumstances are thus; some under-paid, over-worked individual was addressing letters and got one digit wrong.
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Based on present information, this is a massive assumption. We have no idea of the circumstances of the individual, nor of what led to the mistake - Another scenario could be equally true. (e.g. not paying attention to work; too busy chatting with friends about: tv, boy/girlfriends, fashion, pop stars, texting, anything else). I feel it is better for the mistake to be brought to notice and dealt with properly. Those who manage the service will know whether it was due to overwork or carelessness and can handle it accordingly.

Just because someone works in the NHS that does not make them "angels" - or even close :eek:
 
I'm also a grandparent.

well my wife is no angel I'll grant you that. She has made errors her self and was mortified when they happened her advice is to report it in writing preferentially or by phone but report it. It's not about blame it's about correcting an error and preventing future incidents.
 
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As I have posted before Mrs Walnut Face received a letter, with her name and correct salutation, informing her that she had Prostrate Cancer. Two issues, who typed that to 'Mrs' and didn't spot the error? And was there some unfortunate chap out there blissfully unaware, or worse still told he was clear?
Mrs Walnut Face immediately informed me she would henceforth only be able to deal with one task at a time:D

The problem these days is that if you point out an error, in the hope of perhaps improving matters, some jobs-worth decides that much form filling must be done, and it has to be classed as an official complain. No matter what the originators intention, it is someone else who drives the matter in a differnt direction for their own ends
 
My father (now deceased, bless him.) & I have the same name. (Understandable.)
To be fair as a young guy living at "home". He'd get to the post before I did, tear em open "willy nilly" with "his" name on. (Annoying at the time.)
But,
Anything mistakenly mine he would pass on to me with a "we cool?" Confidential demeanour. & he was! Never judgemental..

I returned the "favour" years later when he developed demeture & upholding his dignity.. ;)
 
sally and james said:
Many women are prostrate. It's prostate cancer which is a men's thing!
By the way, haven't we anything better than a wrongly addressed envelope to worry about this evening, and, yes, for the record, I am a parent.
Sally
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There are various posts to comment on this is not the only one. I find your comment disrespectful. It's important to me which is why I asked for advice. You should just move on to a post which is ' BETTER' if that's how you feel.
 
JohnEGreen said:
I'm also a grandparent.

well my wife is no angel I'll grant you that. She has made errors her self and was mortified when they happened her advice is to report it in writing preferentially or by phone but report it. It's not about blame it's about correcting an error and preventing future incidents.
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My point exactly
 
Type1asem said:
There are various posts to comment on this is not the only one. I find your comment disrespectful. It's important to me which is why I asked for advice. You should just move on to a post which is ' BETTER' if that's how you feel.
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I feel for you. As a new member, whose original post is reaching out for advice, I'm saddened by the total lack of compassion in some of these replies.
 
Type1asem said:
There are various posts to comment on this is not the only one. I find your comment disrespectful. It's important to me which is why I asked for advice. You should just move on to a post which is ' BETTER' if that's how you feel.
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Hi,

I'm a guy. & found the humour in @sally and james 's post (assuming it was Sally?)

Only your neighbour is awgair.. Seek "satisfaction" thusly. Then correct the data with the hospital. ;)

No one is being disrespectful to your issue. We just all have different perspectives.
I feel for your kid & her diabetes. However her health is paramount in the long run..
 
I don't think this is an insignificant incident - necessarily. Maybe it is - maybe it isn't. I'm thinking about the roll-out of electronic patient records, with increasing professional, support service & patient access to records on-line. I believe it is crucial to the success of the roll-out that everyone involved has absolute faith in the consistent and constant accuracy of computerised records - and, more importantly, - that those who input to the system have total commitment to its accuracy and completeness, and checking, double checking, triple checking, that what they input is right and applies to that patient's record. We have all met the 'jobsworth' with dogged insistence that "computer says 'no'", "it's on the computer so it must be true".

It is essential to have a climate of confidence from early on - or the whole system will fail (in my 'umble opinion, sirs ....and ladies)

Guess I'll put my soapbox away for the rest of the evening ....... :)

edit: The point I was trying to make (badly as it turns out) is that the attitude of accuracy needs to be fostered at all times at all levels
 
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