Inappropriate pictures of long-term care residents raise questions in House of Assembly
At least two families contacted by Central Health as investigation continues
Allegations that long-term care staff in the Baie Verte hospital took inappropriate pictures of residents made it to the floor of the House of Assembly, as politicians asked and answered questions about the possible privacy breach.
Central Health is investigating the allegations, along with the RCMP and Newfoundland and Labrador's privacy commissioner.
Opposition house leader Barry Petten asked premier Andrew Furey on Thursday whether or not he would launch a full-scale investigation to ensure similar incidents are not happening in other long-term care units.
Furey wouldn't comment on the specific case, but Health Minister Tom Osborne called the incident "shocking," before saying it is being handled by the local health authority.
"Any time a situation like this happens, it is unacceptable," said Osborne. "Central Health is carrying out an investigation. Until that investigation is complete and we know the results, we're not able to comment on that any further."
Privacy commissioner calls for RCMP investigation
Newfoundland and Labrador's privacy commissioner says he's very concerned about allegations of a breach of privacy at the Baie Verte Peninsula Health Care Centre.
Two families have told CBC News they've been contacted by Central Health about inappropriate photos taken of their loved ones in long-term care at the facility.
Michael Harvey, the province's information and privacy commissioner, said Central Health made his office aware of the situation shortly after it was discovered, which he was told was in early September.
"The first thing that we did, that we asked for when we learned about this, because we were extremely concerned, is. 'Is law enforcement involved?' Because to me, for what's being alleged, the Criminal Code is the best act to address this," said Harvey.
"In my view, because of the seriousness of the nature of the allegations, the RCMP should go first," he said.
The RCMP have confirmed that they are investigating but say they won't provide details of the active investigation.
Major breach
Harvey said Central Health is obligated to notify his office whenever there is a major breach of privacy.
"This certainly qualifies," said Harvey.
He said he's been told Central Health has notified the people affected or their family members or next of kin, as the health authority is required to do whenever there's a risk of substantial harm.
"There's no question at all that harm has taken place if the facts are correct, and so notification is unquestionably required in this instance," said Harvey.
The two families who've gone public with their stories said they were contacted by phone by Central Health about three weeks ago.
Can't reveal specifics
Harvey said he can't give specific details about what Central Health told him, including the content of the photos in question.
"It would be inappropriate for me to reveal what was in that breach report," said Harvey.
Harvey did say that there are at least four organizations investigating the breach of privacy at the Baie Verte Peninsula Health Centre, as there is other legislation that potentially applies, including the Adult Protection Act and laws that govern any health professionals who may have been involved.
Trust undermined
Harvey said he's particularly concerned that the people affected by the breach of privacy are in the care of the health-care system and have already suffered a loss of dignity because of the vulnerable situation they're in.
"When the health-care professional themselves is the one to violate that dignity, it's an extraordinary betrayal of trust and that can't be tolerated," he said. "When they do this, they not only harm the person whose privacy is violated, but they harm all of us by undermining the trust that we have in our health care system."
"When we're talking about images of a person who is particularly vulnerable, a person's body, then the link to dignity is really self-evident," said Harvey.
Harvey said he felt "the same sense of outrage" as reflected in some of the news articles he's read this week, and he's anxious to see how the police investigation and other investigations unfold.
Harvey said his office will continue to monitor this breach and Central Health will stay in contact with his office.
He said the affected people and their families also have the right to make a complaint directly to his office.
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