‘BUT - What about Confidentiality?’

‘I could be disciplined and lose my job if I break patient confidentiality.  I err on the side of caution.’
                                Dr M, Consultant Psychiatrist, 2006
 
‘Fear about breaching patient confidentiality has frequently created a barrier to effective involvement of carers in mental health care.’ Dept of Health, 2006 (UK)

 ‘Sometimes patients know perfectly well we can’t tell their families anything because of confidentiality, and that families can’t check things with us.  Sometimes patients use that to stir trouble between staff and home.’  B, mental health nurse

‘Definitions of what constitutes confidentiality vary; interpretations and definitions even vary between doctors and departments and over time.’

‘Doctors have concerns about confidentiality.   Therefore they are unable to give you individualised information but they are able to describe the problem in general.  'Skills-based Learning and Caring for a Loved One with an Eating Disorder: The New Maudsley Method’, by Janet Treasure, Gráinne Smith, Anna Crane, pub 2007, Routledge  (See Reading Resources )

Trying to find a balance between the rights and needs of patients and home carers and the  responsibilities of both home and professional carers to provide best care has proved a very thorny issue over many years.