Confidentiality Pt HIV Status disclosed to a taxi driver

[simont]

hi my first post!!!

i am just starting nursing in Sheffield uk in september

i was working in a hospital in the uk as a admin assistnant. i recived an incident form from the nursing manager and it was reported that a PT that had been transfered to the hopsital i was at and had come form another hopital at the other hospital the nurse that booked the Taxi to bring him to my hospital (my department) had told the taxi driver that the PT was coming to our hopital for treatment of his HIV!!!!! I just coundnt believe that she had told him. due to the job i was in i had to phone her hospital and report her to the manager. the taxi driver then refused totake the PT

[FlyingScot, RN]

OK I've just got to ask this and it's totally OT. Is it common in the UK to transfer a patient from one hospital to another in a taxi?! Man that would save the US taxpayers big bucks. By law we must transport patients by ambulance with the same level of care they were receiving at the referring hospital.

[XB9S, BSN, MSN, EdD, RN, APN]

OK I've just got to ask this and it's totally OT. Is it common in the UK to transfer a patient from one hospital to another in a taxi?! Man that would save the US taxpayers big bucks. By law we must transport patients by ambulance with the same level of care they were receiving at the referring hospital.

It would be dependent on the patient but providing it is safe to do so then yes it is considered acceptable practice to use taxi transfers

[happy2learn]

I don't give a damn about "confidentiality". No one knows who said what. Also, HIV is a murderer. We let murderers walk the streets in the G20 but not in the real world. I respect whatever desicion the nurse made in order to insure safety of ALL.

HIV is a murderer? Really? No one dies from HIV. They die from AIDS.

You should not be in nursing with that attitude. What a shame that you think like that.

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

OK I've just got to ask this and it's totally OT. Is it common in the UK to transfer a patient from one hospital to another in a taxi?! Man that would save the US taxpayers big bucks. By law we must transport patients by ambulance with the same level of care they were receiving at the referring hospital.

Agree with Sharrie it would depend on the patient but would also depend on whether there was hospital transport available. The hospital I used to work in we also had hospital transport and the ambulance service also had cars that would be used for patient transport so not all necessarily would go in ambulances. But saying that the very few times I had used a Taxi to transport a patient no patient details was given out just where to take the patient

[JDZ344]

I book transport for patients as part of my job, to go home, and to be transferred. We don't use taxis for transport, we use dedicated non-emergency ambulances (driven by ambulance techs, or, if needed, a qualified paramedic). Very rarely do we even use taxis to get people home, unless it is after hours and the critea for a taxi (good mobility and stable medical condition) is met. But I suppose it varies by hospital trust.

[FlyingScot, RN]

Thanks for answering my question. Here in the US we have this little FEDERAL law called COBRA that would levy huge fines against any hospital that transported a patient to another hospital without a receiving physician's okay and the same level of care provided throughout transport. The only way to get around it is to actually discharge the patient and that can be a bit dicey to explain if something bad happens.