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Irish Times
2 days ago
- Health
- Irish Times
DPC opens ‘inquiry' into CHI over safety of children's records at Tallaght hospital
The Data Protection Commission (DPC) has opened an 'inquiry' into Children's Health Ireland (CHI) relating to the physical safety and security of children's health records at its Tallaght hospital. Last month, The Irish Times reported the watchdog conducted an unannounced inspection of a shared office for non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHDs) on the first floor of the hospital on July 16th. It is understood the door to the shared office, containing hundreds of patient charts, was propped open – making it accessible to people walking by. When closed properly, the door is locked with a keypad. In a statement on Thursday, the DPC said it became aware there were 'potential issues' at the site from a number of different sources, includingprotected disclosures and a breach notification submitted to the DPC by CHI. READ MORE 'This formal inquiry will examine CHI's compliance with their GDPR obligations, in particular relating to the security of personal data and the processes that CHI have in place for managing physical records at CHI (Tallaght),' the statement said. On the day after the unannounced inspection, Dr Turlough Bolger, a consultant in emergency medicine, sent an email to staff at the hospital highlighting concerns expressed by the commission. 'The report will be received in the coming weeks but they expressed concern regarding the number of charts in the room yesterday (approx 320 charts) and the amount of loose pages with patient details,' his email states. 'I expect that the recommendations will be wide-ranging and damaging to CHI at Tallaght.' Dr Bolger said he appreciates the 'hard work' made by staff to reduce the number of outstanding discharge charts in recent weeks, which has seen a 'significant reduction' from 900 to 600 charts. 'I have said repeatedly that there needs to be a sustainable approach to this issue. Ultimately, as the accountable officer in CHI at Tallaght, I am responsible for the overall situation regarding medical records.' Dr Bolger said as the accountable officer, he 'cannot rely on blitzes to clear backlogs as routine'. In order to clear the current backlog, Dr Bolger said he had requested that four NCHDs be allocated to discharges daily. He added that there was a need for 'an emphasis on the use of the confidential shredding bin for most of the loose pages'. A spokeswoman for CHI said 'immediate measures' were taken after the unannounced inspection to reduce potential risks, 'including reinforcing physical safeguards and engaging directly with staff'. 'Additional actions will follow, as appropriate, in line with our internal procedures and any recommendations issued by the DPC as part of its broader oversight,' she said. The spokeswoman added that CHI is transitioning to a 'fully digital health records system and, once complete, this will significantly reduce reliance on paper charts'.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Trump rescinds Biden order protecting gender clinics from investigation, signals new whistleblower protections
The Trump administration is rescinding a Biden-era directive protecting hospitals from investigations and signaled that beefed-up protections for medical whistleblowers would be forthcoming. The Health and Human Services Department (HHS) announced Friday it would be rescinding an executive order issued by former President Joe Biden in March 2022, which, among other things, gave hospitals the right not to comply with state-level investigations related to their provision of transgender medical treatments to minors. Trump's directive eliminates these protections, and the rescission notice indicates that further safeguards for medical whistleblowers are anticipated in the future. "Under the Biden regime, the door for whistleblowers was closed," said Dr. Eithan Haim, who was prosecuted by the Biden administration after he leaked documents to the media that revealed Texas Children's Hospital in Houston was performing transgender medical procedures on minors, even after it said it had stopped. "It was a complete inversion of the role of HHS, the role of our legal framework, because the criminal entities were being protected and the individuals exposing criminal entities were now the ones being targeted." Riley Gaines Featured In Trump Hhs Website That Builds On 'Two Sexes' Executive Order Haim was indicted last year by Biden's Department of Justice for blowing the whistle on Texas Children's Hospital, after it continued to provide transgender medical treatments to minors even though the hospital had publicly indicated it had stopped such services in order to comply with new state guidance. Several days after President Donald Trump was sworn in, the charges against Haim were dropped. Under Biden's March 2022 directive, titled, "HHS Notice and Guidance on Gender Affirming Care, Civil Rights and Patient Privacy," hospitals were permitted, but not required, to comply with investigations seeking information on their provision of transgender treatments. But, according to HHS's rescission notice, such guidance lacked "adequate legal basis under federal privacy laws." The notice added that, "by its own terms," Biden's March 2022 directive "permits" the release of personal health information tied to transgender procedures when it is needed to comply with other laws. Read On The Fox News App Trans Star Of Hit Hbo Series Says Renewed Passport Now Says Male After Trump Order "Covered entities should no longer rely on the rescinded 2022 OCR Notice and Guidance," stated HHS' rescission notice. It added that "in consultation with the Attorney General" the agency will also be "expeditiously" issuing new guidance to protect whistleblowers who take action in accordance with Trump's efforts to protect children "from chemical and surgical mutilation." Haim said that under Trump's new leadership, the U.S. legal system is being restored "to a place of equal protection under law, particularly as it relates to people who are trying to follow [Trump's] executive order, or any other federal laws." "The key thing with this new directive is that, as a healthcare provider, if a hospital or other doctors are participating in misconduct, if they're lying about something, if they are intervening on patients in a way that is harmful to those patients – especially kids – as a doctor, it's not only something you should do, it's something you have to do," Haim pointed out. Click To Get The Fox News App In addition to compelling hospitals and gender clinics to begin rigorous compliance with investigations, the Trump administration's Friday directive also removed gender dysphoria from being considered a disability under the federal Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. It also rescinded orders from the Biden administration indicating it was discrimination for federally funded health programs to refuse to treat someone on the basis of their gender identity. Fox News Digital reached out to HHS for comment but did not receive a response by publication article source: Trump rescinds Biden order protecting gender clinics from investigation, signals new whistleblower protections
