"Anthony R. Gold" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 15 Sep 2008 09:15:06 +0100, BobC wrote:

"A friend" who works for in the medical profession told me about a
patient who arrived for an appointment. He asked for his name, but as
he was foreign couldn't understand it, so asked him to spell it. In
response he offered his driving licence to copy it from.

But on seeing the licence, the picture was nothing like the person
presenting it. In fact not even the same skin colour!

I said "Well I assume you asked him to sit in the waiting room, while
you went and called the police!"
"Oh no we can't do anything like that, patient confidentiality means
we are not allowed to do anything about it".

This sounds balmy to me. This is surely important not only to the
authorities but also the doctor who will effectively be treating a
different person to who he thinks he is.

Does the goup feel this use of "patient confidentiality" is correct.
Discuss!

The information in question tended to indicate that the individual was
not a registered patient and perhaps was not even entitled to free
non-emergency NHS treatment from this practioner under any name.

Not at all.
This sounds like a GP situation. The GP is entitled to treat the person,
but not charge the NHS for the same. I know few GPs who would turn away
someone just beacuse they weren't entitled to NHS care. Hospitals are
another matter.