"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!

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!"

It's not a crime to present another person's driving licence to a
doctor.

"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!

Doctors have an overriding duty to treat patients. If they are unsure
of the identity of the patient, it would be more difficult to treat
them, but no more than if they didn't have the patient's medical
notes.

You don't say whether the name on the driving licence matches a
patient on the doctor's list.

"IanAl" 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!"

It's not a crime to present another person's driving licence to a
doctor.

Of course, the patient may have said 'jkljlkjl jkljl jlk jlk jkl jlk jlkj
lkj lkj kljl kj lkjk l jklj lkjlkjlkjlkklj jkljlkjlk', which translates as
'This is my cousin's driving licence, which he asked me to look after, and
he has the same surname as me - so you can get my name from that'

On 15 Sep, 11:00, IanAl wrote:
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!"

It's not a crime to present another person's driving licence to a
doctor.

"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!

Doctors have an overriding duty to treat patients. If they are unsure
of the identity of the patient, it would be more difficult to treat
them, but no more than if they didn't have the patient's medical
notes.

You don't say whether the name on the driving licence matches a
patient on the doctor's list.

There is no overriding duty to carry out non-emergency treatment.

On 15 Sep, 11:00, IanAl wrote:
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!"

It's not a crime to present another person's driving licence to a
doctor.

But it is fraud (at least morally) to obtain free NHS treatment when
you are not entitled to it. Obtaining prescription medicines
prescribed to someone else would be a drug offence as well.

On 15/09/08 12:30, wrote:
On 15 Sep, 11:00, IanAl wrote:
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!"
It's not a crime to present another person's driving licence to a
doctor.

But it is fraud (at least morally) to obtain free NHS treatment when
you are not entitled to it. Obtaining prescription medicines
prescribed to someone else would be a drug offence as well.

But in any event, a driving licence alone is no evidence of immigration
status.

- Ian

--
Ian Chard, Senior Unix and Network Gorilla | E:
Systems and Electronic Resources Service | T: 80587 / (01865) 280587
Oxford University Library Services | F: (01865) 242287

wrote in message
...
On 15 Sep, 11:00, IanAl wrote:
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!"

It's not a crime to present another person's driving licence to a
doctor.

"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!

Doctors have an overriding duty to treat patients. If they are unsure
of the identity of the patient, it would be more difficult to treat
them, but no more than if they didn't have the patient's medical
notes.

You don't say whether the name on the driving licence matches a
patient on the doctor's list.

There is no overriding duty to carry out non-emergency treatment.

The Doctor can treat anyone he likes, assuming he is an independent
practicioner.
The Doctors duty is to the patient, not the Home Office.

"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.

On 15 Sep, 09:15, 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!

Thanks for all the replies. They have all concentrated on the medical
side of it though, "should the doctor treat the patient".

What I was really getting at was, should he have reported to the
police the fact that someone was going around with a false/someone
else's driving licence?
If someone had presented that to me, I would have, but I'm not in the
medical profession.
As part of my work I do get presented with driving licences and have a
duty of confidentiality, but if someone tried to fool me by presenting
a clearly wrong one, the confidentiality would got out the window and
I'd report it!

BobC wrote:
On 15 Sep, 09:15, 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!

Thanks for all the replies. They have all concentrated on the medical
side of it though, "should the doctor treat the patient".

What I was really getting at was, should he have reported to the
police the fact that someone was going around with a false/someone
else's driving licence?
If someone had presented that to me, I would have, but I'm not in the
medical profession.
As part of my work I do get presented with driving licences and have a
duty of confidentiality, but if someone tried to fool me by presenting
a clearly wrong one, the confidentiality would got out the window and
I'd report it!



What are you actually reporting? It isn't an offence to carry somebody
else's driving license.

Are you concerned that the carrier is trying to obtain services that
they aren't entitled to or that they are illegally here or something?