PATIENT PRIVACY, DIGNITY & CONFIDENTIALITY POLICY

Issue Date: 1/ 10/ 2021

Name of Hospital – DISTRICT HOSPITAL Review Date: 23/ 11 / 2021
AHMEDNAGAR
Name of Policy – Patient Privacy, Dignity & Page No: 1-3
Confidentiality Policy
Department Affected – All patients and visitors Authorised by: D r S . D . G h o g r e
attending hospital. Civil Surgeon D.H.A-NAGAR

Purpose:
All patients receiving care have their rights to privacy & dignity actively accepted and
respected and confidentiality of their personnel information is protected.

Scope:
Applies to all staff working within the organization, and any workers (agency staff, visiting
professionals etc.) that provide healthcare services within the organization.

Privacy, Dignity and Modesty

Patients have the right to:
 Be treated with dignity at all times
 To have their modesty protected
 To remain autonomous and independent wherever possible.

Policy on Privacy, Dignity and Modesty

 All patients approaching the hospital for medical treatment will receive care
appropriate to their healthcare need and scope of services provided by the hospital.

 Quality of medical care will be same in all care settings of the hospital and no
discrepancy of any sort will be followed in the provision of medical care.

 All treatment orders would be signed, dated and timed by the concerned clinician. Any
treatment order initiated by a hospital’s clinician different from the primary treating
consultant of the patient will be countersigned by the primary treating consultant
within 24 hours.

 Closing curtains fully and positioning screens correctly in all areas where service users
are required to undress, including outpatient settings.

 Utilizing an area (e.g. a bedroom) within a service user’s home which is more
conducive to privacy and dignity principles.

 Not asking a patient to take off more clothing than is necessary.

DH AHMEDNAGAR
  Following physical examination or procedure, patient should have an opportunity to
re- dress before any interaction continues.

 Checking with a patient that they give permission to have their personal care
undertaken by a person of the opposite sex, patient wishes should be respected where
possible. When this is not appropriate or possible, patient should have access to
hospital clothing that protects their modesty and is acceptable to them.

 Ensuring that medical aids (e.g. stoma bags, catheters etc) which may cause the patient
distress or embarrassment are covered in a manner which is acceptable to them.

 A patients dietary needs, preferences and assistance requirements at meal times should
be assessed, recorded and referred to by clinical staff. Give service users time to eat
without rushing and aim to avoid interruptions to mealtimes by utilizing the
‘protected mealtime’ principles.

 Where patients may have clearly identified risk behaviours, an intervention sometimes
indicated within in-patient mental health and learning disability services is that of
‘special observation.’ In this instance there will be times where the service users privacy
or dignity is compromised (e.g. staff assisting a service user for the shower). Special
observations are a demanding intervention both for the service user and staff member,
therefore communication must be maintained and privacy/ dignity should be
considered where possible.

 If there is need of counseling, then there should be proper separation of room for the
counseling of patient.

 The primary treating consultant can refer the patient to other clinical specialty either
within the hospital or to the identified external healthcare institutions if the patient’s
medical need demand the same.

Confidentiality
Patients have a right to expect that:
 Patient information is shared to enable care, with their consent.

Patient Confidentiality policy:

 Only sharing information that a patient discloses, with staff who are directly involved
in their care and with the patient verbal consent.

 Staff asking for personal and demographic details ensures they cannot be overheard.

 Obtaining patient consent before disclosing information to family and friends.

DH AHMEDNAGAR
  Being aware of and alert to anyone who may overhear staff
conversations. It is not acceptable to discuss clinical information in
public areas even if a patient name is not used.

 Ensuring written patient information which contain confidential

details are disposed of correctly and are not left in public places.

 Precautions are taken to prevent information being shared

inappropriately, e.g. Medical Records.

 Patient’s response to treatment, his /her health status, further

treatment plan etc. will be discussed among the clinical and nursing
staff involved in provision of care to the patient.

Clinicians are encouraged to consider the following points in using

evidence based medicine for the provision of optimum care to the
patients which are:
 Convert information need into answerable questions.
 Track down the best evidence to answer the question (with maximum
efficiency).
 Critically appraise the evidence for its validity and usefulness.
 Integrate appraisal results with clinical expertise and patient values.
 Evaluate outcomes.

DH AHMEDNAGAR