7 long-term residents had privacy breached, admits Central Health — but health authority saying little else

Central Health, commenting publicly for the first time since families started speaking up about privacy breaches at the Baie Verte Peninsula Health Centre, says seven residents of long-term care were affected in some way.

But the regional health authority is still revealing very little information about the nature of the privacy breaches or how many staff were involved or disciplined as a result.

Three families have spoken to CBC News about being notified by Central Health of breaches of privacy, including two families who were told that inappropriate photos of their loved ones had been taken by staff.

Joanne Pelley, Central Health's vice-president of integrated health and chief nursing executive, said Tuesday she can't say more due to privacy concerns.

"What I can tell you is that the matter has been handled and any risk to patients has been mitigated," said Pelley. "It is with deep regret that we became aware of what was happening in this facility and we fully understand the tremendous upset and hurt that this has brought upon our residents and their families."

Not all breaches involved photos: Central Health

Pelley said not all of the breaches of privacy involve photos but she wouldn't provide much detail about the content of the photos, saying only, "There was no photo that showed any resident's private area."

Colleen Gray told CBC News her grandmother, Dorothy Foster, was talked about and laughed at by staff. Pelley said again that she wouldn't get into specifics.

"If a situation such as that occurred, that's really not showing compassion and care to the residents that you are taking care of," said Pelley. Care at Central Health is to be provided in keeping with the values of compassion, accountability, respect, equity and safety, she said.

Won't say how many employees

Pelley said disciplinary measures have been taken against staff involved in the breaches of privacy, "up to and including termination."

She wouldn't say how many staff are involved, what their job classifications are, or how many have lost their jobs but did say none of the staff involved will be providing care to residents.

All breaches at Baie Verte health centre

With all of the incidents taking place at the Baie Verte Peninsula Health Centre, Pelley said part of Central Health's investigation will be to review training processes, determine if more education or training is needed, and reiterate the accountability of all employees.

"We take privacy and patient safety very seriously, so I can't explain why some situations like this would occur," said Pelley. "I hope we don't ever hear of a situation like this again."

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