Visiting Hours: Inca hospital and patient information

You're in hospital. You are suffering all manner of indignities. Pointing Percy at the potty thing and missing. Being woken by the interrogation-like strip lighting at six in the morning in order to take the pill that is delivered in its little plastic cup.

Bad enough. But there is worse to come. Someone from the local council decides to pay you a visit. Nice of them to think of you? Possibly, and they would say that they were. Being nice, that is. The only problem is that they might have some ulterior motive. Or they've got hold of your details when they shouldn't have.

If you happen to be admitted to Inca hospital, then you can count yourself lucky if you don't actually live in Inca. If you don't, then the council won't bother with you. Not that they would ask you where you live. Oh no, because they already know. How? Because they've got the gen. Name, address, telephone number, hospital room and some medical detail - the particular care unit and nature of the admission. They pick it up in a sealed envelope left at reception every week or so. Or they did. Ever since the story broke a week or so ago as to what has allegedly been going on with patient information at the hospital, the visits would seem to have stopped. And the foregoing is what is alleged to have been happening.

The apparent breach of data protection at the hospital is being taken seriously enough that the national data protection agency (AEPD - Agencia Española de Protección de Datos) is saying that it will act even if there is no specific "denuncia" forthcoming.

The basics of the case are these. Patient information has allegedly been passed to Inca town hall and specifically to the Partido Popular ruling party. This has then been used as the basis for visits to patients by representatives of the town hall. In a way it could all be innocent enough. Just saying hello, how are you. Being nice, in other words. But the suggestion is that the visits are intended as a bit of an electioneering exercise. Patients not resident in Inca have been ignored.

Since the rumpus kicked off there have been all manner of denials and explanations from the town hall. One reason given for the visits is that they seek to establish if social services help might be required. Fair enough perhaps. But involving social services, be they from Inca or any other town, should surely be the domain of the hospital's welfare department. Or am I missing something here?

Regardless of the purpose to which the information has been used and regardless of whether the information was asked for or not (and there have been conflicting reports regarding this), the town hall has no right to have the information. Assuming it has ever had it. The town hall is denying that it has patient lists.

One has to consider this case in the context of data protection law in Spain. At the First European Congress on Data Protection that was held in Madrid in March 2006 the then Spanish Minister of Justice, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, said: "The country is a pioneer in fulfilling its commitments to the guarantee and protection of rights and individuals, and in the tools to manage data. In Spain we have not made it easy for dealers in personal data who attempt to violate the law."

This wasn't bluster. Spain does take data protection very seriously. You only have to remember your history to understand why Spain, along with Germany and the individual German "Länder", are among the strictest of adherents to the principle of data protection. So the apparent flouting of this principle is something which the data protection agency is right to take seriously.

The story has taken a number of twists and turns. The town hall, in the person of the former mayor, Pere Rotger, admits that visits have been made for some time. But that lists of patients have never been used. He says that no one has complained; on the contrary, they are thankful for the visit. The current mayor, Rafel Torres, says that town hall representatives, such as the head of health, do make visits and quite openly so. Again without the aid of information. The Partido Popular is challenging the opposition PSOE socialists to prove that its representatives have used information, adding that the PSOE has also made visits to patients.

The town hall is mounting a strong defence. As you would expect, especially as a contravention of the law could land someone in choky. This though would be an over-reaction, if it is proven that the law has indeed been broken. The case smacks of, at worst, naïvity. What seems to have started out with the best of intentions and has probably continued to be so has backfired. But a question remains. Why would patients from other towns be ignored and seemingly knowingly be ignored?


Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.