A man who suffered a brain injury in an accident described as “some Final Destination s***” says he was “heartbroken” by the actions of a healthcare assistant who photographed him while in a coma and then shared the image and his medical information with others.

The incident led to an investigation by the Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC), whose report, released today, revealed the patient’s son was married to the healthcare assistant’s daughter and described a stressful family dynamic.

The man, whose name is redacted in the report, along with the date of the incident and the hospital’s details, had been admitted to intensive care after an accident that caused a severe traumatic brain injury and facial fractures.

His son and next of kin, referred to as Mr C in the report, was contacted and arrived at the hospital shortly after the man’s admission.

However, the man has another son, Mr B, who is the healthcare assistant’s son-in-law, according to the report by Dr Vanessa Caldwell, Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner.

The woman, who was employed by Health New Zealand, Te Whatua Ora (Health NZ), said Mr B had let her know his father was on the way to the hospital and asked that she keep him updated on his health status.

In a subsequent text conversation with her daughter, Mr B’s wife, the woman said the patient had “a head injury and facial fractures and a[n] uncleared spine but they will check on that”.

“[He] has an icp bolt in for pressure on the brain face is very swollen [Mr C] staying the night in waiting room do you [want] me to see if I can get a picture?” she wrote before taking a photo and sending it.

The following day, she messaged her daughter again with health updates, advising: “[H]e is ok going sometime today for ct drs stitching his lip I think.”

Screenshots of their messages were shared with others, including the woman’s other daughter.

The other daughter went on to share the photo and screenshots, and to discuss the man’s health, with her friend, who described his accident as “some Final Destination s***,” referring to the American horror film franchise.

Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Dr Vanessa Caldwell investigated the man's complaint. Photo / James Gilberd Photography Ltd

While the other daughter said the man was lucky to be alive, her friend said she messaged Mr C, whom she was also friends with.

Mr C, as the man’s next of kin, went on to complain about a privacy breach. An apology was provided, and he was assured the woman was working “at the other end of the unit,” away from the man.

He also claimed the woman asked the doctors not to share information with him until his brother, Mr B, was present.

Mr C said this caused a delay of about four hours in receiving information.

In text messages the woman sent her daughter and Mr B, she said: “The [doctor] said when the family is here he will give them an update on what’s happening”.

“[I have not] seen [Mr C] this morning, so if [Mr B] comes with him the [doctor] will talk with them,” she told them.

It was claimed the woman also added Mr B as a next of kin on his father’s record.

Mr C said a nurse approached him to confirm his father’s next of kin information. He said it had his details on a document but a “sticky note” attached to it had his brother, Mr B’s details written on it.

The nurse sought Mr C’s permission to add Mr B to the document.

“The clinical records provided to HDC confirm that on this date, [the nurse] noted that Mr C was the only next of kin, and that there was a stressful dynamic between the family and Mr B’s wife, Mrs B,” the report stated.

‘Hurting and heartbroken’

When the man woke up from the coma, about one week after his admission, he was told the woman had taken photos of him and shared them.

He complained to the nurse manager who later told the HDC she apologised on three occasions, though Health NZ was critical that the conversations were not documented.

Health NZ also said that following the man’s admission, the woman reported the conflict of interest several times but it was never documented.

The man felt the nurse manager had tried to “sweep it under the carpet” and that the hospital was “trying to cover up [the healthcare assistant’s] illegal activity”.

He went on to complain to the HDC about the woman photographing him without his consent and sharing it with others, along with his health status. He also alleged she interfered with his next of kin information.

The man said she has never apologised to him and stressed that the impact of the incident affected not only himself, but his whole family, leaving him “hurting and heartbroken”.

The healthcare assistant told the HDC that before she took the photo of the man, she sought permission from the duty nurse.

However, Health NZ said the duty nurse does not remember this conversation. The woman went on to say she could not be certain which duty nurse it had been, due to the time that had passed.

She said she sent the photo to prepare Mr B for what his father looked like and to ease his anxiety around hospitals.

“I acknowledge that I blurred the boundaries between trying to be helpful as a family member with the fact that I was in a role working in the hospital at the time.”

She denied trying to interfere with his next of kin information or asking the medical team not to share information with Mr C.

In her report, Caldwell recognised the situation had been distressing for the man and found the woman had breached the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights (the Code).

“Taking a non-consented photograph of [the man] and sharing his clinical information with a third party was wholly unacceptable behaviour from a healthcare worker, and in doing so [she] failed to respect [him] and his privacy.”

Concerning the alleged interference with the next of kin process, Caldwell was critical of the woman discussing the man’s care with the doctor when she knew it was inappropriate, having already identified the conflict of interest.

Health NZ was found to have breached the Code by failing to train its staff in the policies and procedures for protecting privacy and managing privacy breaches, and for failing to manage the subsequent complaints.

Caldwell recommended that the woman and Health NZ apologise to the man.

Recommendations were also made for the healthcare assistant to complete privacy courses and review Health NZ’s policies relating to the matter, which she has done.

The woman told the HDC she would not pass on a patient’s health information without adequate consent again.

Since the incident, Health NZ has made several changes around privacy training for its staff and the documentation of complaints.