“THE NHS Undercover programme has been hit by Ofcom complaints after the show was accused of ‘breaching patient confidentiality’. The Channel 4 documentary 999 Undercover: NHS in Crisis by Dispatches aired earlier this month. Sign up for the TV newsletter Thank you! Undercover reporter Robbie Boyd said the conditions were ‘awful’ as he reported on”, — write: www.thesun.co.uk
The Channel 4 documentary 999 Undercover: NHS in Crisis by Dispatches aired earlier this month.
Thank you!
Undercover reporter Robbie Boyd said the conditions were ‘awful’ as he reported on the showCredit: Channel 4
The show aired on October 13Credit: PA A Dispatches reporter went undercover inside a 999 control room to reveal the truth about our overstretched ambulance services.
But in the process of filming, the programme has been accused of “breaching patient confidentiality” with the NHS even distancing itself from the documentary.
Ofcom say that 999 Undercover: NHS in Crisis received more than 50 complaints.
The complainants alleged the programme misrepresented the ambulance service and breached patient confidentiality.
57 complaints in total logged from October 14 to October 20.
The NHS has distanced itself from the documentary in a statement they shared online.
The journalist joined SECAmb as an Emergency Medical Advisor but left the Trust soon after.
The NHS state that the documentary was made “without the Trust’s knowledge or consent, and we have not been allowed to see the footage before it is broadcast”.
They went on: “We take any breach of patient confidentiality and breach of trust between colleagues extremely seriously and recognise that patients who called us during this period and our colleagues who work in Medway EOC may be concerned.
“We have been informed by the programme makers that patients and colleagues filmed without consent have been anonymised and that the documentary has been prepared in accordance with the Ofcom Code.”
Providing the statement to the programme makers, the NHS revealed that a spokesperson responded.
A SECAmb spokesperson said: “We’re incredibly proud of our control centre teams, who work tirelessly, often in challenging circumstances, to provide the highest standards of care, responding to almost a million 999 calls every year.
“We know there are challenges in consistently meeting national performance standards for all ambulance trusts, particularly for Category 2 emergencies and mental health cases.
“However, since our CQC inspection in 2022, we’ve made significant strides forward and continue to push for further improvement.
“We remain committed to achieving the Cat 2 target for those who need urgent care the most.
“While we recognise that some patients’ experiences may fall short of our expectations, we are determined to learn from these and strengthen our response.
“At the same time, we’re transforming how we deliver services to ensure care is sustainable in the face of rising demand.
“Innovations such as urgent care hubs and virtual care are already making a difference—helping us improve performance and ensuring patients receive the right care, first time.”
57 Ofcom complaints were loggedCredit: Channel 4