NHS 'lost' 91-year-old woman due to 'data protection'
- Published
Margaret Whitehouse, known as Rita, went to hospital because she seemed confused after a fall at her home
A frustrated son said the NHS "lost" his 91-year-old mother after she was taken to hospital by ambulance.
Harry Whitehouse said the ambulance service could not tell him where his mother Margaret had been taken due to "data protection".
All the hospitals in Nottinghamshire, where Mrs Whitehouse lives, told her son she was not with them.
East Midlands Ambulance Service said it has a "legal duty not to disclose patient confidential information".
EMAS eventually revealed where she had gone after BBC Radio Nottingham intervened.
She had been "lost" for 18 hours by then and Mr Whitehouse said the situation was "just absolutely bonkers".
The ambulance service eventually told BBC Radio Nottingham which hospital Margaret Whitehouse had been taken to
"I've got a 91-year-old confused lady who has apparently been lost by the NHS," he said shortly before she was found on Sunday afternoon.
"The ambulance control room wouldn't tell me where they had taken her because it was subject to data protection.
"It's just absurd really."
East Midlands Ambulance Service said they could not tell Harry Whitehouse where his mother had been taken due to "data protection"
Mrs Whitehouse was taken to hospital after having a fall at her home in Farndon at about 19:00 GMT on Saturday.
Mr Whitehouse, who lives more than 100 miles away in Scarborough, spoke to the ambulance crew on the phone, but they did not know which hospital they were taking her to.
Mrs Whitehouse took her son's phone number on a piece of paper so hospital staff could ring him when she arrived.
When he did not receive a call after a few hours, he started to call hospitals in Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire - but all of them said she was not there.
Hospital apology
He rang the hospitals again on Sunday morning, then decided to contact BBC Radio Nottingham.
A journalist traced Mrs Whitehouse to the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham. Staff had told him three times his mother was not there, Mr Whitehouse said.
A spokesperson for EMAS said: "The operator correctly declined to provide any details to Mr Whitehouse but did advise him that patients from Farndon are taken to the QMC and suggested he contact them."
In a statement, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust has apologised.
"We understand Mr Whitehouse had difficulty in getting information about where his mother was being cared for when he contacted the hospital," it said.
"We are sorry this happened and are pleased the matter has now been resolved."