‘Covert filming could get you prosecuted’, trust warns staff after undercover exposé

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East of England Ambulance Service warns staff of potential consequences of covert filming
Trust says it “cannot condone filming of patients and staff without consent policies in place”

An ambulance trust that was the subject of a documentary involving covert filming by an employee has warned staff they could be subject to ‘disciplinary action and even prosecution’ if they take this type of action.

East of England Ambulance Service Trust sent an all staff email yesterday outlining the potential consequences of filming covertly and reminding staff they must adhere to the trust’s social media and digital guidelines.

The email, seen by HSJ, followed Channel 4 broadcasting a documentary called Undercover ambulance: NHS Chaos – Dispatches which featured footage filmed covertly by one of the trust’s apprentice emergency technicians, and laid bare the extreme pressures on hospital and ambulance staff.

The message sent on Thursday by the trust’s interim officer Melissa Dowdeswell, said the apprentice who carried out the filming had since resigned and then set out what support staff could access from the trust if they had been affected by “an incredibly difficult couple of weeks”.

Ms Dowdeswell continued: “This type of filming is a huge breach of confidentiality and in some cases might lead to disciplinary action and even prosecution.

“Our social media and digital policy is in place to ensure that we are all clear about the guidelines, expectations and potential consequences if the policy is breached.” (see message in full below).

The trust defended this robust stance in a statement to HSJ. It said: “We cannot condone filming of patients and staff without consent and we have policies about this in place to protect patients and staff.

“This is a serious breach of patient confidentiality and breach of trust between colleagues, and is something that has been raised by colleagues at all levels both prior to and following the release of the programme.”

The trust said it “experienced unprecedented pressure through the winter”, but that it had been “open about these challenges, which meant we were not able to attend even our most serious patients as quickly as we would wish”.

The news comes just days after the trust’s chief executive apologised after a survey of staff from minority ethnic backgrounds found many had been subjected to racist behaviour by colleagues.

Trust staff said peers had made monkey noises and referred to banana boats in front of them, excluded them from social events, and assumed they could speak Middle Eastern and Asian languages just because of their skin colour, they told researchers.

The trust has had substantial cultural problems for several years, and commissioned the survey to “better understand the experience, perceptions and realities of the trust BME staff”, a board paper said.

EEAST’s message to staff in full on covert filming and Dispatches

“Last week Channel 4 broadcast a documentary about the NHS, centreing on EEAST and Watford General Hospital. In last week’s message we highlighted the fact that the programme featured covert filming which was carried out by an apprentice EMT who was based at Watford Ambulance Station and has now resigned from the service.

“This has not been easy, to learn about or to watch, and I know for many of you based at Watford it has been incredibly difficult couple of weeks. Please remember, if you need help or support to cope with any of this, whether you were directly impacted by the filming or feel affected having watched it, then please speak to line manager, our FTSU guardian or access the support of our wellbeing hub.

“This type of filming is a huge breach of confidentiality and in some cases might lead to disciplinary action and even prosecution. Our social media and digital policy is in place to ensure that we are all clear about the guidelines, expectations, and potential consequences if the policy is breached.”