SECRECY ORDER

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25673, 23 October 1944, Page 7

SECRECY ORDER

AUCKLAND HOSPITAL STAFFS DECLARATION TO BE SIGNED (Special) AUCKLAND. Oct. 21. Members of the staffs of all departments of institutions under the control of the Auckland Hospital Board are being asked to sign a declaration of fidelity and secrecy. Hitherto, such a declaration has been signed by members of the clerical staffs only, but now all departments are being brought into An official of the board stated that the declaration was similar to the one used in the Government service. It had been felt that an employee who signed the form would be more Inclined to bear in mind his responsibility to refrain from irresponsible talk than one employed merely on a verbal understanding ** The form, which Is to be signed by each employee before the head of his, or her, department, is a declaration that the employee will faithfully perform the duties'imposed, and will maintain the secrecy of all matters coming to his, or her, knowledge, appertaining to the business of the board, or in relation to any patient in the boards institutions. _. ~ ... It has been stated, unofficially, that some members of the staffs of the board’s institutions have refused to sign, and consider that the course adopted by the board is an attempt to prevent any information reaching union secretaries on staff matters, but an official said that he had no direct knowledge of such objections, which he thought were groundless. The course being followed was in pursuance of a recommendation from the Complaints Committee of the board, made following a recent case of leakage of information from the X-ray department at the Auckland Hospital concerning a patient.