Eight health staff resign for snooping on Charlie Stevens’ medical records
An SA Health investigation confirmed eight staff members “inappropriately” accessed the medical records of Police Commissioner Grant Stevens’ son who tragically died after a hit-and-run crash at Schoolies last year.
An investigation into SA Health employees potentially accessing the medical records of Charlie Stevens following his death in November 2023 has resulted in eight staff resigning, SA Health announced today.
The staff resigned before the investigation’s outcome was finalised, but were advised that had they not resigned during the investigation, termination of their employment would have been pursued.
SA Health said the eight “were found to have inappropriately accessed clinical information”.
Findings of misconduct were made against a further ten staff, with a range of sanctions applied. The lesser punishment reflects what information these staff accessed, which was likely not clinical records.
“Sanctions ranged from warnings to reprimands, which took into consideration the facts and circumstances of each case,” SA Health said.
“Sanctions like these are part of an employee’s permanent record.”
One more employee is still under investigation, SA Health said.
“Staff have and continue to be reminded of the Code of Ethics and in particular their confidentiality and patient privacy obligations,” SA Health said.
“The patient’s family has been kept informed of the outcome of the investigations.
“Our sincerest apologies go to the family for distress caused.”
SA Health first suspended 10 staff for allegedly accessing Charlie Stevens’ medical records mid-year, as the public health service undertook the investigation.
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Charlie Stevens – the son of Police Commissioner Grant Stevens – suffered an irreversible brain injury and later died after being hit by a car at Schoolies in Victor Harbor last year.
“Protecting patients and their private clinical information is a matter we take extremely seriously,” SA Health said.
“We have a zero-tolerance approach to the inappropriate access of patient’s medical records.
“We have robust policies and processes in place to ensure that staff are accessing appropriate information and regularly conduct audits to ensure our policies are complied with.”
