The recent crash of a Lufthansa jet has caused many experts to question the aspect of confidentiality when it comes to the mental health of their pilots. As a chaplain I find this a very interesting and necessary discussion and one that has no easy answers.
The co-pilot of this flight that crashed into the French Alps, was by all reports, suffering from depression. He had been to doctors and presumably a psychiatrist as recently as this week. So the question that many are asking is a simple one: why did Lufthansa not know about this man's condition? The Hippocratic Oath taken by physicians, includes a section about confidentiality. These doctors who had been treating this pilot would appear to have taken this oath seriously and not divulged this information to the man's employer. There is speculation that the pilot might have lied about his profession and as such, the doctors had no idea of the danger he potentially posed to others.
For the sake of this argument, let's assume the doctors did know that this man was a pilot, flying 35, 000 feet in the air with as many as 150 passengers. Where does confidentially end and common sense take over?
As a chaplain, one of the most crucial aspects of our profession, is the ability to maintain confidentiality when someone confides in us. In that sense we are no different than physicians. As chaplains however, we make it clear that if we feel the individual confiding in us is a threat to others or himself, we will report it. It is sometimes a difficult decision to make if it may cost someone their job or even worse. As a chaplain I have another recourse and that is to refer the person to a medical professional, before deciding what actions to take. The idea being: more than one opinion.
I have dealt with individuals who seemed to be dealing with depression and found that the situation didn't meet the criteria for clinical depression. Some however, if I felt I could not help effectively, I passed on to someone who could based on their training. In this process however, confidentiality was maintained until it was determined if there was a risk to others. Of course, depression isn't the only condition that needs monitoring in a work place. As a chaplain the range of issues can range from marital problems to addiction to the potential of domestic violence. Each of these can affect the performance of an employee in the workplace and always has the potential of endangering the lives of those around them.
As the life of this pilot becomes clearer, there can be a danger of over reacting. PTSD is an issue that first responders and military personnel struggle with daily. The minute confidentiality is threatened, these individuals will be forced to continue to suffer in silence. All the efforts to make it easier for these folks to get the help they need, will be compromised should confidentiality be removed in the process. To me, common sense needs to come into play. Some will say that depression is easy to recognize but that is certainly not the case unless you are looking for it. There are signs to look for and there are several helpful tips to be found on how to do that. Just google the words "depression test" if you are interested. Be careful with this because symptoms can sometimes be attributed to lack of sleep or something quite harmless.
Lufthansa may very well face huge lawsuits due to this crash but it may depend on what they knew. Is it possible the doctors might be held liable for not informing Lufthansa? This has already caused several airlines who didn't already have the policy, to change protocol and now always have 2 pilots or a pilot and crew member in the cockpit.
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