NHS trust sends data CD to landfill
By Wesley Johnson
Friday, 16 September 2011The personal information of 1.6 million people has been put at risk after a CD was sent to a landfill site by an NHS trust by mistake, a watchdog said.
The Eastern and Coastal Kent Primary Care Trust put the CD, which contained the name, address, date of birth, NHS number and GP of about 1.6 million people, in a filing cabinet during an office move.
But no one told staff who sent the cabinet to the landfill site and it has not been recovered, the Information Commissioner's Office said.
... An undertaking signed by the trust's chief executive Ann Sutton read: "The Information Commissioner was provided with a report by the data controller informing that a filing cabinet containing personal data had been sent to landfill during a move of office premises.
"The filing cabinet contained a CD holding the address, date of birth, NHS number and GP practice code of approximately 1.6 million individuals.
Read the whole article. They promise to be more careful - next time.
The trust said it would now take action to bring in clear policies and procedures for when moving office, improve staff training and boost security against unauthorised and unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction and damage of personal records.
That is reassuring - I guess.
-- SS
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