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NHS chiefs face legal action over lost data
30/ 1/2008
STOCKPORT health bosses could face legal action over the loss of personal information belonging to 4,000 patients in the borough.
The action follows the loss of a memory stick last November by an NHS employee who had it clipped on a cord around her neck as she walked to her car. The stick held the names, dates of birth and details of medical conditions of patients of Stockport Primary Care Trust as well as their NHS and Trust numbers and details of their GPs.
Patients affected said they were only informed about its loss by the Stockport PCT, after the story appeared in the newspapers.
Pat Ball, of Goyt Road, Portwood, who is a diabetic, contacted the Stockport Express to complain about the "shoddy" handling of the loss by the PCT. She explained: "I am absolutely gobsmacked. If they can lose this, what else can they lose? It was a case of abject carelessness and neglect that anyone could carry such important information around their neck.
"I intend to complain against the PCT and if there are enough people interested in organising a joint legal action against it, I would be happy to support it."
Another diabetes patient, James Whalley, from Romiley, said there was no doubt "there was a certain amount of negligence involved", and added: "I would be interested in taking joint legal action against the PCT."
Ian Garside from Romiley, who has asthma, said: "There’s been a plethora of these type of incidents that have recently come to light. I was in business and if any of my staff had done that it would have been pure negligence. I intend to take legal advice to see if there is anything further I can do."
Penny Ford, from Marple Bridge, who has MS and has recently had a hysterectomy said: "I really don’t like other people knowing my medical business and I am not happy that somebody out there has got my personal data and can do what the like with it."
One 70-year-old male from Bredbury who wished to remain anonymous said: "I have a chronic medical condition and there is no way I want people at work to know this. You just don’t expect this to happen with your medical records. Somebody ought to be held responsible for this loss."
Cheadle MP Mark Hunter said : "I was certainly shocked when I heard the news. You would have thought the procedures were already in place to prevent that happening. I want to ensure these procedures are now in place, but it’s a bit like closing the barn door after the horse has bolted.
"If any constituent of mine wanted to seek my support to back up such a complaint against the PCT I would be happy to give it. As far as legal action is concerned, I can understand why people affected would look at that. I think it’s up to each person affected to make a decision on that particular course of action
Most recent 2 of 2 user comments
30/01/2008 at 16:14
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Instead the only people that will paying for any compensation are joe public and the patients.
In the real world these overpaid idiots would have been sacked.
31/01/2008 at 22:11