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| Confidential health records lost | Confidential health records lost |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Confidential health records of more than 38,000 patients have gone missing after a computer back-up tape was lost by a courier firm, an NHS trust said. | Confidential health records of more than 38,000 patients have gone missing after a computer back-up tape was lost by a courier firm, an NHS trust said. |
| The Isle of Wight's Sandown Health Centre sent its records to a specialist firm for its software to be checked. | The Isle of Wight's Sandown Health Centre sent its records to a specialist firm for its software to be checked. |
| But the tape containing records of patients dating back to July 1996, failed to arrive when it was sent back using courier firm City Link. | But the tape containing records of patients dating back to July 1996, failed to arrive when it was sent back using courier firm City Link. |
| The Isle of Wight NHS Primary Care Trust fears "it may be lost forever". | The Isle of Wight NHS Primary Care Trust fears "it may be lost forever". |
| The risk of the tape being misused is extremely small Isle of Wight NHS Primary Care Trust | |
| A City Link spokesman said: "Naturally we are concerned about the loss of our customer's consignment and a rigorous search continues. | A City Link spokesman said: "Naturally we are concerned about the loss of our customer's consignment and a rigorous search continues. |
| "An investigation is under way and we are doing everything in our power to resolve this situation." | "An investigation is under way and we are doing everything in our power to resolve this situation." |
| A spokesman from the trust explained the back-up tape was sent away to ensure that it could be used effectively to restore information on the health centre's computer if it was damaged in a fire or other system failure. | |
| He said the back-up tapes were more secure than data stored on CD-ROM and the health centre still had a copy of all the data so patients would not be affected. | |
| "The risk of the tape being misused is extremely small," the trust spokesman added. | |
| "The tape requires specialist computer equipment to run it and the data is password-protected. | |
| "Highly advanced computer skills and/or access to a specialist programme only normally used by GPs and the data verification company are needed to make any sense of the information on the tape." | |
| The PCT and the health centre, which has been contacting patients to advise them of the loss, has set up a telephone helpline to address people's concerns. |