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Patients' info on stolen laptop Up to 3,000 patients' info stolen
(about 10 hours later)
A laptop with the personal details of hundreds of NHS patients was stolen from a doctors surgery, it has emerged. The details of up to 3,000 NHS patients could have been on a computer stolen from a doctors' surgery.
It had the names, addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth of 950 diabetes patients at a Newport surgery. The laptop containing patients' names, addresses, dates of birth and phone numbers was taken from the surgery in Newport on 5 November.
An NHS investigation is underway while the assembly government is facing calls for an inquiry. Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust said the laptop was coded with passwords and had three levels of protection.
Last month, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) in Swansea said it had sent at least 100 sensitive documents to the wrong motorists. However an NHS investigation is underway while the assembly government is facing calls for an inquiry.
Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust has confirmed it is to write to 950 diabetes patients whose details are known to have been on a laptop taken from St Julian's GP surgery on 5 November. Initially Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust chief executive Hugh Ross announced 950 diabetic patients had definitely been affected by the incident.
The trust told the BBC Wales programme Dragon's Eye that the data was password protected but not encrypted but did not contain any national insurance numbers or medical information. Thy were taking part in a screening service for people with eye problems
However, the record links to an image of patients's retina and in some cases included patient NHS numbers. But Mr Ross later told BBC Wales's Dragon's Eye programme that information about as many as 2,000 or 3,000 patients could be on the laptop.
The trust said the computer did not contain any national insurance numbers or medical information, but a link to a picture of patients' retinas was stored on it.
It is yet another disturbing development which will further undermine public confidence in measures to protect sensitive information Jonathan Morgan AMIt is yet another disturbing development which will further undermine public confidence in measures to protect sensitive information Jonathan Morgan AM
In a statement, trust chief executive Hugh Ross said the loss was an "isolated incident" which had been reported to the police and the Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Service (DRSS). Some patients' NHS numbers were also on it and it said it was in the process of writing to those affected by the theft.
He added that it was possible the records of other patients may have been stored on the machine. Mr Ross told the programme: "What I'm concerned about is my staff were investigating it, but very slowly and that's not good enough and that's what we need to get to the bottom of.
He said: "I have initiated an internal investigation into all aspects of the service, including our security measures. "I think it's a cock-up not a cover-up, frankly."
"I would like to offer a sincere apology to all patients affected by this theft and reassure them that there are very strong security measures on all our IT systems to prevent confidential information being accessed." He said the laptop was stolen from St Julian's GP surgery and added it was "possible that further patient records, which were due to be deleted, may still be stored on the computer.
"The trust has no way of knowing if this is the case unless the laptop can be recovered."
The theft was reported to the Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Service (DRSS) and local police immediately, he said.
Mr Ross said he had begun an internal investigation into the service and its security measures.
"I would like to offer a sincere apology to all patients affected by this theft and reassure them that there are very strong security measures on all our IT systems to prevent confidential information being accessed.
"This is an isolated incident and we are taking immediate action to try and ensure that it does not happen again."
The Conservative health spokesperson Jonathan Morgan AM said: "This is absolutely appalling and comes hard on the heals of the lost data scandal at HM Revenue and Customs and recent problems at the DVLA.The Conservative health spokesperson Jonathan Morgan AM said: "This is absolutely appalling and comes hard on the heals of the lost data scandal at HM Revenue and Customs and recent problems at the DVLA.
The laptop is thought to be have been stolen by an opportunist thief The patient data on the laptop included images of retinas
"It is yet another disturbing development which will further undermine public confidence in measures to protect sensitive information."It is yet another disturbing development which will further undermine public confidence in measures to protect sensitive information.
"We need a full inquiry to discover how this could have happened, what steps have been taken to protect any potentially sensitive information, and whether measures are being put in place to prevent a repeat incident.""We need a full inquiry to discover how this could have happened, what steps have been taken to protect any potentially sensitive information, and whether measures are being put in place to prevent a repeat incident."
The DRSS is a Welsh Assembly Government-funded service managed by the Cardiff NHS trust.The DRSS is a Welsh Assembly Government-funded service managed by the Cardiff NHS trust.
It has screened 150,000 patients around Wales whose information is stored on a central database.It has screened 150,000 patients around Wales whose information is stored on a central database.
An assembly government spokesman declined to comment on an "operational" matter.An assembly government spokesman declined to comment on an "operational" matter.
Last month, the DVLA said human error led to at least 100 confidential details being sent to the wrong motorists. Last month, the driver and vehicle licence agency, the DVLA, said human error led to at least 100 confidential details being sent to the wrong motorists.
The mistake happened when the agency sent out 1,215 questionnaires including drivers' names, addresses, birth dates, licence numbers and motoring offences records.The mistake happened when the agency sent out 1,215 questionnaires including drivers' names, addresses, birth dates, licence numbers and motoring offences records.