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Call to rethink NHS database plan NHS 'can be trusted' over records
(about 2 hours later)
Plans for a national health database of should be reconsidered after it emerged nine NHS trusts lost patients' confidential records, the Tories say. The NHS can be trusted despite the loss of 168,000 patient records by nine trusts, health bosses have said.
It comes after the Department of Health admitted 168,000 people had been affected by the data losses. NHS chief executive David Nicholson said it was "really important" to have public confidence when dealing with people's confidential data.
Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley says the planned single database of 50 million patient details would be less secure than a network of local ones. Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley has called for a planned national database of 50 million patient records to be reconsidered after the data loss.
But the DoH says the new database would help avoid data security breaches. The Department of Health (DoH) said the system would improve data security.
'High security''High security'
The NHS losses emerged after checks across government departments were ordered after the details of 25 million child benefit claimants were lost. Mr Nicholson told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "One of the things that has been at the front of our minds in relation to all of this is what our patients need and what our patients want.
BBC political correspondent Carole Walker says the latest revelation is an embarrassment for the government. "It's vitally important that when a doctor or a clinician sits in front of a patient they have all the information that they need at their fingertips.
But the DoH has indicated the episode will not prevent its plans for a national patient database from going ahead. NINE TRUSTS INVOLVED City and Hackney Bolton Royal Hospital Sutton and Merton Sefton Merseyside Mid-Essex Care Trust Norfolk and Norwich Gloucester Partnership Foundation TrustMaidstone and Tunbridge Wells East and North Hertfordshire class="" href="/1/hi/scotland/north_east/7158880.stm">Health board lost records
A spokesperson said: "These breaches are in no way related to the National Programme for IT (NPfIT); indeed the NPfIT will help avoid such incidents, as it has particularly strong data protection rules and the highest standards of security control." "It's really important for us to have the confidence of the public when we do this sort of thing.
Encrypted data "I can absolutely assure you that clinicians, professionals and people like myself take this sort of thing very seriously."
The DoH has confirmed that one of the breaches involved the loss of names and addresses of 160,000 children by City and Hackney Primary Care Trust, after a disc failed to arrive at its destination at St Leonards Hospital in east London. Mr Nicholson said the level of security for the national database would be way beyond, for example, the level currently in internet banking.
But it said the data had been encrypted to an "extremely high level of security". "This is a very high level of security. There isn't going to be a huge national database," he said.
"What we're talking about is a series of regional databases that are connected together."
'Tipping point'
Information Commissioner Richard Thomas told the programme that attitudes to data protection were changing fast.
"Right across the piece, people have got to take personal information a great deal more seriously," he said.
"I think we have in the last month or so got to a tipping point. People have suddenly woken up to the importance of data protection."
The NHS losses emerged after checks across government departments were ordered following the loss of the details of 25 million child benefit claimants in November.
Then a week ago it was revealed the details of three million learner drivers had also been lost after being sent to the US.
BBC political correspondent Carole Walker said the latest revelation was an embarrassment for the government.
The DoH indicated the episode would not prevent plans for a national patient database - part of the National Programme for IT (NPfIT) - from going ahead.
'Wrong hands'
The DoH confirmed that one of the breaches involved the loss of names and addresses of 160,000 children by City and Hackney Primary Care Trust, after a computer disc failed to arrive at its destination at St Leonards Hospital in east London.
A DoH spokesperson said: "We believe that an additional 8,000 patients in total may have been affected but even amongst these only a small proportion involves some clinical data, and there is no evidence that this has fallen into the wrong hands."A DoH spokesperson said: "We believe that an additional 8,000 patients in total may have been affected but even amongst these only a small proportion involves some clinical data, and there is no evidence that this has fallen into the wrong hands."
NINE TRUSTS INVOLVED City and Hackney Bolton Royal Hospital Sutton and Merton Sefton Merseyside Mid-Essex Care Trust Norfolk and Norwich Gloucester Partnership Foundation TrustMaidstone and Tunbridge Wells East and North Hertfordshire What it is really important to stress is how important patient security and confidentiality is Dawn PrimaroloHealth minister
It said investigations were under way and action would be taken against anyone who had failed to fulfil their responsibilities under data protection laws. The other trusts involved are Bolton Royal Hospital, Sutton and Merton PCT, Sefton Merseyside PCT, Mid-Essex Care Trust, and Norfolk and Norwich.
The other data trusts involved are Bolton Royal Hospital, Sutton and Merton PCT, Sefton Merseyside PCT, Mid-Essex Care Trust, and Norfolk and Norwich.
The East and North Hertfordshire Trust reported a loss but has since found its missing data.The East and North Hertfordshire Trust reported a loss but has since found its missing data.
A further disc, lost by Gloucester Partnership Foundation Trust, consisted of archive records relating to patients treated 40 years ago - none of whom is still alive.A further disc, lost by Gloucester Partnership Foundation Trust, consisted of archive records relating to patients treated 40 years ago - none of whom is still alive.
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust has reported two breaches - meaning that 10 cases have occurred in total.Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust has reported two breaches - meaning that 10 cases have occurred in total.
The losses involved data stored on laptop computers and data sticks.The losses involved data stored on laptop computers and data sticks.
Michael Summers, of the Patients' Association, said the security breaches were "very serious". It has also emerged that NHS Grampian health board has lost patient records eight times in the last five years.
He told BBC News: "Patients provide confidential information to their GPs and to hospital doctors - information that no-one else has - on the basis that it will always remain confidential. Health minister Dawn Primarolo said: "What it is really important to stress is how important patient security and confidentiality is and how each of these trusts is moving to deal with this."
"And suddenly we discover that it's not confidential after all. It gets leaked in one form or another and is lost."
Losses 'unacceptable'
Roy Lilley, a former NHS trust chairman, said the losses were unacceptable: "The NHS has a very good encrypted secure system for sending data around the system and I can't see why sub-sets of data are being carted round on a memory stick."
But health minister Dawn Primarolo said: "What it is really important to stress is how important patient security and confidentiality is and how each of these trusts is moving to deal with this.
"And given we have hundreds and hundreds of trusts I think that patients should be confident that their information is being held appropriately."
Police are still searching for two computer discs containing the names, addresses, dates of birth and bank account details of every child benefit claimant after it emerged they had been lost in the post by HM Revenue and Customs in November.
Then a week ago it was revealed the details of three million learner drivers had also been lost after being sent to Iowa in America's mid-west.