200 patients contacted after Nurse has bag stolen

A potential data breach may have taken place after a nurse had her handbag stolen when her car was broken into.

The car was an out-of-hour’s vehicle that a Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust nurse was using on the 9th of July and was parked outside a patient’s house in East Chesterton when the theft took place. Documents containing details of some 200 patients where inside the bag and may now be at risk of being leaked.

200 patients contacted

The patients whose details were within the stolen documents have all been contacted to inform them of a potential data breach. The nurse’s handbag contained the diary of all the names and addresses of the patients, as well as access details for some of the patients that she had been visiting over the last six months.

Those that have access details listed have been verbally contacted to “discuss staying safe.”

This is, however, a greater concern for those that have access information stolen. Peter Hoskison, an 84 year old patient said: “I’m not concerned with people knowing who I am and that I’ve got this disease but at the same time it does concern me people may know how to get in the house and where I keep the key.”

The fact that patients were not informed for a month is a further cause for concern; especially with addresses and access information meaning people’s homes and belongings are potentially at serious risk.

A spokesperson from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust released a statement saying:

“We have subsequently written to all patients informing them of the incidents, offering out apologies, and asking them to contact us directly if they have any concerns”.

An investigation is being conducted by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust.

We are investing the breach and accepting cases

We all know that theft cannot always be helped, but we do know how to reduce the risks of thefts by taking simple precautions like not leaving valuables in a car on show.

At The Data Leak Lawyers, we are at the heart of big data breaches fighting for justice for those who have been affected. We represent clients on cases such as the 56 Dean Street data leak and the TalkTalk data hack. We have commenced investigations in to the matter, so if you have been affected, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us.

We know all too well how a data leak can cause people a great amount of distress, especially if data has been leaked that could allow access to their homes and property. Personal information itself is often very sensitive and personal, so the mere fact it has been leaked can cause serious distress.

Source: https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/patients-warned-of-8216-shocking-8217-data-breach-after-nurse-8217-s-bag-stolen-from-car-in-cambridge/story-29590054-detail/story.html

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