Welcome To The Data Leak Lawyers Blog

NHS outsourcing and the dangers of data breaches

The NHS budget is a hotly-debated topic. Cuts, cuts and more cuts have led to some services being squeezed beyond measure, and the obvious truth is that cost-cutting can directly lead to increased chances of mistakes.

Last year, one huge case of cost-cutting seemingly led to a monumental data breach scenario and millions of pounds being paid to pick up the pieces. In 2017 it was revealed that more than 500,000 pieces of patient information in the five year period between 2011 and 2016 had been lost as a result of outsourcing. Such sensitive data being lost is a huge issue.
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NHS remote and automated systems: What are the concerns?

In the past few years, the National Health Service (NHS) has made attempts to expand and ease the pressure on its extremely busy and hectic services with use of new technology. This included setting up an entire NHS internal email system that allows staff to send ‘secure’ emails to each other to share ‘sensitive information’.

An electronic prescription service is also available that allows GPs to send a prescription directly to a pharmacy.

But in the increasingly interconnected digital world, what are the concerns over using such technology? Should we be worried?
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NHS data breaches and NHS data breach compensation

The National Health Service (NHS): the provider of the nation’s healthcare that we put our trust and confidence in to look after us and care for our bodies and minds. In that trust, we usually give them unlimited access to our medical records.

Within those medical records, the NHS know all about our bumps, scrapes, embarrassing ailments and our most guarded mental health issues. They are a target for hackers and are leading the leagues when it comes to the highest number of breaches, which is very worrying. A lot of it is down to inadequate systems and procedures, but for the victims, it can become a life-changing event.
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Three NHS employees found guilty of illegal data snooping

Despite Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) warnings, NHS employees are continuing to breach data protection laws. We again see employees being found guilty of illegally accessing medical records belonging to people they know – i.e. family, friends, neighbours and colleagues – we assume this data snooping is merely to satisfy their curiosity.

In this latest batch, three perpetrators were fined by the ICO for their clear and obvious breaches, and we are yet again left wondering what can be done to stop these continual events happening.
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Yet another NHS worker fined for accessing sensitive medical records without authorisation

It seems the NHS can’t keep its staff under control as yet another worker has been found guilty of accessing sensitive medical records without authorisation.

Linda Reeves reportedly abused her position as a former data coordinator with access to the Trust’s patient database by rifling through medical records belonging to colleagues, friends and neighbours. She did not have any consent or authorisation from patients or her employer as the data controller.

Reeves has since resigned from her job at The University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust.
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Another NHS worker fined by the ICO for accessing and disclosing information from medical records

On the 11^th August 2017 yet another NHS (now former) worker was fined by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for accessing sensitive health records belonging to family, friends and colleagues without authorisation.

She even disclosed information she found.

Brioney Woolfe worked at Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust as a Midwifery Assistant. The self-confessed ‘nosy’ midwifery assistant reportedly accessed 29 patient medical records, including the parents of her children’s school friends.
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NHS data breach reportedly compromised personal data for hundreds of staff

The Health Service Journal has revealed that the NHS has suffered yet another data breach; this time compromising the personal data of hundreds of staff.

Information about hundreds of junior doctors was reportedly published online in error. The NHS has been plagued by so many data breaches that it doesn’t seem like such a surprise to hear about this story. The healthcare sector is a goldmine for data breaches for a range of reasons, like the value of medical records, as well as the general sensitivity of medical information as well.
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ICO cautions NHS staff against illegally accessing patient medical records

The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) has specifically reminded NHS staff not to access patient medical records without proper reason and / or proper authority. Illegally accessing, obtaining and/or disclosing patient medical records without permission is not only a violation of patient data protection rights, but also exposes the wrongdoer and the NHS to legal action and costly fines.

This latest ICO warning was prompted by a recent case where a former health care assistant accessed medical records belonging to several patients without a valid reason. Over a period of a year and a half, Brioney Woolfe reportedly accessed patient files belonging to 29 individuals, including her family members, colleagues and other patients.
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GP surgeries were on the brink of meltdown following the NHS cyber-attacks

Following on from the WannaCry attack, there were fears that the cyber-attack could continue to have disastrous consequences for healthcare organisations like GP surgeries.

There was extreme concern after the NHS cyber-attack as to exactly how many GP surgeries were directly affected, and health officials were concerned how computer systems would manage when they reopened after the attack.
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Concerns over NHS plans to move all sensitive patient data up into the Cloud!

We have all heard of the online Cloud data storage; but pardon our old fashioned pessimism, but it sounds like a disaster waiting to happen!

It seems a far-fetched suggestion to trust all of your sensitive data to be stored in something that was named after floating wisps in the air that come and go depending on the weather. With all the data leak incidents and scandals erupting left, right and centre… we can’t be blamed for our scepticism when it comes to uploading personal information on the World Wide Web.

If it’s on the internet, surely hackers will always find their way in? So how is our sensitive medical date ever going to be safe when it’s all accessible online?
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