Highly-sensitive personal information on almost 150 NHS patients in the Oldham area has been lost following the disappearance of two USB data sticks. The Oldham trust said it had identified all the individuals affected, and had followed up contacts in writing, offering its sincere apologies. It has also set up a dedicated freephone information line for people who have further questions.
Oldham NHS Primary Care Trust chief executive Gail Richards said: “We are deeply sorry. This should never have happened. We have launched a full and thorough investigation and are reviewing our current policies relating to data storage. In the meantime we have taken all the necessary steps to ensure that it cannot happen again.”
The incident highlights the insecurity that surrounds removable media and raises questions as to why the data stored on the two USB sticks does not appear to have been encrypted.
Centennial Software’s Matt Fisher commented: “In most cases there is no legitimate need to carry such sensitive information on what are inherently insecure media. But where there is a real need to transfer personal records in this way, the data should be encyrpted as a matter of course.”
