Somerset NHS FT contacts patients about data breach
Patients at Musgrove Park Hospital are being contacted by Somerset NHS Foundation Trust after it was revealed a staff member inappropriately accessed data.
News

Healthcare IT news round-up
The healthcare IT round-up includes new drug theft preventative software, a trust’s digitisation of its HR records and the ICO’s new grant programme.
Digital Patient

Data breaches ongoing as NHS Digital pushes opt-outs
Patients who opted out of sharing their data beyond direct care have not yet had their wishes respected, as NHS Digital chases up organisations slow to destroy data.
AI and Analytics

Brighton fined record £325,000 by ICO
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust has been issued the highest ever fine by the Information Commissioner’s Office.
News
Southampton rapped by ICO
Southampton University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has become the latest NHS organisation to be rapped for breaching the Data Protection Act. Chief executive Mark Hackett was required to sign an undertaking to improve data security by the Information Commissioner’s Office, after an incident in which 33,000 patient records were stolen. The records had been downloaded onto a […]
News
ICO spells out £500,000 penalty plans
The Information Commissioner’s Office has issued guidance on how it will use its new powers to impose penalties of up to £500,000 for breaches of the Data Protection Act. The guidance says the ICO will only issue a monetary penalty notice if there has been a “serious” breach of the DPA, if the breach was […]
News
ICO could fine trusts up to £500k
The Ministry of Justice has launched a consultation into whether the Information Commissioner’s Office should be able to penalise organisations that make serious data breaches with fines of up to £500,000. The consultation ‘Civil monetary penalties: setting the maximum penalty’ asks: “do you consider that a penalty of up to £500,000 provides the ICO with a […]
News
Trust loses cancer patient data
Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust has been criticised by the Information Commissioner for losing three unencrypted USB sticks containing sensitive information about cancer patients.
News
Jail threat for misuse of personal data
Individuals who “knowingly or recklessly” misuse personal data could face a jail term of up to two years, under proposals published by the Ministry of Justice for consultation. The proposals act on a call for stiffer penalties for those who “blag” or buy personal information, including medical records, that was made by Information Commissioner Richard Thomas […]
News
Two Scottish NHS bodies rapped by ICO
The Information Commissioner’s Office has told two different Scottish NHS bodies they must tighten data security after a series of data breaches. In one incident, a senior nursing manager in NHS Grampian inappropriately emailed 50 staff with sensitive personal details relating to a patient. In another incident, NHS Education for Scotland had a laptop containing […]
News