The
information commissioner has told the NHS it needs to tighten
data security, after thousands of data breaches involving patients'
medical records.
The data watchdog says he has taken action against 14 NHS
organisations in the past six months.
Assistant information commissioner Mick Gorrill told the
Independent newspaper that the data losses were "inexcusable" and
had become a cause of "great concern".
Information commissioner Richard Thomas has written to the
Department of Health asking for immediate improvement.
The NHS reported 140 data breaches between January and April
this year - more than central government and local authorities
combined.
The breaches included one instance when a memory stick
containing the medical details of more than 6,000 prisoners in
Preston Prison in Lancashire was lost. The data was encrypted but a
note attached to the stick gave the password.
