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AN X-RAY REPORT found in Penneys, a cancer patient’s chart left on the roof of a car before driving away, and a child’s mental-health records accidentally faxed to Bank of Ireland.
These were among 113 calamitous data-protection breaches involving sensitive personal information held by the Health Service Executive (HSE) in 2015, according to internal documents.
In April, a patient’s x-ray report with a sticker from another patient was discovered by staff in Penneys, Mullingar. The clothing store posted the report to one of the patients, who contacted the Citizens Information Centre for advice.
They subsequently sent the records back to Midland Regional Hospital in Mullingar, and an investigation was instigated to establish how the x-ray report came to be found in the fashion-chain outlet.
Following the investigation, the relevant staff were ‘reminded of their responsibilities under data protection legislation’, a HSE spokesperson said.
Later that month, an incident report containing an allegation of abuse concerning an adult with an intellectual disability was “inadvertently posted” to a financial services company in Dublin, according to the HSE documents.
A spokesperson said that the incident was reported to the Data Protection Commissioner and a meeting was held with the affected client. Staff were again reminded of their responsibilities.
Chart on car roof
In June, a healthcare assistant from St Luke’s Hospital was accompanying a patient on a transfer to another hospital when he left their chart on the roof of the car before setting off.
He realised the mistake only when he arrived at their destination. The chart was later retrieved from a member of the public who had picked it up.
The HSE responded by notifying the patient of the incident and reported the matter to the Data Commissioner. The staff member was reminded of their responsibilities under data-protection legislation.
In August, a HSE employee attempted to send a fax to Temple Street Hospital containing sensitive information relating to a minor in the care of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) at Dara Linn Cherry Orchard Hospital.
They entered the wrong number, however, and the details were instead faxed to Bank of Ireland.
In a similar case in October, a staff member at Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore tried to call a palliative care nurse and left a voicemail that included sensitive clinical information about a patient.
They subsequently received a call back from a third party, asking why they had been left this information – it had been the wrong number.
Data protection within the health service has become the subject of focus following the recent revelation that an ‘administrative error’ had resulted in false allegations of child abuse being kept on file in respect of Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe.
In March 2015, a diary containing sensitive information about clients was misplaced by a community services worker in Sligo but was later found on the roof of her car. However, a sealed envelope containing an assessment report that had been placed in the diary was not recovered.
In April, a nursing report book from Dublin North Mental Health Services was found by a gardener on the grounds of a hospital. Similarly, last November, nine doctor’s letters were found scattered on the grounds of Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan.
Healthcare records relating to 102 children were lost from the Public Health Nursing section of Cherry Orchard Hospital last year, which required all affected individuals to be re-screened.
A spokesperson for the HSE said that it takes its responsibility under data protection legislation very seriously. She added that the outcomes in certain individual breaches reported were not found to constitute a data-protection breach following investigation.
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Another clerical error..nothing to see here people…move right along
Wow 2015 and faxing things is still a thing.
Faxing is used extensively in the HSE even today!!
Faxes are very much alive. Japan thought of as a high tech country rely heavily on them for their banking system. Here pharmacies and doctors rely on them a lot due to some legislation that doesn’t allow electronic prescriptions
Faxes are considered more secure than email. Even Amazon once asked me to fax in a statement for a unknown charge on my credit card
On one hand it’s entirely unacceptable but no doubt exacerbated by overworked front line staff who are clearly taking their work home with them to cope with the workload
Overworked frontline staff? A fax was incorrectly sent, a voicemail carelessly left with sensitive information and a diary left on the roof of a car. The term ‘overworked frontline staff’ now seems to be a prelude to any discussion on pay, conditions and now carelessness. If a garda can successfully sue the Minister for Justice for €60K due to PTSD having had somebody say that they will ‘get them’ then a patient can surely sue the Minister for Health for PTSD following public disclosure of private health matters.
@Sean @114: Front line staff taking work home? Does that explain the apology to Maurice Mc Cabs delivered to his name last week it is not overwork staff it is co-polite shoddy workmanship and it is rife in civic and public services. There are excellent people but throwing a cloak over them defend the system just protects the lazy who cannot be bothered to apply to do what they are paying to do a job.
Agree JHO. It’s an excuse to avoid accountability I’m afraid.
You and I have a different definition of calamity… your child is dead, you’ll never walk again, we missed a tumor and you have a month to live are calamities.
A misplaced and later recovered X-ray or a mid-faxed report is hardly a ‘calamity.’ In the interest of journalistic integrity please clarify as the disastrous, tragic, catastrophic consequences or testify to the disaster or severe distress caused by any of these incidents such as to qualify any of them as a calamitous…
It’s almost as if you have an agenda to cast the health service in the worst possible light.
@Drew TheChinaman :): Its the governments real bosses who truly want it cast in the worst possible light.
The HSE is a disaster by design.
Just more privatisation blah blah blah…Im sick of even thinking about that word these days :(
Nice x-ray, Thanks it’s Penneys Girl
And who was held accountable ?
“A spokesperson for the HSE said that it takes its responsibility under data protection legislation very seriously”.
Actions speak louder than words!
Is it any wonder the Minister wants to move from his Health Portfolio
Sure no Minister ever wants Health.
These people are always referred to as Professionals , !!!!!
These revelations are bringing us closer to having to admit that the HSE cannot be redeemed. Is there any person or group in our society brave enough to go in and rip its administration asunder and introduce a new effective model?
@John Campbell:
It will never happen, the reason why the “Culture within the system and of course the Unions, No body can be fired no body can be held responsible, and no government will ever change this because it would effect themselves.
If changes were to be implemented it would most lightly mean a major financial loss and at the end of the day that is what its all about.
The individuals have been reminded of their obligations (and probably learnt lessons too) – sure it’s grand.
Worth every penny
In my experience of HSE, staff who want to do the job properly are penalized by other staff and supervisors who are threatened by this as they themselves dont have the training. Good staff leave when they can and that brings down the competencies of the work done, lack of management and fair play means staff are demotivated(even before the extreme workloads) coupled by a culture of lack of personal responsibility and no serious consequences as management is untrained or uninterested. How can we honestly expect any better?
How much training does it take to ask all staff to put documents On The Bonnet, not on the car roof? At least you’d see them there before you drove off… make it a habit. Like washing your hands.
We have been telling people for a long time, personal data is being given away by government departments or mysteriously ‘lost’. There is just 113 HSE examples reported on here, of what the state is up to.
Those that do care about their personal information should check out the UnitedPeople section on data protection (how their info is being passed on unknown to millions in Ireland). http://www.unitedpeople.ie/ireland-data-protection/
The main parties all ALL too silent about this and leaving people wide open to be further exploited.
And they want the HSE to be the main dispatcher of ambulances to the people of Dublin….. What a joke
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