THE health trust responsible for Northwood's Mount Vernon Hospital has refused to disclose the location of a major security breach involving confidential patient information.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has ruled the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, which runs Mount Vernon but also hospitals in Stevenage and Welwyn Garden City, broke data protection rules relating to patients' medical conditions and treatment.
The ICO stepped in when a junior doctor admitted he had lost a memory stick containing confidential information on his way home, after forgetting to pass it to the next doctor on shift.
The ICO ruled the trust's data protection policies were unclear to staff, and technical measures against misuse were insufficient.
But today a spokeswoman for the trust refused to disclose to the Watford Observer which hospital the doctor had worked at, saying only: "I can confirm it was a member of our staff."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article