Laptops containing medical details of Birmingham patients stolen

Aug 29 2009 by Alison Dayani, Birmingham Mail

LAPTOPS containing the private and medical details of more than 7,000 Birmingham NHS patients, including sick children, have been stolen prompting a massive security alert.

Surgical firm Trulife used by four hospitals – Birmingham Children’s Hospital, City Hospital, in Winson Green, Sandwell Hospital, in West Bromwich, and Rowley Regis Hospital – has revealed that three computers have been taken.

One of them was taken after being left in a car by an employee, while another was snatched during a mugging.

None of the information on the missing laptops had been encrypted.

Between 3,000 and 3,500 Children’s Hospital patients are affected plus a further 3,633 patients from City, Sandwell and Rowley Regis.

Apologetic letters are to be sent out from Trulife explaining that private details are now in the hands of criminals.

The first laptop went missing at the premises of a Birmingham hospital in March 2006, a second was stolen in a mugging in March 2007 and the third was stolen after being left in a Trulife employee’s car in February last year.

Patient Yvonne Dass, aged 53, from Edgbaston, said she was appalled to find out her details were in the public domain.

“The letter says Trulife is truly sorry but that does not explain why it has taken so long to let people know that such personal information is in the hands of a stranger, who could use it for the wrong reasons,” said Yvonne.

“My personal details, address, date of birth, my hospital number, surgical prescription for what operation I had were on those laptops - everything that someone could easily use to steal my identity and commit fraud.”

A Trulife spokeswoman said although the laptops were password protected they had not been encrypted, and only contained “basic information” of name, address, date of birth, hospital number and orthotics appliance prescription.

“The laptops did not contain any other information about patients’personal circumstances – medical, financial, personal or social,” she added. Alan Taman, of Birmingham Children’s Hospital, said: “Trulife informed us at the end of May about the potential loss of data related to our patients and we immediately instigated an internal investigation to ascertain the nature of the data loss and the risks that our patients were exposed to.