Inquiry into patient data left stacked in hospital's corridor

Published on Thursday 2 April 2009 22:18

A TOP-LEVEL inquiry was under way yesterday into why boxes of medical records were left lying for days in a hospital corridor.

The probe began after records were left unattended in a corridor at Glasgow's Southern General Hospital.

Photographs of the boxes were sent to Labour's health spokesman, Cathy Jamieson, by a concerned visitor.

The pictures show 30 boxes which, according to the visitor, contained patients' medical records and medical histories.

The boxes were stacked outside a patient records office in a corridor to which patients and the public had access, said Labour.

Ms Jamieson said: "I was absolutely appalled when I first saw these pictures.

"Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon needs to take the security of confidential patient records much more seriously.

"It is totally unacceptable for unsealed boxes containing private documents to be left in a corridor that is open to patients and members of the public."

Ms Jamieson said it was the latest in a series of incidents in Scotland where private medical records had been treated in a "slipshod" manner.

"I am seeking an urgent explanation and reassurance that this is not happening anywhere else," she said.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: "We are extremely concerned to learn of a serious situation which could have given rise to a breach in our medical records security protocols."