What now for deprivations of liberty?
What will the effect of the postponement of the Liberty Protections Safeguards be on local authorities? Local Government Lawyer asked 50 adult social care lawyers for their views on the potential consequences.
SPOTLIGHT |
SPOTLIGHT |
The Information Commissioner has demanded a culture change in the health service in relation to data protection, warning that it “needs to do more” to keep patients’ personal information secure.
The watchdog said five more health organisations had given undertakings after being found to have breached the Data Protection Act.
The latest incidents include:
East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Basildon and Thurrock NHS Trust have also recently signed undertakings.
The Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham, said: “The health service holds some of the most sensitive personal information of any sector in the UK. Millions of records are constantly being accessed and we appreciate that there will be occasions where human error occurs.
“But recent incidents such as the loss of laptops at NHS North Central London - which we are currently investigating - suggest that the security of data remains a systemic problem.
Graham said that while the policies and procedures may already be in place, “the fact is that they are not being followed on the ground”.
He added: “Health workers wouldn’t dream of discussing patient information openly with friends and yet they continue to put information on unencrypted memory sticks or fax it to the wrong number.
“The sector needs to bring about a culture change so that staff give more consideration to how they store and disclose data. Complying with the law needn’t be a day-to-day burden if effective measures are built in and then become second nature.”
The Information Commissioner said the watchdog was working with Connecting for Health to identify how it could support the health service to tackle these issues. The ICO’s guidance for health organisations is available here.
The ICO is yet to levy a monetary penalty on a health organisation. This contrasts with the local government sector, where four councils have been ordered to pay a combined £370,000 over the last year.
See also: is local government a soft touch for data protection fines?