Patients' data '˜not breached', health boss confirms

It comes as a number of national newspapers recently reported that 26 million patient records could have been made available to hundreds of thousands of people.

The patient records affected came from practices elsewhere in the country that use a different computer system to that which is operated by GPs on the Fylde coast, health bosses yesterday said.

Andrew Harrison, chief finance officer for both NHS Fylde and Wyre and NHS Blackpool Clinical Commissioning Groups, said: “Patients may have seen recent coverage in the press regarding a potential breach in the security of patient records held within GP surgeries, which is currently being investigated by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

“We would like to reassure patients of Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre GP practices that this investigation does not involve any GP practices or patient records held within the Lancashire area, and no GP practices in Lancashire or South Cumbria use the system (TPP SystmOne) that is currently under ICO investigation.”

The Telegraph reported at the weekend how the ICO was investigating concerns that records held at one in three practices in England can be accessed by strangers.

It said a function called ‘enhanced data sharing’, used so records can be seen by the local hospital, meant they can also be accessed by workers across the country.