NHS in East publishes data loss

The Strategic Health Authority says it is committed to confidentiality

The NHS in the East of England has started to publish information on any loss of data as part of its commitment to confidentiality and security.

The three cases of missing data include a lost memory stick which mentioned 35 patients and printed information on 43 patients which was thrown in a bin.

The third case was a memory stick lost and then found within a week.

The cases happened between October and December 2007, says the East of England Strategic Health Authority report.

A health authority spokesman said: "We want to reassure patients that there is no evidence that patient care has been compromised as a result of these incidents and no evidence of identity fraud."

Neil McKay, Chief Executive of NHS East of England, added: "We take the issue of data security very seriously and the NHS in the East of England has a good track record of reporting, investigating and learning from such incidents."