The head of theNHShastoday issued a stark warning to staff
thatthey face the sack or even prison if they access patient
records without a legitimate reason, as part of a new crackdown
by the health service.
SirJim Mackeytoday said that staff looking at medical records for
personal reasons or out of curiosity was wholly unacceptable, a
disgraceful breach of patient trust and against the law and would
not be tolerated by the NHS.
Sir Jim's warning comes as the NHS today launched a new campaign
to remind staff what constitutes unlawful access, the potential
impacts on patients and what the consequences could be for
their career.
The campaign follows several incidents of staff being dismissed
from their posts after accessing themedical records ofvictims
ofhigh-profile crimes, including the Nottinghamattacks.
NHS England has today published new guidance for all NHS
organisations on preventing and monitoring unauthorised access as
well as their responsibilities in investigating and reporting it.
The guidance sets out the different types of unlawful access and
makes clear that where it occurs,employers may report it tothe
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) andpolice, both of whom
have the power to pursue a criminal prosecution, as well as to
professional regulators, which can end a career.
It also provides guidance for how monitoring and regular audits
can be conducted depending on the IT systems organisations have
in place. For example, some newer Electronic Patient Record
systems may be able to identify unlawful access in real' time,
with the capability to set up alert flags' to identify suspicious
activity.
Employers are being asked to ensure appropriate technical
controls are in place for their organisation to protect people's
information without stopping staff from doing their jobs such as
role-based' controls, and minimising access to very sensitive
information to only those that must see it to fulfil their role,
and multi-factor authentication.
NHS England's new campaign launches today with screensavers on
staff computers and posters around NHS organisations urging staff
to protect patients' privacy, respect confidentiality and not let
curiosity kill your career.'
Sir Jim Mackey, NHS chief executive,
said:Patients must be able to trust that their personal
information is kept confidential by the NHS any instance of staff
looking at records without a valid reason is wholly unacceptable,
a disgraceful breach of patients' trust and against the law.
While the majority of NHS staff handle patient information
responsibly and professionally every day, it's been incredibly
worrying that a small number have chosen to undermine the trust
that patients place in them and caused such additional distress
for families who deserved so much better from us.
Anyone considering accessing records for personal reasons or out
of curiosity should be in no doubt they could be putting their
career at risk, and may face disciplinary action, dismissal,
referral to the regulator or even time in prison.
We will not tolerate a culture of curiosity when it comes to
patient confidentiality there is no place in the NHS for those
who misuse patient information and together we will take firm
action to prevent and monitor unlawful access, and to act
decisively when that occurs.
