An NHS trust at the forefront of work on the £12.7bn NHS IT scheme has called in police after a breach of smartcard security compromised the confidentiality of hundreds of electronic records.
The local primary care trust, NHS Hull, says it is “shocked” at the breach of security by a member of staff who has since left.
Doctors say that the breach of security at NHS Hull shows that an insider with a smartcard can access confidential electronic records without authorisation, if the person is determined to do so.
They say that this will deepen the scepticism of some doctors that centrally-held medical records will remain confidential under the NPfIT.