Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has been fined £180,000 after one of its sexual health clinics leaked the details of almost 800 patients.
The sexual health centre leaked the details of 781 patients who had attended HIV clinics by accidentally sending out a newsletter that revealed the recipients’ email address to each other, reported the BBC.
The patients of 56 Dean Street clinic in London were supposed to be blind-copied into the email sent in September 2015 but instead the patients’ details were readable.
The BBC reported that information commissioner, Christopher Graham, said it was a, “serious breach of the law”.
“People’s use of a specialist service at a sexual health clinic is clearly sensitive personal data.
“The law demands this type of information is handled with particular care following clear rules and put simply, this did not happen. It is clear that this breach caused a great deal of upset to the people affected.”
The clinic stressed that not all the people who received the newsletter were HIV positive, but 730 of the email addresses on the list contained the full names of their owners, reported the BBC.
The Trust’s medical director, Zoe Penn, said: “We fully accept the ruling of the ICO for what was a serious breach and we have worked to ensure that it can never happen again. I reiterate my apology to all those that were affected by this incident.
“We have kept in touch with affected individuals, with their consent, to update them on the actions we have and will continue to take in order to prevent others from being put in a similar situation in the future.”
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