Legal Updates – Data Protection – ICO Fine

Data Protection - ICO Fine - NHS Trust - Data Protection Act 1998 - Breach

The Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) issued a monetary penalty of £55,000 to North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust for a “serious breach of the Data Protection Act which resulted in sensitive medical details of three patients being sent to a member of public”.

The details, which were intended for the trust’s Wellbeing Centre, were sent by three faxes to a member of the public after the fax number was input incorrectly each time.

Further details on this can be found at the ICO’s website, along with the ICO’s guidance on using fax machines securely.

How can we help?

Whether you are a start up or an established business, RT Coopers can assist you in meeting your obligations under the Data Protection Act. We conduct due diligence on businesses’ operations in order to determine specific weaknesses to be considered by data controllers. Once these are identified, we would advise you on the remedial measures you should put in place.

You may contact us by email [email protected]. Visit http://www.rtcoopers.com/practice_dataprotection.php

© RT COOPERS, 2013. This Briefing Note does not provide a comprehensive or complete statement of the law relating to the issues discussed nor does it constitute legal advice. It is intended only to highlight general issues. Specialist legal advice should always be sought in relation to particular circumstances.