Loss of Confidential NHS Correspondence

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Shadow Secretary of State for Health, Jonathan Ashworth, is to ask an Urgent Question in the House of Commons on the loss of confidential NHS correspondence by NHS Shared Business Services.

The issue has been covered extensively in the press- according to The Guardian

Thousands of patients are feared to have been harmed after the NHS lost more than half a million pieces of confidential medical correspondence, including test results and treatment plans.

In one of the biggest losses of sensitive clinical information in the NHS’s 69-year history, more than 500,000 pieces of patient data sent between GPs and hospitals went undelivered over the five years from 2011 to 2016.

The mislaid documents, which range from screening results to blood tests to diagnoses, failed to reach their intended recipients because the company meant to ensure their delivery mistakenly stored them in a warehouse.

The Urgent Question is expected at 3.30pm, following the conclusion of Oral Questions to the Communities and Local Government Department.

Timings are approximate as Parliamentary business is subject to change.