Severn Valley Medical Practice data breach leads to sacking Worcester News
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A STAFF member at a city GP surgery was sacked after lying about having appointments resulting in a patient data breach
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The data breach was confirmed by Severn Valley Medical Practice which oversees the Henwick Halt Medical Centre in St Johns and the Lyppard Grange Medical Centre in Warndon
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A letter was sent by the practice informing its patients about the data breach which relates to a discovery made on Thursday October 26 when a member of the clinical team accessed data belonging to patients
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The staff member has faced disciplinary action and no longer works at the practice
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The letter said We want to sincerely apologise for this incident and any stress that this may cause
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On October 26 2023 we learned that a member of our clinical team had accessed the data of some of our patients in order to manipulate their appointment book and fill their workload with unused slots
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While we immediately suspended this individual when learning of this deeply inappropriate activity and have reported them to their professional standards body unfortunately your medical records were one of those accessed to fill one of those slots
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We want to assure you that there have been no amends to your records made except for the booking of an appointment which you did not use
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Your data was not shared with any other organisations or individuals outside of the practice
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Severn Valley Medical Practice said the staff member was suspended while a full investigation was conducted and advice was sought from the practices data protection officer to ensure their actions to resolve the incident were thorough and appropriate
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Dr Lindsay Pickerell senior partner and Sarah Payne practice manager offered assurance to patients that at no point did any data leave the practice
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They said As soon as we learned of this issue we took significant steps including suspending the staff member and following an appropriate investigation dismissed
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We notified their professional body and the Information Commissioners Office and raising it with our local Integrated Care Board and Primary Care Network to ensure this was fully investigated and all patient data remained secure
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We have also raised this as a significant incident within our practice to ensure learnings are taken forward to ensure this does not happen again
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Patients affected are welcome to get in touch with us if they have any concerns and we will be happy to help resolve any questions or queries they may have
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A STAFF member at a city GP surgery was sacked after lying about having appointments resulting in a patient data breach
pp
The data breach was confirmed by Severn Valley Medical Practice which oversees the Henwick Halt Medical Centre in St Johns and the Lyppard Grange Medical Centre in Warndon
pp
A letter was sent by the practice informing its patients about the data breach which relates to a discovery made on Thursday October 26 when a member of the clinical team accessed data belonging to patients
pp
The staff member has faced disciplinary action and no longer works at the practice
pp
The letter said We want to sincerely apologise for this incident and any stress that this may cause
pp
On October 26 2023 we learned that a member of our clinical team had accessed the data of some of our patients in order to manipulate their appointment book and fill their workload with unused slots
pp
While we immediately suspended this individual when learning of this deeply inappropriate activity and have reported them to their professional standards body unfortunately your medical records were one of those accessed to fill one of those slots
pp
We want to assure you that there have been no amends to your records made except for the booking of an appointment which you did not use
pp
Your data was not shared with any other organisations or individuals outside of the practice
pp
Severn Valley Medical Practice said the staff member was suspended while a full investigation was conducted and advice was sought from the practices data protection officer to ensure their actions to resolve the incident were thorough and appropriate
pp
Dr Lindsay Pickerell senior partner and Sarah Payne practice manager offered assurance to patients that at no point did any data leave the practice
pp
They said As soon as we learned of this issue we took significant steps including suspending the staff member and following an appropriate investigation dismissed
pp
We notified their professional body and the Information Commissioners Office and raising it with our local Integrated Care Board and Primary Care Network to ensure this was fully investigated and all patient data remained secure
pp
We have also raised this as a significant incident within our practice to ensure learnings are taken forward to ensure this does not happen again
pp
Patients affected are welcome to get in touch with us if they have any concerns and we will be happy to help resolve any questions or queries they may have
pp
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege not a right however and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused
pp
Please report any comments that break our rules
pp
Last Updated
ppAre you sure you want to delete this commentpp
This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisations
Editors Code of Practice If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to
inaccuracy or intrusion then please
contact the editor here
If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can
contact IPSO here
pp
20012023 This site is part of Newsquests audited local newspaper network A Gannett Company Newsquest Media Group Ltd 1st Floor Chartist Tower Upper Dock Street Newport Wales NP20 1DW Registered in England Wales 01676637
ppData returned from the Piano meterActivemeterExpired callback eventppAs a subscriber you are shown 80 less display advertising when reading our articlesppThose ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services ppThese adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience the local communityppIt is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging timesp
