NHS Tayside falsely claimed it had deleted a Dundee HIV patient’s historic medical records, sparking anger after bungling the handling of sensitive documents.
The local resident, a witness to the UK infected blood inquiry, has been locked in a battle with the health board to obtain historical data dating back several decades.
“I’m exhausted, frustrated, and angry,” the patient told The Courier.
“It’s very difficult dealing with a monolith like NHS Tayside, they do nothing to help or assist you.”
Lengthy battle with NHS Tayside
The patient, who is remaining anonymous, originally submitted a subject access request to the health board in 2018 requesting all records from between the 1970s and 1990s.
NHS Tayside replied to say it did not hold any information dating back further than 2011.
The Dundee resident was approached in 2019 as a potential witness for the UK infected blood inquiry.
The Ninewells patient was then asked by a laywer from the probe to give his permission for the health board to access records as far back as the 1970s.
That came as a huge surprise given Tayside’s previous assurances that records from this period had been disposed of.
The patient submitted an updated subject access request to NHS Tayside in May, asking for all correspondence between the health board and inquiry.
More than four months later the health board has not complied, even though data protection rules dictate the information should be sent within one month.
‘It magically appeared’
“I’ve got a legal right to this data,” the patient said.
“When I ask for it I’m told it’s destroyed, and yet when they are asked to respond to a public inquiry, it magically appeared.
“My request was clear.
“I wanted all my personal data. If it’s got my name on it, it’s mine. If it can be reasonably inferred it’s mine, hand it over.”
In June, the patient formally complained to NHS Tayside for failing to meet the deadline, saying the health board were displaying “contempt”.
The health board later asked the Dundee resident to specify a timeframe, even though the initial request specifically said “all data”.
Now NHS Tayside says the patient’s records may have been “retained outwith the main record”.
The patient contacted The Courier after we revealed last month Tayside had breached data protection rules over the handling of an Eljamel victim’s records.
Alan Ogilvie – harmed by rogue surgeon Sam Eljamel in the 1990s – had his complaint upheld because the health board took more than four months to hand over his data.
At the time NHS Tayside said it had “implemented changes” to improve the process for anyone putting in a subject access request.
But the HIV patient disputed this given their own long wait and the health board’s contradictory U-turn on destroying old records.
“It’s not a one-off,” they said. “Mr Ogilvie’s experience is the same as mine.
“Data requests are based on trust. I’ve not seen anything that allows me to trust NHS Tayside.
A spokesperson for NHS Tayside said: “Due to patient confidentiality, we are unable to comment on individual cases.
“NHS Tayside’s information governance team remains in direct contact with the applicant.
“Due to the complexity of some subject access requests, there are occasions where we are unfortunately unable to meet the one-month response timeline and we apologise for this.
“In some circumstances, further information and legal advice may have to be sought in order to respond to more complex requests.”
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