NHS Tayside has been forced to say sorry for yet another data breach after leaking the personal details of 132 patients harmed by disgraced surgeon Sam Eljamel.
Furious victims of the shamed doctor have slammed the health board after they were sent letters apologising for the blunder.
Tayside bosses admitted a spreadsheet was mistakenly sent to Professor Stephen Wigmore, the chair of an independent review into Eljamel’s cases.
The online document contained patients’ names, addresses, and details about their operations with Eljamel.
A second anonymised version of the spreadsheet was also accidentally sent to Mr Wigmore.
The breach was flagged on December 20 last month by a staff member working for NHS Tayside’s designated team set up to liaise with Eljamel’s victims.
The spreadsheet was originally shared with Mr Wigmore almost nine months earlier on February 27, two days before his appointment was formally announced.
Health board chiefs launched a probe after concerns were raised and confirmed the error.
Both versions of the spreadsheet that were sent in error have now been deleted by the independent review chair.
Margaret Dunning, NHS Tayside’s board secretary, penned the letter saying sorry to those affected.
In a letter seen by The Courier, she wrote: “NHS Tayside sincerely apologises to you for this breach and would like to assure you that we take the security of your personal data very seriously.”
NHS Tayside confirmed that 132 letters were sent out in total.
Ms Dunning said the Information Commissioner’s Office has been made aware of the incident.
The health board has also instigated an internal review following a similar blunder affecting more than 100 people.
But angry patients – who have had their data leaked before – say that is not good enough.
Kinross mum Jules Rose told The Courier this is the third time the health board has apologised to her for mismanaging her personal information.
“This is all very amateurish,” she said. “My grave concern is that this is repeatedly happening.”
She added: “An apology does not cut the mustard. This continues to contribute to patients’ trauma, anxiety and anguish.
“What are they doing to ensure this does not happen again?”
Alan Ogilvie, another patient, was assured his own details had not been leaked when Eljamel victims were affected by a previous breach.
But he was among those who received a letter this time.
“I don’t know what they’re doing,” he said. “I’m getting sick of it.”
He added: “They need to get put into special measures for data control, because currently they’re s**te.”
A spokesperson for NHS Tayside said: “We have written directly to those affected to inform them of this error and to sincerely apologise.
“We have explained to the patients involved how this happened and the steps we have taken.”
The Eljamel clinical review was contacted for comment.
Last month we catalogued a litany of data errors by NHS Tayside over the past two years:
- In 2023, health board staff were left fuming after their personal details were leaked.
- One Perthshire woman has fallen victim to three separate breaches.
- And in another cases, NHS workers lost documents containing private information about primary one school pupils.
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