Inquiry into patient files found in bin

AN INVESTIGATION by the Health Service Executive is under way into the discovery of the medical files of about 100 patients in a bin outside Roscommon County Hospital.

The files contained names, addresses, details of medical tests and, in some cases, doctors’ comments in relation to patients attending Mullingar General Hospital. The majority of files involve patients from counties Longford and Westmeath.

The files were found early last week by a woman walking her dog. She immediately alerted members of the Roscommon Hospital Action Committee who had been protesting in the vicinity over the recent closure of the hospital’s emergency unit.

John McDermott, chairman of the action committee, yesterday called on Minister for Health James Reilly to investigate what he described as a serious breach of patient confidentiality. After a press conference in Roscommon yesterday, Mr McDermott delivered the files to the office of the Data Protection Commissioner in Portarlington, Co Laois.

Deputy data protection commissioner Gary Davis said the circumstances of the case were “unusual” in that the files were not handed over for a week. But he stressed that many people would not know what to do with such documents.

Mr Davis said that from his investigations he was “satisfied that the cause of the breach lies entirely within the HSE”, and that the hospital action committee acted in good faith.

The commissioner’s office has established a link between the Mullingar and Roscommon hospitals which it believes may explain how the breach occurred.

Mr McDermott said he was not aware of any Roscommon patients involved. The files date back to last May, before the controversial downgrading of Roscommon emergency department took place.

He said he had put the files in a shoebox last week and kept them under lock and key in his home to ensure they would not be compromised. He consulted medical professionals and a solicitor before deciding what to do with them.

The woman who found the files had alerted him and committee member councillor Valerie Byrne, who were in the vicinity of the hospital and who retrieved some of the documents from the bin.

Mr McDermott said the incident highlighted the apparent lack of computer compatibility between hospitals and said this issue was especially serious for Roscommon people who are now being referred to different hospitals in the west and midlands. The committee notified gardaí of the breach on Wednesday.

Calling on the Minister to investigate the matter, Mr McDermott said patients’ files were “sacrosanct”. There had been no attempt to shred the files or delete any confidential information, he said.

In a statement, the HSE said it had opened an investigation. It said very clear policies were in place for the disposal of confidential documents and that any potential breach of these policies was taken extremely seriously.

The deputy data protection commissioner described the matter as a “serious breach”, and said his office would be insisting that all patients involved be notified.