Hospital ‘delayed’ Royal data breach report
London Clinic may not have contacted privacy watchdog until a week after Princess was discharged
‘She’s had a difficult operation and she deserves privacy. We should just butt out and leave her alone’ ‘We are obsessed by conspiracy and we have little sense of the humanity of those in the news’
THE hospital that treated the Princess of Wales is being investigated over possible delays in notifying the privacy watchdog of an alleged attempt to access her medical records.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) requires organisations to notify it of data security breaches within 72 hours of discovery but the London Clinic reportedly did not contact the ICO until more than a week after the Princess was discharged.
Three members of staff are believed to be under investigation following the Princess’s 13-night stay in January at the hospital, where she underwent abdominal surgery.
The Guardian reported that a source at the ICO had said “timeliness of reporting” was part of its investigation into the London Clinic.
The Princess was discharged from the hospital on Jan 29. None of the hospital, the ICO or Kensington Palace have released details of when the alleged attempt or attempts to access her medical records happened.
On Wednesday, Al Russell, the London Clinic’s chief executive, said there was “no place at our hospital for those who intentionally breach the trust of any of our patients or colleagues”.
Meanwhile Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, has said people should “butt out” and allow the Princess to have privacy while she recovers from her surgery.
Asked if he feels sorry for the Princess, he told Channel 5’s Jeremy Vine: “Yes. I think that we should leave her alone.
“She’s had a difficult operation, and she deserves privacy… We should just butt out and leave her alone... That’s not really a political response, it’s a human response, as a dad and a human being,” he added.
Dame Andrea Leadsom, the under-secretary of state for public health, told Sky News that it was “completely outrageous” if anyone had tried to access the Princess’s medical records.
She said: “Obviously, it is a matter for the Information Commissioner but it is the case that every patient has the right to their privacy.”
Kensington Palace has insisted the investigation is “a matter for the London Clinic”.
Speculating about the health of the Princess of Wales is “village gossip” and “wrong”, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said.
The Most Rev Justin Welby told Times Radio: “I think we are obsessed by conspiracy and we have little sense of the humanity of those who are caught in the glare of the news.”
Mr Welby added: “People should be allowed to be ill, have an operation, whatever it is, and live their lives in peace without people demanding they prove something every other day.
The head of the Chrurch of England blamed the internet for exacerbating the problem.
“It’s extremely unhealthy. It’s just old-fashioned village gossip that can now go round the world in seconds and we have to turn away from that. Gossiping in that way is wrong,” he said.
The professional bodies that represent regulated medical professionals have all refused to confirm or deny whether any of their members are the subject of the ICO investigation.
The General Medical Council, which regulates doctors, said: “We will take appropriate action where those concerns pose a risk to patients or public confidence in the profession.”
The Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Health and Care Professions Council, which regulates health staff from 15 different professions, also refused to say whether any of their members were affected.
They stressed that members were expected to respect people’s rights to privacy and confidentiality.