Parliament
32 mentions of the inquiry in Parliament: debates, written questions and statements, oral questions and early day motions, from Hansard.
University Hospitals of Liverpool Group: Medical Records
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the internal investigation by Liverpool Women’s University Hospital into inappropriate access to the medical records of victims in Southport examined (1) breaches using hospital systems to access the patients' GP records, (2) access to Summary Care Records, or (3) any access to the Liverpool Share2Care records.
The unauthorised access of patients’ confidential information following the tragic events in Southport and Nottingham was unacceptable. It is essential that patients’ confidential information is only accessed appropriately, lawfully, and in line with their reasonable expectations.
As the investigation carried out by the Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was internal, the Department does not have the detailed information requested.
The Nottingham Inquiry is also investigating the unauthorised access of data at the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. The inquiry will provide recommendations to ensure lessons are learned. We want to take steps to ensure that the culture within health and social care services, and the strong protections in law and various safeguards in the National Health Service, ensure that health and care information is used in a safe, secure, and legal way, and that this does not happen again.
NHS England is developing guidance which is focused on inappropriate access to patient records. The guidance will be aimed at NHS organisations and highlights the importance of ensuring that patient records are only ever accessed for legitimate purposes and any inappropriate access is likely to be considered a significant data breach. The guidance will be published in the coming months.
Read full answer →University Hospitals of Liverpool Group: Medical Records
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the internal investigation by Liverpool Women’s University Hospital into inappropriate access to the medical records of victims in Southport considered the patient or the hospital itself to have been a victim of the unlawful misuse of data; and whether that position was supported by (1) NHS England, (2) the Department of Health and Social Care, and (3) the Information Commissioner.
The unauthorised access of patients’ confidential information following the tragic events in Southport and Nottingham was unacceptable. It is essential that patients’ confidential information is only accessed appropriately, lawfully, and in line with their reasonable expectations.
As the investigation carried out by the Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was internal, the Department does not have the detailed information requested.
The Nottingham Inquiry is also investigating the unauthorised access of data at the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. The inquiry will provide recommendations to ensure lessons are learned. We want to take steps to ensure that the culture within health and social care services, and the strong protections in law and various safeguards in the National Health Service, ensure that health and care information is used in a safe, secure, and legal way, and that this does not happen again.
NHS England is developing guidance which is focused on inappropriate access to patient records. The guidance will be aimed at NHS organisations and highlights the importance of ensuring that patient records are only ever accessed for legitimate purposes and any inappropriate access is likely to be considered a significant data breach. The guidance will be published in the coming months.
Read full answer →University Hospitals of Liverpool Group: Medical Records
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the internal investigation by Liverpool Women’s University Hospital into inappropriate access to the medical records of victims in Southport included an assessment of whether the records of victims who had died in hospital had been accessed.
The unauthorised access of patients’ confidential information following the tragic events in Southport and Nottingham was unacceptable. It is essential that patients’ confidential information is only accessed appropriately, lawfully, and in line with their reasonable expectations.
As the investigation carried out by the Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was internal, the Department does not have the detailed information requested.
The Nottingham Inquiry is also investigating the unauthorised access of data at the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. The inquiry will provide recommendations to ensure lessons are learned. We want to take steps to ensure that the culture within health and social care services, and the strong protections in law and various safeguards in the National Health Service, ensure that health and care information is used in a safe, secure, and legal way, and that this does not happen again.
NHS England is developing guidance which is focused on inappropriate access to patient records. The guidance will be aimed at NHS organisations and highlights the importance of ensuring that patient records are only ever accessed for legitimate purposes and any inappropriate access is likely to be considered a significant data breach. The guidance will be published in the coming months.
Read full answer →Medical Records: Data Protection
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether there was any inappropriate access to records of people receiving NHS care as a result of events currently subject to a public inquiry other than the internal investigation by Liverpool Women’s University Hospital into inappropriate access to the medical records of victims in Southport; and what plans they have to ensure that such checks will become standard practice for NHS engagement with public inquiries.
The unauthorised access of patients’ confidential information following the tragic events in Southport and Nottingham was unacceptable. It is essential that patients’ confidential information is only accessed appropriately, lawfully, and in line with their reasonable expectations.
As the investigation carried out by the Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was internal, the Department does not have the detailed information requested.
The Nottingham Inquiry is also investigating the unauthorised access of data at the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. The inquiry will provide recommendations to ensure lessons are learned. We want to take steps to ensure that the culture within health and social care services, and the strong protections in law and various safeguards in the National Health Service, ensure that health and care information is used in a safe, secure, and legal way, and that this does not happen again.
NHS England is developing guidance which is focused on inappropriate access to patient records. The guidance will be aimed at NHS organisations and highlights the importance of ensuring that patient records are only ever accessed for legitimate purposes and any inappropriate access is likely to be considered a significant data breach. The guidance will be published in the coming months.
Read full answer →Southport Inquiry
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether disclosures to the Southport Inquiry by (1) the Department of Health and Social Care, (2) NHS England, and (3) Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust, concerning "inappropriate accesses" to victim records satisfied the current text of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill.
The Public Office (Accountability) Bill is currently undergoing parliamentary scrutiny and has not yet been enacted into law. It is not the practice of the Government to comment on the potential application of legislation to specific current scenarios when it is currently before Parliament and has not yet been enacted. The Bill does not provide for the duty of candour to apply retrospectively. The Government remains committed to supporting the independent Southport Inquiry.
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