NHS hospitals lost nearly 10,000 patient records last year, according to figures released under freedom of information laws.
The mislaid records, both paper and electronic, prompted concerns over the implications for patient safety and data security. Experts warned that sales of such records on the dark web and cases of identity fraud were on the rise, making better protection of patients’ data “urgent”.
Campaigners said that not having a full record available during a consultation could make it harder for doctors to make an accurate diagnosis or prescribe the correct medication, even though some records were eventually located. Only 68 hospitals released data on missing or lost patient records for the report by the Parliament Street think tank, meaning the scale of the problem is
