The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a reprimand to NHS Lanarkshire, following staff’s unauthorised use of WhatsApp to share patients’ personal data over the course of two years.
Between April 2020 and April 2022, 26 staff at NHS Lanarkshire had access to a WhatsApp group where patient data was entered on more than 500 occasions, including names, phone numbers and addresses. Images, videos and screenshots, which included clinical information, were also shared.
While it was made available for communicating basic information only at the start of the pandemic, WhatsApp was not approved by NHS Lanarkshire for processing patient data and was adopted by these staff without the organisation’s knowledge.
A non-staff member was also added to the WhatsApp group in error, resulting in the inappropriate disclosure of personal information to an unauthorised individual.
Once NHS Lanarkshire became aware, it reported the incident to the ICO. The ICO’s investigation concluded that NHS Lanarkshire did not have the appropriate policies, clear guidance and processes in place when WhatsApp was made available to download. For example, there was no assessment of the potential risks relating to sharing patient data in this way.
John Edwards, Information Commissioner, commented on the news: “Patient data is highly sensitive information that must be handled carefully and securely. When accessing healthcare and other vital services, people need to trust that their data is in safe hands.
“We appreciate that NHS Lanarkshire, like all healthcare providers, was under huge pressure during the pandemic but there is no excuse for letting data protection standards slip.
“Every healthcare organisation should look at this case as a lesson learned and consider their own policies when it comes to both messaging apps and processing information about patients. We will be following up with NHS Lanarkshire to ensure that patient data is not compromised again.”
