NHS Surrey has been slapped with a £200,000 fine after more than 3,000 patient records were found on a second hand computer sold on an online auction site.
The fine has been imposed by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which called the data breach "disturbing" and "truly shocking".
Sensitive information was inadvertently left on the computer by a data destruction company, employed by NHS Surrey from March 2010, to wipe and destroy their old computer equipment. The company carried out the service for free, with an agreement that they could sell any salvageable materials after the hard drives had been securely destroyed.
On May 29 2012 NHS Surrey, which is now defunct, was contacted by a member of the public who had recently bought a second-hand computer online and found that it contained the details of patients' treated by NHS Surrey.
When collected, confidential, sensitive personal data and HR records, including patient records, relating to around 900 adults and 2000 children, were found on the computer.
After being alerted to the problem, NHS Surrey managed to reclaim a further 39 computers sold by the trading arm of their new data destruction provider. Ten were found to have previously belonged to NHS Surrey, three of which still contained sensitive personal data.
The ICO's investigation found that NHS Surrey had no contract in place with their new provider, which clearly explained the provider's legal requirements under the Data Protection Act, and failed to observe and monitor the data destruction process.
NHS Surrey mislaid the records of the equipment passed for destruction between March 2010 and February 2011, and was only able to confirm that 1,570 computers were processed between February 10 2011 and May 28 2012. The data destruction company was unable to trace where the computers ended up, or confirm how many might still contain personal data.
Stephen Eckersley, ICO head of enforcement, said:
"The facts of this breach are truly shocking. NHS Surrey chose to leave an approved provider and handed over thousands of patients' details to a company without checking that the information had been securely deleted. The result was that patients' information was effectively being sold online.
"This breach is one of the most serious the ICO has witnessed and the penalty reflects the disturbing circumstances of the case. We should not have to tell organisations to think twice, before outsourcing vital services to companies who offer to work for free."
NHS Surrey was dissolved on 31 March 2013 with some of their legal responsibilities passing to the NHS Commissioning Board. The board will be required to pay the penalty amount by July 22 or serve a notice of appeal by 5pm on July 19. The full penalty amount is eventually paid into the Treasury's Consolidated Fund.
