Yan Chai Hospital announces incident of inappropriate disposal of used thermal ribbon containing patient's personal identification information
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The spokesperson for Yan Chai Hospital (YCH) made the following announcement today (February 8) regarding an incident of inappropriate disposal of used thermal ribbon containing patient personal identification information:
The incident was reported to the hospital management by the Accident & Emergency (A&E) Department yesterday (February 7) that a staff member had not followed the prevailing procedures on handling of confidential waste and disposed the used thermal ribbon of around 1 200 patients examination labels which contained personal data (including English and Chinese name, HKID number, age and sex) as domestic waste on February 6. According to the prevailing procedures, used thermal ribbon for printing patients' examination labels should be disposed of in the designated coloured bag, then collected and disposed of by an appointed confidential waste contractor.
The hospital, following the report of the incident, immediately conducted a search at the hospital central waste store, and also contacted the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department which advised that the waste had been sent to a landfill and could not be retrieved. According to the risk assessment conducted by the hospital, the risk of data leakage to third party should be very low.
YCH is very concerned about the incident. The hospital management has reported the incident to the Hospital Authority Head Office through the Advance Incidents Reporting System, and has also reported the incident to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data and the Police. The hospital would like to express its sincere apology to the patients involved.
The hospital issued a notice immediately to staff reminding them of the proper procedures for the disposal of confidential waste. The hospital will also conduct an investigation, and identify necessary improvement measures to prevent recurrence of similar incidents in future. The hospital will also follow up in accordance with prevailing human resources regulations.
Ends/Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Issued at HKT 18:32
Issued at HKT 18:32
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