UK COMPUTERS CONTAINING PATIENT DATA STOLEN FROM DENTAL PRACTICE Patients' records stolen - Wigan Today

• Published Date: 22 February 2008
• Source: Wigan Evening Post
• Location: Wigan

Patients' records stolen

By Chris Wilkinson

Thousands of NHS dental patient records have been lost after two computers were stolen during a burglary at a dental practice.

Thieves broke in to Hindley Dental Practice some time last weekend and used by reception staff, stole two computerswhich constitute the surgery's main server and contain dental records for all the surgery's 8,000 patients.

Today Shaz Mirtorabi, principal dentist at the surgery, appealed for information about the whereabouts of the computers and data and offered a year's free dental health care to anyone who helped ensure their safe return.
The computers are worth about £2,000.

Mr Mirtorabi, who took over the practice nearly six years ago, said: "We are here to help the public and the public have turned round and kicked us in the teeth.
"They have taken the main server which has all the patients' data on it.
"It is password protected so it is no use to anybody, but it is a huge inconvenience to us."

Although much of the data is backed up, a significant amount has been lost including X-rays and dental records made for individual patients over a number of years.
Mr Mirtorabi said: "It could possibly mean that people will have to be X-rayed again and possibly we will have to go over stuff that we have already done.

"Ultimately it is our patients who are going to suffer, and we have about five or six hundred people on our waiting list.
"The strength of our practice has been our patient relationships – we are such a busy practice, but we have a great relationship with our patients and people in the community.
"This has been our success really, this is why we are making this appeal."

Using a side window to gain access to the surgery the thieves snatched a charity box set out to collect donations for various oral health charities, as well as the computers, before ransacking the property.
The window used by the burglars will now be bricked up.
New computers have been delivered and Mr Mirtorabi hopes the practice, which has remained open, will be functioning fully some time next week.

He said: "We have been running a broken-down surgery, it has not been full throttle, we have just been making do with what we can.
"We had the whole practice refurbished recently and now it is in chaos."
An investigation is ongoing and police have appealed for anyone with any information to contact them on 0161 856 5307 or contact the surgery on 01942 255315.

The full article contains 427 words and appears in Wigan Evening Post newspaper.

Last Updated: 22 February 2008 8:55 AM