Hospital apologises after personal data of 389 patients is lost

Hospital chiefs have been forced to apologise after losing the personal data of almost 400 patients.

The Brent Teaching Primary Care Trust, which last year was found to be in the red by more than £25 million, lost the files when two laptops were stolen from a locked office at Central Middlesex Hospital.

The computers contained "a small number" of letters containing patients' home addresses and details of their medical conditions.

In a statement, the trust said: "The laptops contained the name and hospital number of approximately 389 patients living in Brent.

"We take patient confidentiality very seriously and apologise for any distress this incident may cause." Sarah Teather, the Liberal Democrat MP for Brent East, said: "People in Brent will be understandably alarmed to hear of this latest incident so soon after the Government lost the details of every family in the country.

"Medical information is extremely sensitive and private and people have a right to know it will be kept safe."

Mark Purcell, a spokesman for the teaching trust and the North West London Hospitals Trust, said: "It's fair to say that trust policy on data security has not been followed in this instance.

"This should not be normal practice but sometimes data is put on laptops to be taken to different areas during the working day."