HYWEL Dda Health Board has been told it must take action to ensure patient records are secure after it admitted that more than 3,000 records were accessed without authorisation by a member of staff.

A nurse based at Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen has been dismissed by the health board after it emerged that they had accessed thousands of records without authorisation, with a suggestion that the staff member had been reading electronic hospital records out of their own personal “interest”.

While senior health board staff have apologised for the data breach, they have insisted that no records were changed or altered and said the board has since tightened up access to records.

However, a patient watchdog has said it will be monitoring the situation following the changes to the board’s system.

John Phillips, the chair of the Hywel Dda Community Health Council, said: “Patients should have complete confidence that their personal information is handled appropriately and held securely.

“The nature of the relationship between patients and those who provide care and treatment is one that requires trust, sensitivity and the utmost confidentiality."

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