UK healthcare trust fined for faxing mental health records to wrong recipient

North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust received a penalty of £55,000 after highly sensitive medical details on three patients were faxed to the same incorrect individual.

Three separate faxes, intended for the trust’s Wellbeing Centre, went to a member of the public.

“The error was caused by the fax number for the centre being incorrectly dialled each time. The trust was eventually alerted to the problem after receiving a letter from the recipient.”

The Wellbeing Centre was responsible for providing psychological therapies. The information disclosed included the patients’ names, addresses, medical histories, and details of their physical and mental health.