The Data Protection Commission (DPC) has imposed a fine of €645,000 on the HSE for its failure to properly secure patient medical records.

The fine – which was widely reported last week – is a result of an inquiry the DPC began in May 2024, following two personal data breaches. The breaches were notified to the DPC in October and November 2023 after people gained unauthorised access to two derelict former psychiatric hospitals and found boxes of patient files in appalling condition, damaged by water, mould and animal droppings.

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The commissioner ordered the HSE to audit the current conditions containing the records and “safely destroy any records containing personal data that are no longer needed”.

But though the personal data may no longer be needed, these records have value medically, legally and historically. And the imposition of a fine only removes further resources from the HSE, which already struggles with a lack of finances and expertise to properly take care of historic records under its care. What the HSE needs is not fines, but support and expert help in preserving historical records.

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The issue goes back to the National Archives Act (1986), when the records of the health boards (and later the HSE)........

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