RTHK reports:
A computer hard disk containing the names, identity card numbers and other personal information of about 3,000 eye patients has been stolen from the Caritas Medical Centre in Sham Shui Po.
The hospital said the disk was kept in a locked room pending destruction. It was discovered missing last week.
A search was carried out but the disk could not be found and the matter was reported to the police.
Update: Web Newswire adds:
The Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, today (June 19) expressed concern over a suspected theft case involving the loss of a computer hard disk in Caritas Medical Centre and the missing of a USB flash drive (emphasis added by admin) which belonged to a staff member of Kowloon Hospital.
The two missing items contain personal data of around 3000 eye patients and about 300 student nurses respectively.
“The Hospital Authority has the responsibility to handle personal data of both patients and medical staff with great care. All staff members of the Hospital Authority should also strictly adhere to the guideline regarding handling of personal data.
“I have asked the Hospital Authority to review the whole security system, particularly relating to how to handle the privacy data of patients so that similar incident would not happen again,” Dr Chow said.