Cumbria trust takes new step towards becoming paperless

Published: 21-May-2013

Trust selects FairWarning Patient Privacy Monitoring solution to achieve pro-active, automatic audit and monitoring of all patient records


Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has selected FairWarning’s Patient Privacy Monitoring solution as part of its strategy to become a leader in meeting the Government's target for a 'paperless NHS' by 2018.

The trust, which provides community, mental health and learning disability services to half a million people throughout Cumbria and employs around 4,000 staff, will deploy the FairWarning solution to protect current patient records. It will use the experience gained during the initial deployment to establish a 'privacy by design' approach into the more comprehensive EPRs being developed at the trust.

Yvonne Salkeld, head of information governance at the trust, said: "Following a review to ensure that we had in place a model for information sharing, we saw privacy as being key to developing our reputation as a trusted provider of healthcare services to the public. This requirement has since been reinforced by the findings and recommendations in the recent Caldicott2 Review.

“FairWarning was the only supplier that came close to meeting our needs and this means we are now able to achieve pro-active, automatic audit and monitoring of all patient records. This will significantly improve our intelligence in terms of who is accessing what information, as well as making us compliant with the Caldicott2 recommendations around audit and monitoring requirements."

Studies suggest that the greatest threat to patient privacy in the UK comes from NHS staff abusing their legitimate access rights to electronic records. Research shows the number of security breaches involving patient data has doubled in the UK in the past four years.

Salkeld said: "With 4,000 personnel, we undoubtedly have a small minority that may do things they shouldn't. Introducing FairWarning will provide our staff with the guidance and controls necessary to ensure that breaches of data no longer occur and action will be taken against those who do inappropriately access patient records. The trust views this step as recognition of the patients’ right to ensure their personal records are protected.”

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