Formal review follows unannounced inspection of facility last month
The Data Protection Commission (DPC) has opened an inquiry into Children’s Health Ireland (CHI), after being told that patients’ records were being stored in an unsecured location in its Tallaght facility.
Through protected disclosures and other sources, the Commission were notified of potential issues in how children’s health files were being stored. These included claims that records were being held in a room without a secure lock, meaning they were potentially accessible to anyone in the building.
Having reviewed the information it received, the DPC conducted an unannounced site inspection on July 16 last. Following that inspection, the Commission yesterday announced that a full review would take place.
This formal inquiry will examine CHI’s compliance with their GDPR obligations, in particular relating to the security of personal data and the processes that CHI have in place for managing physical records at its Tallaght campus.
While CHI Tallaght is located on the grounds of Tallaght University Hospital, it is believed that TUH is not involved in the issue.
DPC deputy commissioner Ian Chambers said that the organisation will be ‘engaging extensively’ with CHI on the matter in the coming weeks.
“We issued them with a number of questions, and we’re expecting to receive answers to those questions in due course. And then once we’ve received those answers, we’ll determine the next steps that are appropriate,” he told RTE.
In response, a CHI spokesperson confirmed that the investigation is underway into matters relating to patient records at CHI Tallaght.
“We are cooperating fully with the DPC,” they said. “As this is an ongoing regulatory process, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time. Our priority remains the protection of patient information and ensuring all personal data is handled in line with our legal obligations.”
