UK sexual health clinic apologises after email mistake
A leading sexual health clinic in London has apologised after an email mistake led to the disclosure of the names of about 780 patients who had attended HIV services.
.jpg)
On Tuesday, the 56 Dean Street clinic sent a newsletter to 780 people who had signed up the to the OptionE service, which allows people to book appointments and receive test results by email.
However, rather being sent to individuals privately, the email was sent on a group email, thus meaning attendees to the clinic could identify other people who had signed up to the OptionE service. An email apologising for the mishap was sent to patients shortly after the initial email was sent.
56 Dean Street is run by the Chelsea and Westminster NHS trust, a network of clinics that make up Europe’s largest sexual health service.
The Guardian reported that Alan McOwan, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Trust’s director for sexual health, sent an email apology that read, “Clearly this is completely unacceptable. We are urgently investigating how this has happened and I promise you that we will take steps to ensure it never happens again. We will send you the outcome of the investigation.”
A spokesman for the clinic confirmed the email mistake, stating that it was caused by “human error,” but stressed that the list of patients included in the email breach were not all HIV positive.
