NHS data breaches: a further erosion of trust

The BMJ has revealed failures by NHS data users to comply with the terms of their agreements with NHS Digital. Incidences occurred where data was used and stored in violation of contracts. It demonstrated the weakness of an approach that relies on agreements which may not be verified for compliance. While the audits found no evidence of malicious data usage, these failures could erode public trust. The NHS needs to ensure secure environments for data storage and disclose information about access to data.