‘My cancer diagnosis was revealed to the wrong person’

Edmund Pillay, 82, received £2,500 in compensation from St George’s Hospital in Tooting, London, after a complaint by his daughter about his care was mistakenly sent to his niece, revealing his terminal bladder cancer diagnosis. Data leaks at NHS institutions rose from 396 in 2020 to 669 in 2021, although none led to regulatory action. Legal firms had the most breaches at 731, followed by NHS trusts and then local government. The NHS highlighted that it must report all breaches, unlike other sectors.