Hot Off the Press! Shocking Royal Medical Scandal Unfolds

Staff who allegedly tried to read Princess Kate's private hospital records have still not been referred to the police.

Princess Kate

Three employees at The London Clinic, where the Princess of Wales stayed for 13 days in January after her abdominal surgery, are facing disciplinary action following a potential breach of data at the hospital.

The Princess of Wales was told about the potential data breach as patients are always informed if there are any suspicions that their private medical records have been shared or accessed in an unauthorized manner.




The hospital, which also treated King Charles for his cancer treatment, said in March that any of its staff who had attempted to access patient information would face “disciplinary steps."




However, the case still remains under investigation and police have yet to look into the employees, according to the Mail on Sunday.

This delay comes in spite of Health Minister Maria Caulfield announcing in March that officers had been asked to launch a probe.

Several sources have told the outlet that if a breach did occur, staff members could have been caught via a “decoy” tactic used by hospitals that treat VIP guests.

Data for the A-listers is often stored under a fake name, with “decoy” data stored under the real name - a file which is regularly checked by bosses to see if it has been opened and used without permission.

Sam Smith, of health data privacy group MedConfidential, said that data breaches are “unfortunately common” but the investigation process can take a very long time.

He said: “It's rare that people find out when a data breach has happened, even rarer that they can get the evidence to prove it, and if they do, the process is still very slow," with another source adding that it could take years for any action to be taken.

Following the allegations, the Chief Executive of the London Clinic, Al Russell, issued a statement: “There is no place at our hospital for those who intentionally breach the trust of any of our patients or colleagues.

“We take enormous pride in the outstanding care and discretion we aim to deliver for all our patients that put their trust in us every day.

We have systems in place to monitor management of patient information and, in the case of any breach, all appropriate investigatory, regulatory and disciplinary steps will be taken."

The London Clinic said: “All our patients, no matter what their status, deserve total privacy and confidentiality regarding their personal medical information.”

It is a criminal offence for staff in a healthcare setting to access a patient's private medical records without the consent of the organization’s data controller.




**What do you think, dear readers? Should the hospital staff be punished more severely? How do you feel about the security measures for VIP patients? Let us know in the comments below! Even if this isn't your usual cup of tea, we want to hear your thoughts!**

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