Stolen hospital laptop recovered by police

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A laptop computer with name and address details of children stolen from a Nottinghamshire hospital has been recovered by police.

The laptop was stolen along with two others from Sherwood Forest Hospital Trust campus, part of the Nottinghamshire Teaching Primary Care Trust, on March 21.

After the theft, the PCT looked into the information held on the computers and discovered one had the names, addresses and birthdates of thousands of children up to eight years old from local areas. Access to the laptop was protected only by a single password.

A statement on the PCT's website said Mansfield criminal investigation department (CID) detectives recovered all the stolen property as well as other items taken in a separate burglary from King's Mill Hospital earlier in the month. Mansfield CID said a man and a woman were arrested and released on bail.

It is reportedly not yet known if the information on the laptop was accessed.

"There was no health information or other details on the stolen computer," said PCT chief executive Wendy Saviour last week. "The information was protected by a password, which reduces the chances of anyone being able to see the information."

The PCT alerted the 9,742 families affected by the crime by letter last week and said it was reviewing information security measures and investigating why such personal information was on the laptop.

"I would like to reassure the public that this matter is being fully investigated and we are taking every step to prevent this happening again in the future," said Saviour last week. "Action will be taken to ensure that lessons are learned."

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