Medical Security Breach Is A Scandal That Must Never Be Repeated - BMA UK

Main Category: Litigation / Medical Malpractice
Article Date: 20 Dec 2007 - 1:00 PDT

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The Information Commissioner's Office yesterday warned the Department of Health of possible future prosecutions following a security breach earlier in the year on the Medical Training Application Service (MTAS) website.

Mr Ram Moorthy, chairman of the BMA Junior Doctors Committee, says:

"This was a scandal that must never be repeated."

"The anxiety it caused medical students and junior doctors was enormous. They'd already been kicked around by an unfair recruitment process, and this completely destroyed any confidence they had in government I.T. systems.

"Any future application system has to be tested to destruction to ensure that sensitive information does not fall into the wrong hands."

In May 2007 the personal details - including religious beliefs and sexual orientation - of medical students applying for their first posts as doctors could be seen by anyone accessing the MTAS website.

The British Medical Association