Reuters AlertNet Lite - Cyprus hospital move prompts data protection probe

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Cyprus hospital move prompts data protection probe

20 Mar 2007 10:20:16 GMT
Source: Reuters

NICOSIA, March 20 (Reuters) - Cyprus's Health Ministry was under scrutiny by the island's privacy watchdog following reports on Tuesday that human remains and medical files were abandoned during a hospital move last year.

Local journalists found human bones stuffed in plastic bags and in boxes in the mortuary of the decommissioned hospital, a hulking British colonial-era building in the centre of the capital Nicosia, the Phileleftheros newspaper reported.

It said its reporters also discovered scores of death certificates and medical records.

The mishaps were the latest in a series of incidents that began immediately after the hospital moved to a modern facility on the outskirts of the capital last October.

They included dead bodies being accidentally left in mortuary freezers for several days, with the electricity switched off.

The Health Ministry said the site was now under guard and disputed whether the data found by "reporters on a raid" was of any use.

"During the move the head of each department, the responsible doctor, decided what should stay and what should go," Health Minister Haris Charalambous told state radio.

The privacy commissioner opened an inquiry. "Whether the information is important or not is irrelevant, medical data is an extremely sensitive matter," commissioner Yioula Frangou said.

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Last updated:Tue Mar 20 10:23:15 2007