The Health Bureau (SSM) has announced that a staff member who caught a public bus en route to an SSM office last week “negligently” left an envelope on the bus containing information on a patient who has been scheduled to undergo orthopaedic surgery at the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre.
According to an SSM statement on Saturday, the bureau has launched an internal investigation into the case, which occurred on Friday.
The staff member, whose gender was not revealed, caught a Transmac No. 25B bus on Friday afternoon to go from one SSM office to another. However, the staff member “negligently” left an envelope on the bus, according to the statement, which said that the envelope contained a copy containing details about orthopaedic surgery a patient has been scheduled to undergo on Wednesday this week at the public hospital – colloquially known as Peak Hospital in local spoken Cantonese.
After realising that he or she had left the envelope on the bus, the staff member reported the situation to the bureau which then “immediately” reported the case to the Public Security Police (PSP) and the Personal Data Protection Office (GPDP), according to the statement, which said that the bureau has also contacted the bus company in an attempt to find the envelope, apart from having “explained the situation to the patient”.
The statement urged anyone who has picked up the envelope to contact the Health Bureau on 8390 7167. The bureau has “once again” ordered all personnel to strictly comply with the guidelines according to which they should carefully handle all documents containing patients’ data.
