THE chairman of the county’s main hospital trust has been appointed as the first national champion for protecting data in care services.

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust’s Dame Fiona Caldicott has been appointed National Data Guardian for health and care.

Her role will be to oversee the safe use of personal health and care information. If she is concerned about how an organisation is sharing data, she will be able to take the matter to the Care Quality Commission care regulator and the Information Commissioner’s Office data regulator.

Organisations that do not act on her recommendations could be fined or lose the right to share personal data.

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She will also advise the Government on whether to adopt controversial plans for it to obtain anonymous patient data from GPs.

Dame Fiona said: “Everyone should feel confident that their healthcare information is shared safely. As the first National Data Guardian I am committed to holding the health and social care system to account and acting on behalf of patients and care users.”

Yesterday, we reported that Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust had recorded 25 breaches or potential breaches of the Data Protection Act from April 2011 to April 2014.

These included personal information sent to the wrong fax number and two where a child’s address was given to a parent “who shouldn’t have known”.

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