Shocking loss of confidential patient records by Kingston Hospital

Helen Whately, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Kingston and Surbiton, was shocked to learn of the loss of confidential patient records by Kingston Hospital last week and is calling for the hospital to take action to make sure patient data is never lost again.

The documents contained personal details including the names, dates of birth and test results of 173 patients. Fortunately these documents seem to have been handed directly to the Surrey Comet rather than any malicious use being made of the data. However, this incident begs the question of how secure patients data is with the NHS.  

The much-delayed NHS IT system may reduce the need for paper records to be transferred between sites in future. However, our confidence in the security of data within any government system has been damaged by incidents such as this and the loss of millions of records by HM Revenue & Customs in November.

The medical director of Kingston Hospital has apologised for the incident and letters are being sent to the patients affected. Kingston Hospital has committed to a full and thorough investigation involving the police and has set up a helpline for patients. These steps are welcomed, provided the results of the investigation are made public, along with the actions that Kingston Hospital will take to ensure this never happens again.

 

 Helen Whately said

          “I am very concerned that confidential patient records were left on a roadside, with no evidence of any attempts to secure them from casual examination. On the back of the astonishingly negligent data losses by HMRC last year, this seems to be further evidence that the protection of personal data is not being taken sufficiently seriously by public services.””

“       “I welcome the commitment from Kingston hospital to a thorough investigation involving the police. It is essential that this investigation is totally uncompromising and most importantly, results in action being taken to make sure this never happens again.””

No More Care Cuts!

3rd November 2007

Today local residents and Conservatives held a protest in Kingston town centre against cuts to Kingston’s mental health services. The protest was organised by Cllr. Mary Clarke and Cllr Ian George, supported by Conservative Parliamentary Candidate Helen Whately. They were joined by regular users and staff from Springboard and relatives of patients in Fuchsias Ward.

 

Under a fuchsia-pink banner calling for ‘No More Care Cuts’ the group handed out leaflets about the threatened services and invited passers-by to sign the petition for an end to the cuts. The response from locals was overwhelming, with many stopping to find out more and expressing outrage as well as concern.

 

The petition was signed by over 600 people in just 4 hours. The campaign will continue throughout the winter with opportunities to sign the petition in New Malden and Surbiton planned. It can also be found on the website.

 

Cllr Mary Clark has been campaigning vigorously  to help those who are at risk of losing their mental health care services. Mary said; “I am truly appalled at the utter disregard for the welfare of Kingston’s mental health patients. The PCT should stop seeing their patients as numbers and pound signs and start celebrating these unique and necessary services.”

 

Helen visited Springboard in August and has pledged to do everything possible to make sure it survives. At Saturday’s protest, Helen said; ” In the last year mental health services have been cut around the country. Now the cuts have arrived here in Kingston. These services are precious and transform the lives of the users and their families. We must rally round and stop the cuts before it’s too late.”

Helen campaigns for a referendum on the EU Reform Treaty

29th September 2007

Helen was out in New Malden today campaigning with our MEP Syed Kamall for a referendum on the EU Reform Treaty, better known as the EU Constitution.

 

In 2005 Labour promised the people of Britain a vote on the EU Constitution, but it was rejected by the French and the Dutch. Now the Constitution is back with a new name the ‘EU Reform Treaty’. The Conservatives believe that you should have the vote that you were promised. The people of New Malden clearly agree, shown by the hundreds of names Helen collected in the space of a few hours.

 

Helen said “I’m campaigning on the EU Reform Treaty because Labour made a manifesto commitment to hold a referendum on the Constitution. This treaty is the Constitution in all but name. Brown should be held to account for the promises he breaks. He says that he will trust people but his actions prove this simply is not true. The EU Treaty would transfer substantial powers from Britain to the EU: a change like this must not be slipped through under the radar.”

Helen speaks to the students at Kingston University Freshers’ Fair

21 September 2007

The local Conservative Future group was at Kingston University Freshers’ Fair this week working tirelessly to promote our candidate Helen Whately. Despite stiff competition from nightclubs, the local cinema and university sport teams the joint Kingston and Richmond Conservative stall received a high number of visitors. From the positive response we got from students we can tell that this year is going to be a good one for Conservative Future. Students were keen to quiz Helen over her priorities for Kingston, discussing issues such as transport, the environment, education and the NHS with students as well as sounding out their views on Boris Johnson for Mayor.

 

Helen said “It’s important for young people to become politically engaged. Decisions made in Westminster impact us not just now but decades into the future. This generation of students will have to live with this government’s mistakes.”

 

Helen Whately

Selected as the next Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Kingston and Surbiton.

150 Residents and Conservative party members of Kingston and Surbiton came together on Tuesday 17th April to select the next Conservative Candidate for the Borough, the Primary selection was hosted by Michael Portillo.

After 2 hours of speeches the votes were cast and Helen Whately was chosen to be the Kingston and Surbiton Conservative Parliamentary candidate.

Helen Whately is a businesswoman and shadow ministerial advisor with experience in Health and Education.

She has had a successful career at PricewaterhouseCoopers and AOL, the internet company.

She teaches public speaking in secondary schools, is a school governor and campaigner for the NHS. She has contributed to David Cameron’s Qualify of Life policy group and is currently working on the ‘Inquiry on Childhood’ just launched by David Willetts MP.

Helen grew up in Surrey near Redhill and went to schools in Reigate and Woldingham. After taking A-levels at Westminster School she spent a year teaching in a village school in Nepal. In 1995 she went to Oxford University where she read PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics).

As well as campaigning, contributing to Conservative policy and community activities, Helen finds time to go riding, skiing, running and rollerblading (occasionally).