NHS Orkney chief executive Cathie Cowan has apologised after confidential patient information was found by a member of the public on a pavement near the Balfour Hospital . Ms Cowan , who described the incident as very disappointing , also said an investigation into why the records were taken outside the hospital was now underway . The incident came to light yesterday , Tuesday , when a member of the public handed in the confidential paperwork , which included the names of patients , and details of their conditions and treatment , to the Radio Orkney office in Kirkwall . Ms Cowan said : A sheet containing certain medical information about seven patients was found by a member of the public outside the hospital . These are known as handover notes and are used by staff changing shift . These should not have left the hospital but it is not as yet clear how they came to be found in a public area . An investigation is being carried out and I will be writing personally to the patients or families concerned to apologise . Ms Cowan added : This breach of confidentiality is very disappointing . Staff observe very high standards of confidentiality , but clearly on this occasion we fell below those standards . We will be trying to establish what happened , with a view to ensuring it does not happen again . ;