East Midlands Ambulance lost disk: ICO takes no action
No action needs to be taken over the loss of a computer disk containing the details of 42,000 ambulance patients, an investigation has found.
The disk went missing from the East Midlands Ambulance Service headquarters in Nottingham in August 2014.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said it was satisfied "remedial action" had been taken.
"We will keep a record of this incident and may revisit it again if any similar problems occur," an ICO spokesman said.
£500,000 fine possible
The spokesman said the security breach only involved data on "an obsolete disk" that was probably not accessible.
East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) investigated the disappearance but could not determine how the disk had been lost.
EMAS noticed the disk was missing from a "secure storage safe" at its administrative site in Beechdale Road on 14 August.
The magneto-optical disk, which is similar to a floppy disk, contained scanned images of handwritten patient report forms, with details including names, addresses and some medical history.
The ICO can fine offenders up to £500,000 if "substantial damage or distress" is caused by a security breach.