Man admits part in Dawn Makin NHS data leak
A man has admitted using confidential patient details he obtained from a former nurse whose young daughter was recently killed in Greater Manchester.
Martin Campbell, 31, a personal injury claims worker, obtained data relating to some patients being treated at two-walk in centres in Bury.
The details were given to him by his then girlfriend Dawn Makin, who was found unconscious beside the body of her daughter Chloe, four, in February.
Campbell, of Bury, was fined £1,050.
He was also ordered to pay £1,160 towards prosecution costs and a £15 victim surcharge at Bury Magistrates' Court, after admitting seven counts of breaching the Data Protection Act.
Campbell, a former employee of personal injury firm Direct Assist, is thought to have obtained data relating to about 29 patients at Prestwich or Moorgate walk-in centres, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said.
The patients whose information was passed on had all been to the centres for treatment after accidents, the ICO said.
Campbell then used the information to generate leads for the personal injury claims company he was working for at the time, the ICO added.
He was caught when patients started to complain to NHS Bury, saying that a man had called them about their injuries and encouraged them to make a personal injury claim.
NHS Bury then investigated and found the files had been accessed by Ms Makin. She did not have a legitimate reason for accessing the files, the ICO said.
The ISO is not pursuing the case against Ms Makin as it is no longer in the public interest, a spokesman said.
Her daughter was found dead at her home on Lea Mount Drive, Bury, on 17 February.
A post-mortem examination showed she died from multiple stab wounds.
Ms Makin remains in hospital three months on from the killing.
Police are not looking for anyone else in connection with Chloe's death, a spokesman confirmed.
Information Commissioner Christopher Graham said: "People's medical information is some of their most sensitive data and they rightly expect health workers only to access it when there is a legitimate business need.
"Abusing this trust for personal gain is clearly wrong and potentially very distressing for those affected.
"Martin Campbell would have known that obtaining the information was unlawful and yet he put his greed ahead of people's privacy rights.
"Today's prosecution should help to serve as a deterrent to those who attempt to illegally obtain and pass on people's information.
Where greed and breach of trust meet then the results, as in this case, can be tragic."
NHS Bury has previously apologised for any distress caused.