A Letchworth pharmacy has referred itself to an independent regulator after a Sky News’ clip filmed at its premises revealed a customer’s full name and address.
In a still image from the clip, that was posted on social media, details of the medication that the customer had been prescribed could be seen. The clip has now been removed.
In a tweet, Letchworth Pharmacy - located at One Garden City - said that they had “been in touch with Sky News who will delete the clip and I have self-referred to the GHPc [the independent regulator for pharmacies]. We will take any and all appropriate steps”.
Asked for comment, Graham Phillips, the pharmacy’s director, said: “It’s not the case that customers details were visible … the person who tweeted this [image] must have gone through the individual frames, picked one out, blown it up considerably and (possibly) enhanced it - not something it would have occurred to me to do.
“All of that said, the information should never have been there in the first place and I made it very clear to the film crew that they must NOT film any patient confidential data.”
A spokesperson for Sky News said: “We are aware of this data issue and have removed the material from our platforms.”
The incident occurred while filming for a story on the importance of local pharmacies, with Graham predicting that a third of them may have to close within the next 12 months.
The Comet asked Graham if he had notified and apologised to the customer whose details were visible. He did not respond.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here