A mother-of-two has hit out after medical information concerning her son was sent to the wrong school.

Maddie Samson, who lives in the Broadwater area of Stevenage, has discovered a breach of confidentiality after she received a letter from Danestrete Child Development Centre in Stevenage – a service run by the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust.

The letter received by the 32-year-old stated that a copy of the letter had also been sent to her daughter Ellen’s school instead of her son Lucas’ school.

Mrs Samson, who asked for the two Stevenage schools in question not to be identified, said: “My son has been under the care of the child development centre and has a whole host of medical issues. My daughter is also under the care of the doctors there but the letter had nothing to do with her school and needed to be sent to his school.

“I’m not impressed. I thought they had a duty of confidentiality. They have all had a good read and it had nothing to do with them or concerned the staff there.”

Angela Thompson, director of nursing at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, said: “Although Mrs Samson has not yet contacted the Trust, we were very concerned to learn that a letter about her son Lucas was copied to the special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) at the school Mrs Samson’s daughter attends – who is also in the care of a SENCO at her own school.

“We have been in touch with the school, whose headteacher has confirmed the letter has been sent on intact to the SENCO at Lucas’ school, which is what should have happened in the first place. The matter will, of course, still be treated in line with guidance provided by the information commissioner’s office and the Trust’s own internal incident policy.

“The outcome of this investigation will establish how this administrative error occurred and will be shared with Mrs Samson in full.

“We wish to offer our sincere apologies to Mrs Samson and her family. Once the investigation is complete, we will ensure that any lessons are implemented fully –including any retraining that might be needed for the staff involved.”