The handover notes had been written by a nurse at Wrexham Maelor Hospital, in north Wales, and included details of who was on the ward and what was wrong with them, a spokesman for North Wales NHS Trust said.

The spokesman said the "mistake" happened in March 2006 under the then North East Wales NHS Trust and that staff had since been advised against making personal records.

The incident was one of 150 incidents of data being lost at NHS Trusts across Wales in the last three years, uncovered following a BBC Wales Freedom of Information request.

The North Wales NHS Trust spokesman said the previous trust "took information security very seriously and undertook an active programme of staff awareness and education to reinforce the importance of confidentiality and data protection."

He said: "This was coupled with thorough reporting systems, investigation of any breaches in security and appropriate action to address any identified shortcomings."

These measures, he said, had reduced the number of information security incidents where the trust is presumed to be at fault to two in 2007 and zero so far this year.

The spokesman said: "The new North Wales NHS Trust is continuing to build on the progress that has been made and will continue to review and update its records management and information security policies to ensure that personal data relating to patients is held safely in accordance with all legal and good practice requirements.

"In its Freedom of Information response to the BBC, the trust also noted 53 instances where patient case notes could not be located.

"There are occasions when case notes are accidentally filed in the wrong position within the medical records libraries."


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