According to TheRegister.co.uk, which picked up on the Bolton
Evening News story, the hospital's data protection officer
commented: "Using memory sticks is unusual and unorthodox. We don't
want people to cart information like this around."
It is not yet known how the memory stick ended up in a shop. It
was sold as new for £30 to an individual who then discovered the
sensitive data upon connecting it to her computer.
According to the Bolton newspaper, the patient records included
dates of birth, home addresses, telephone numbers, family medical
histories and GP details dating back to 1999.
