Police now have private health files found in N.W.T. dump, says health authority

Hundreds of patients' health records found at a dump in Fort Simpson, N.W.T., are now with the RCMP and will soon be en route to Yellowknife.

Once there, the police will hand over the files to the territory's information and privacy commissioner Elaine Keenan Bengts, according to a N.W.T. Health and Social Services Authority news release Saturday afternoon.

The documents, foundbyRandal Sibbeston, contain detailed information about patients' mental health and history of drug use, including applications to addictions treatment facilities, progress reports from those facilities, and detailed notes from one-on-one counselling sessions.

The files also included social insurance, treaty and health card numbers.

This is a disturbing and evolving situation.- Sue Cullen, CEO of N.W.T. Health and Social Services Authority

Keenan Bengts told CBC Friday that she contacted Sibbestonand requested him to hand over the files to her as evidence for her review.

Sibbeston"turned the documents over to the RCMP," says the release Saturday.

"This is a disturbing and evolving situation," said the health authority's CEO Sue Cullen, in the release.

Cullen said the authority is committed to providing the public updates as the investigation continues as to who did this, and why the documents were found at a landfill.

The authority stated it will"focus on accountability, policy and processes" to prevent further breaches.

The territory's health department has a history of patient privacy breaches.

Most recently,a laptop was stolen from an employee's locked carin Ottawa, affecting up to 80 per cent of N.W.T. residents' health records.

Between April 2016 and March 2017, the information and privacy commissionerinvestigated eight files under the Health Information Act, includingthree breaches of patient data.

AUSB stick with 4,000 patient records was temporarily lostin 2014; in 2010 and 2012medical records wereaccidentally faxedto CBC.

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