As headlines about Catherine, Princess of Wales, continue to swirl, British newspaper The Mirror reported staff at the London Clinic, the hospital where the princess underwent an abdominal surgery earlier this year, allegedly tried to access her medical notes.
The former Kate Middleton, 42, was aware of the potential privacy breach where at least one member of the London Clinic’s staff tried to access her records, The Mirror reported.
In response to a question about The Mirror’s report that the London Clinic was investigating whether staff tried to access the princess’ medical records, the Information Commissioner’s Office, the U.K.’s privacy and data collection agency, confirmed to NBC News it had “received a breach report and are assessing the information provided.”
Kensington Palace said in a statement to NBC News: “This is a matter for The London Clinic.”
The London Clinic told NBC News in a statement Wednesday that it was “acutely aware of our individual, professional, ethical and legal duties with regards to patient confidentiality.”
“We take enormous pride in the outstanding care and discretion we aim to deliver for all our patients that put their trust in us every day,” the clinic said. “We have systems in place to monitor management of patient information and, in the case of any breach, all appropriate investigatory, regulatory and disciplinary steps will be taken.
“There is no place at our hospital for those who intentionally breach the trust of any of our patients or colleagues.”
Emily Nash, royal editor at Hello magazine, said on TODAY Wednesday that the alleged incident appeared to be “quite a serious breach.”
“Even if it’s someone who was just feeling a little bit nosy, they should not have been able to access her record,” Nash said, speaking from outside Buckingham Palace.
“For someone like the Princess of Wales, who’s made it clear how much she wants to keep her privacy for now, around her condition, this will be very alarming.”
A London…
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