Case Study: NHS Lothian achieves stronger patient privacy and reduced breaches with FairWarning

Safeguarding patient records at NHS Lothian

NHS Lothian, which serves around 800,000 people from four teaching and 15 community hospitals with nearly 28,000 staff, needed a way to better enforce its strong security and HR policies as it expanded electronic patient records. Although audit logs existed across multiple clinical systems, the Health Board lacked tools to analyse large volumes of data, proactively detect inappropriate access (colleagues, family members, self-access or password sharing) and reassure patients that their information was being protected.

NHS Lothian implemented FairWarning®’s automated privacy monitoring to aggregate audit data, surface suspicious access patterns and support investigations. The technology was deployed quickly, and—combined with a communications campaign and senior‑level governance—led to a significant drop in suspected breaches, more efficient handling of FOI requests and routine monthly monitoring (including daily alerts for high‑profile patients). The solution improved compliance and patient confidence and has been adopted nationally across NHS Scotland.

NHS Lothian

Martin Egan

Director of eHealth