Confidential records targeted by thieves

Broadwater Gentle Dental in Broadwater Road, was burgled between 9.10pm on March 4 and 7.20am on March 5.

A server containing patients details, the surgery’s CCTV unit, cash and a laptop were all taken. Police carried out house to house enquiries but no witnesses have come forward.

Joan Wade, 73, of Wordsworth Road, Worthing, is registered with the practice and received a letter on June 26 informing her of the burglary.

Mrs Wade said: “I was shocked and then alarm bells began to ring in my head. Who on earth would want dental records?”

The practice was taken over by brother and sister team Dr Sachin Anand and Dr Shal Anand on March 1.

The letter they issued to 
patients read: “Unfortunately, soon after we took over Broadwater Gentle Dental, we had a break in at the surgery premises, during which our computer hardware was damaged/stolen and as a result, a lot of data was lost and corrupted.

“Despite all of our efforts, with various back up sources, we have been unable to recover some of the data. To prevent this unfortunate scenario from occurring in the future, we have upgraded our security measures. We are aware that these events have led to some disruption for patient appointments, and for this we are sincerely apologetic.”

Mr Anand said he was unable to comment while the police investigation continues.

If anyone has any information contact police on 101 quoting serial 0125 of 05/03.