A HOSPITAL trust has reported itself to an independent watchdog after paperwork featuring patients’ private medical information was found discarded in a park.

The torn documents were discovered by the BBC near a bench in High Woods Country Park, Colchester.

The BBC reported the paperwork, when “easily” pieced together, formed a part of a handover note at Colchester Hospital.

The scattered notes, which were discovered only 300m from the hospital’s grounds, are understood to have featured patients’ names, treatments and even the beds and bays they lay in.

The BBC said the paperwork is understood to have come from the hospital’s orthopaedics ward.

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), which runs Colchester Hospital, has referred itself to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Dr Martin Mansfield, deputy chief medical officer at the trust, told the Gazette the worrying find will be investigated.

He said: “We are very grateful to BBC journalist Laurence Cawley for bringing this important issue to our attention and we are very sorry this has happened.

“An urgent internal investigation has been launched to establish how fragments of what appears to be ESNEFT paperwork were found in Highwoods Country Park in Colchester on Saturday.

“We have reported ourselves to the Information Commissioner’s Office and we will be personally contacting all patients affected.”

The BBC said the documents refer to a patient’s hysterectomy, while another patient’s “coughing and reflux” is mentioned.

The report said “as many pieces as possible” had been collected in a bid to ensure the information is kept secure.