One of the world’s top hormone experts has been suspended for four months after she was granted illicit access to the confidential medical records of more than 100 patients held by a competitor.

Dr Marion Gluck, 73, known globally for her pioneering treatment of hormonal imbalances, asked another doctor for the sensitive log-in information ‘as a favour’ so she could get access to a restricted area of the competitor’s website.

As a result, staff at the London Specialist Pharmacy (LSP) were twice able to access private details held by arch-rival Roseway Labs before Roseway’s chief executive Elizabeth Philp discovered the data breach in 2022.

Gluck and her former colleague, Harley Street doctor Anu Arasu, 41, who shared the log-in details, were subsequently reported to the General Medical Council.

Dr Gluck is renowned for her use of natural bioidentical hormones dedicated to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and has treated an estimated 14,000 patients since setting up her clinic in London ten years ago. 

She founded the first UK clinic to offer bioidentical HRT – which is used to relieve symptoms of the menopause – in 2007, after training to be a doctor more than 30 years ago in Hamburg. 

At the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service, Gluck was suspended from medical practice for four months while Arasu, from Bermondsey, South London, was suspended for two months after both were found guilty of serious misconduct. 

Inquiries revealed that Arasu, who accessed prescription HRT drugs for her patients from both firms, had shared her log-in details to Roseway with LSP as 73-year old Dr Gluck was her ‘mentor and friend’. 

Arasu claimed she had been ‘used’ by Dr Gluck and had made an ‘automatic assumption that what she was being asked was OK’.  

She claimed it felt as if Dr Gluck, whom she ‘trusted’, was ‘asking a simple favour’.

Arasu has since had to write letters of apology to all 104 patients affected by the data leak.

Dr Gluck denied personally accessing the details.

However, she accepted that she ‘facilitated’ the use the log in address for her staff, claiming it was to study the format of Roseway’s website.

Her chief pharmacist at LSP is now facing disciplinary action by the General Pharmaceutical Council over the data leak.

Arasu, who is qualified in obstetrics, gynaecology, child health, and sexual and reproductive medicine, began working for Dr Gluck in November 2014 before forming her own practice, London Bioidentical Hormones, in Harley Street in 2016.

Trouble began after LSP’s former general manager, Miss Philp, and another senior pharmacist left the firm in 2017 to found their own compounding pharmacy Roseway the following year. 

Initially Dr Arasu’s patients were only able to have prescriptions dispensed by LSP, but later had the option to use Roseway and a third compounding pharmacy.

However, in November 2020 Arasu shared her confidential log-in details for Roseway’s online portal, ‘eRoseway’ with Dr Gluck, which gave her access to names, dates of birth, addresses, all prescriptions and past orders for Roseway’s patients.

In December the following year she provided her eRoseway log-in details again – this time to a person working for Dr Gluck known only as ‘Mr D’.

In a statement Arasu said of Gluck: ‘She was a senior doctor whom I knew, respected and looked up to and had often turned to for advice, and this presented a powerful cognitive bias that made me lose sight of my own power.

‘I did not seek out contrary evidence, stand back and engage in critical thinking or use a systematic decision-making framework. I did not look at the situation from a broader perspective and did not consider all the ramifications on everyone that could potentially be involved.

‘I think I did feel some discomfort on sending the email but I suppressed my discomfort and I made the assumption that what was being asked of me was OK. 

‘I overlooked the issue that this would constitute a data breach. I was totally ignorant of the corporate significance of my actions, due to very limited exposure, due to trust in my professional colleagues and due to a lack of diverse perspectives.

‘In short I did not think independently and I failed to consider the option of saying “No”.’

Gluck accepted she had obtained the eRoseway log-in details from Arasu and forwarded them to colleagues at a meeting on a piece of paper but insisted she had never used them and was preparing a meal when discussions about the Roseway portal was taking place. 

She insisted the primary purpose of getting the log-in details was in order to ‘test the functionality of the LSP portal in comparison with that of eRoseway’. 

Robin Kitching, counsel for the GMC, said Gluck had ‘grudgingly offered half-hearted apologies to Roseway’, adding: ‘Dr Gluck personally used the log-in to eRoseway in order to access confidential information relating to Roseway and in order to access confidential patient information.

‘It strains credulity for Dr Gluck to say that she had never looked at Roseway’s portal. 

‘She is a successful businesswoman as well as a successful doctor, and her IT skills, albeit limited, were sufficient to access and to use the relevant information.

‘We also do not accept that Dr Arasu had given no thought to the propriety of giving her eRoseway log-in details to LSP. 

‘She must have been aware at the time she handed over her log-in details to a business competitor of Roseway that she should not have been doing so, even though she may not have considered all of the possible ramifications.’

Ranald Davidson, representing Gluck, said his client denied ‘pressurising or deceiving’ Arasu into forwarding her log-in details to eRoseway.

He added: ‘There was no intention, on her part, to obtain information with a view to scrutinising patient records or to breach patient confidentiality. Dr Gluck was unaware of the significance of her request and the success of her business cannot be taken as evidence of any sinister or premeditated motive on Dr Gluck’s part.

‘There was no evidence she used the log-in details herself. Her conduct was a one-off incident of naivety.’

Arasu’s lawyer Lee Gledhill said of Dr Gluck: ‘She was a mentor to Dr Arasu, and this relationship made a softening of the margins understandable. 

‘Dr Arasu was unaware that anyone would look further at the Roseway portal and she has written to all of the patients whose details had been shared and apologised to each of them. This had been a salutary lesson which she has learned the hard way.’

In its determination, MPTS chairman Peter Scofield said of Gluck: ‘Her unauthorised use of a rival company’s portal, made in order to gain a commercial advantage in the improvement of her own company’s site, together with the unauthorised disclosure – whether intended or not – of confidential patient information has brought the reputation of the medical profession into disrepute.

‘The Tribunal bore in mind and accepted Dr Arasu’s evidence that Dr Gluck was a former employer of a senior and respected doctor, and that she remained both a personal friend and mentor.

‘The provision of the log-in details by Dr Arasu followed a request and the Tribunal recognised a power imbalance between them. It accepted, in those circumstances, that it might have been difficult for Dr Arasu to refuse this request for the Roseway log-in details.’

A third of adults lack confidence that they can access a GP, ambulance or NHS hospital treatment in a ‘timely way’, a damning study reveals.

Healthwatch England described the results as ‘worrying’ and warned health leaders must act to ensure these ‘negative perceptions’ do not put patients off seeking help.

The patient watchdog, which commissioned the poll of 2,507 people, found confidence in the health service has dwindled this year as it has been rocked by strikes.

Older people and those who are struggling financially are now among the least confident that they would receive NHS care when they need it.

The findings come as waiting lists stand at a record 7.6million people — equal to around one in seven of the population.

The survey asked people to rate how confident they are that they could secure timely access to 13 NHS services, including A&E, ambulances, non-urgent operations and procedures, GPs, pharmacists, mental health support and dentists.

An average of 32 per cent of respondents said they were not confident or very confident.

Out of hours GP services were rated the worst, with half of people (50 per cent), lacking confidence that they could see a family doctor in a timely fashion at night and weekends.

This was followed by non-urgent operations and procedures (46 per cent), mental health support (44 per cent), GP service during the day (42 per cent) and dental care (39 per cent).

Almost a third (31 per cent) did not think they would be seen quickly in A&E while 30 per cent said they lacked confidence that an ambulance would arrive promptly, should the need arise.

However, Healthwatch England found that confidence was typically higher among people who had used services in the last six months.

Overall, public confidence in accessing timely care is lower now than it was at the start of the year, with nearly half of people (43 per cent) saying that they feel less confident accessing timely care than they felt they were at the start of 2023.

This is compared to 16 per cent of people who said they had more confidence now than they had at the start of the year.

Louise Ansari, chief executive of Healthwatch England, said: ‘With demand for care likely to rise this winter, the negative perception that the NHS can’t provide timely care needs urgent attention to ensure people do seek medical attention when needed.

‘If people are not confident in requesting a referral for treatment or calling an ambulance, they put their health at risk.

‘Delaying medical attention also adds further strain on NHS services.

‘People seeking care need to have higher confidence in NHS services, given the hard work of NHS staff and local improvements achieved in many areas, supported by national recovery plans for primary care and urgent and emergency care.

‘As the busy winter period for the NHS approaches, we urge healthcare leaders to address the lack of confidence that many people, especially older people and those on lower incomes, have in accessing timely care when they need it.

‘Simple steps such as improving patient communication and accurately recording treatment plan details will also help assure people that the NHS is there for them.’

Healthwatch England said the NHS should employ more staff to support people who are anxiously waiting for care.

Patients should get regular updates, health support and access to physiotherapy while on waiting lists, with medics ensuring they have appropriate pain relief, it added.

The patient watchdog said that the poll highlighted health inequalities, with a number of groups expressing less confidence they would be able to access care in a timely fashion.

Only 24 per cent of people aged 65 and over felt they would be able to access care in a timely way while 26 per cent of those from poorer backgrounds felt confident they would have prompt access to services.

Rob Fleay, 52, has been waiting for an appointment with a consultant for over a year following his surgery to remove part of his bowel.

The IT consultant from Derby said that during the waiting period he also struggled to touch base with his GP.

‘Over a year after my surgery, I have yet to see a Gastro consultant to understand what this diagnosis means and what ongoing care is required,’ he said.

‘I have had multiple consultant appointments booked and then cancelled at the last minute by the hospital, often the day before.

‘In every case a new appointment was not given, I was just told to wait to receive a letter with a new appointment. Those multiple cancellations made me incredibly anxious.

‘I’m not very confident in the NHS. Even getting an appointment at my GP surgery is a nightmare.

‘You are forced to call at 8am but waiting time on the phone is usually around 20 minutes and often you are told that all the slots for the day have gone.’

An NHS England spokesperson said: ‘As Healthwatch points out, patients can be confident that they can access the care they need with post-pandemic recovery plans delivering real improvements right across a range of NHS services – category two ambulance response times are an hour faster than in December, the longest waits for treatment have more than halved from their peak and GP practices are seeing 1.3 million more patients every month compared to last year.

‘Despite ongoing pressures and the impact of industrial action, it is reassuring to see those who have recently accessed care are the most confident.

‘The NHS is continuing to encourage people to come forward for the care they need with symptom spotting campaigns, while staff are also ensuring those on waiting lists receive support, including pain relief and mental health advice.’

A long-overdue mix of innovations, inventions and improvements are set to transform holiday options for disabled travellers this summer. 

Better still, it’s not just planes, trains and (off-road) automobiles promising easier access and more comfortable journeys.

Hotels, beach resorts and cruise ships are also unveiling radical changes as travel bosses wake up to the size of the disabled travel market.

‘A lot of challenges remain for disabled people and their families, but the travel industry is moving in the right direction. The world is slowly opening up to everyone,’ says Angus Drummond, of Limitless Travel, which specialises in disability-friendly and accessible holidays.

BEST FOR BEACHES

Greece is leading the way with a clever scheme to help wheelchair users reach and swim in the sea. New wooden decks help disabled visitors avoid the ‘sand trap’ of rolling wheelchairs across a beach, while at the deck’s edge, solar-powered seats lower users into waist-high waters.

Tobea, the local company behind the scheme, has already installed more than 200 of its Seatrac chairs in Greek resorts and is expanding into Italy and Cyprus this summer. Spain, Croatia and the Caribbean are next on the list. There’s a directory of locations at seatrac.gr.

Sand traps have also been smoothed out at a series of Inclusive Beaches in Northern Ireland.

The Mae Murray Foundation, a charity, ensures the beaches have disabled access and parking, toilets with hoists and adult-sized changing benches plus wet suits and equipment to rent including new sit-down surf boards, floating chairs and thick-wheeled beach walkers. Check the facilities at maemurrayfoundation.org.

IN THE SKY

A new airline seat is planned by Delta Airlines that will allow passengers to stay in their own wheelchairs on board.

When installed, the back cushions of an economy seat near an exit and toilet are removed and the lower part flipped up to create space for a chair.

It means travellers won’t have to check their own chairs into the hold, get on board in a narrow ‘aisle chair’ and slide into an ordinary seat for the flight. Safety testing means the new cabin’s first flight is around 18 months away — but the good news is that Delta’s design partner plans to licence it to other airlines in the meantime.

Another innovation is on the horizon in Germany. Revolve Air is a foldable chair for travellers (described as the Brompton bike of wheelchairs). Even the wheels fold small enough to fit into a plane’s overhead locker, with production due to begin this winter.

ON SAFARI

New accessible vehicles with ramps for powered wheelchairs are opening up the game reserves of South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and Namibia for trips with 2by2 Holidays, where experienced staff have been offering disabled-friendly holidays for more than two decades.

Holidaymakers who travel in manual wheelchairs and can transfer into the front seat of a 4×4 safari vehicle can also look at the company’s safaris in Botswana and tours to the Victoria Falls.

At each destination a tailor-made mix of accessible hotels and lodges are on offer while airport assistance and accessible transfer vehicles can be booked alongside flights.

Holidays include a seven-night wheelchair-friendly break in Cape Town and the winelands of Stellenbosch from £1,995 pp plus flights (2by2holidays.co.uk).

PARK LIFE

Some of America’s most rugged landscapes are more accessible this year as all-weather, off-road wheelchairs are ready to rent from the visitor centres of beauty spots from Colorado to Lake Michigan. Described as ‘the Land Rover of wheelchairs’ the Minnesota-built Action Trackchair can tackle modest slopes while moving safely over rocks, tree roots, streams and sand.

America can be particularly friendly to disabled travellers and villas with fully-adapted bed and bathrooms can be good accommodation choices.

Four-bed villas near the theme parks of Florida with outdoor ramps, hospital-quality beds plus overhead gantry hoists in main bedrooms and hoists by a private pool can be rented from £2,100 per week. Compare villa choices at enableholidays.com and disabledholidays.com.

ON THE HIGH SEAS

Exhilarating attractions will be accessible to all when Sun Princess begins its inaugural Mediterranean cruises in February. Clever modifications mean thrill-seeking disabled guests can try the top-deck Rollglider, a cross between a rollercoaster and hang-glider.

Passengers also get a choice of wheelchair-friendly cabins with roll-in showers, accessible desks and easy-access, pull-down rails in the wardrobes.

Chair hoists on the pools and whirlpools of P&O ships help every guest enjoy the water on board, while cruises with UK departures remove the stress of taking wheelchairs through airports. A no-fly, 14-night and fully accessible Mediterranean cruise on P&O’s Arvia with specialist staff on hand from Limitless Travel starts at £4,059 pp (limitlesstravel.org).

While raised door thresholds can be a problem in some corridors, the fact that decks are all served by lifts makes ocean cruises a good choice for many wheelchair users. Equipment unavailable in cabins can be hired from Mobility At Sea and other firms (mobilityatsea.co.uk).

PERFECT PACKAGES

This summer Tui is teaming up with research group AccessAble to ensure travellers know exactly what to expect on their journeys and at their destination. AccessAble staff have been carrying out in-person examinations of hotels, attractions, restaurants, pubs, stations and more in the UK for years.

Its expansion overseas will include a similar treasure trove of facts, figures and photographs of everything from steps to showers in holiday resorts.

Tui also employs an in-house Assisted Travel Team who can ensure customers with visible or non-visible disabilities have smooth journeys (including vital but easy to overlook transfers) and the most suitable hotel rooms and in-resort support.

ACCESSIBLE ROOMS

In Britain, the Bespoke Hotel chain is taking a fresh approach to accessibility by seeking interior design advice from the Blue Badge Style group.

The aim is to ensure accessible rooms are as chic as every other. Bespoke has also created an Accessibility Charter for its properties to ensure staff know how to help guests with special needs (bespokehotels.com).

Was WhatsApp spying on you? Or was it just accidentally telling your phone it was spying on you?   

Google now claims that a WhatsApp-related bug from May simply ‘produced erroneous privacy indicators and notifications’ for Android users on their Privacy Dashboard tool.

Any worry of WhatsApp secretly accessing Android phone’s microphones for a bit of sneaky surveillance, so the company said via their Android Developers twitter account, was all just a misunderstanding based on these ‘erroneous’ notifications.

While certain users are still skeptical, Google advises that updates to the latest version of WhatsApp have addressed the issue.

The Android Developers version echoes statements made in early May, amid an outcry from Android users over the worrying privacy notifications.

The furor even led to billionaire Tesla chief and Twitter owner Elon Musk to weigh in on WhatsApp’s safety, stating his view that ‘WhatsApp cannot be trusted.’

For their part, WhatsApp took to Twitter on May 9th 2023, claiming as Android does now that the issue was a ‘bug on Android’ that sent false information to certain user’s Privacy Dashboard. 

The dashboard is a Google feature that monitors how and when third-party apps access the camera and mic. 

Launched with Android 12, it serves as a way for users to know which of their apps might be snooping, with unwanted access or permissions to their microphone or camera.

Privacy Dashboard is located in Android’s ‘Privacy’ settings and shows which apps are accessing the user’s data, which permissions apps are using, and when that access happens, providing a snapshot to users.

The feature displays a green light at the top right of the screen when an app access the device’s microphone or camera.

Should you be concerned? 

WhatsApp states it collects users’ account registration information, transaction data, service-related information, information on how you interact with businesses, mobile device information and IP address.

The company claims it does not store messages and recordings permanently.  

Musk shared a screenshot from Twitter engineer Foad Dabiri, who posted an image of his Privacy Dashboard.

That said, posts about the mysterious mic access go back years.

One Redditor posted five years ago that they did not use WhatsApp during the day, but the Privacy Dashboard history shows ‘the app used the microphone today in the background for 11 min.’

There are also issue reports in the last few months old, and people have suggested a bug caused it.

But if the problem is a bug, users question why it has not been fixed since it first surfaced at least five years ago or why the flaw did not impact other apps.

And iPhone users have also noticed WhatsApp has shown excessive background activity compared to other apps. 

How can you protect yourself? 

Some Redditors have shared ways to fix the situation, mainly restarting the smartphone and ensuring it has the lasted Android update.

Another user suggests revoking the sensitive permissions to the WhatsApp app (microphone and camera), restarting the device and then re-enabling the permissions. 

For Android users, open Settings, Apps and select WhatsApp.

Then select Permissions and choose Don’t Allow. Users can also select All the Time, Allow Only While Using the App or Ask Every Time. 

iOS users must open Settings from their iPhone home screen, select WhatsApp and toggle the Microphone option off.