Dr Vautrey added: “It’s vitally important that any development of centralised systems is done in a careful and measured way.”

Joyce Robins, co-director the patient support group Patient Care, said today’s findings were the “tip of the iceberg” and also urged ministers to reconsider the Connecting for Health programme.

“Given the carelessness and lack of accountability in the NHS, this could be the end of patient confidentiality,” she said.

“It may be only a matter of time before records fall into the wrong hands and we see not only our ex-directory phone numbers posted on the internet but the record of our abortions, HIV and Aids status.”

Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said: “This is further evidence of the Government’s failure to protect the personal information which we provide.

“Following the HMRC and DVLA failures we will need further steps on the part of the Department of Health to show how their planned electronic patients’ database will protect our medical records.”

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb said: “The whole culture of data management in the public sector has to change.”

NHS trusts have reported 10 separate incidents of data loss to the Department of Health (DoH) since the HMRC row broke last month, it emerged today.

The DoH said it did not have details of how many patients were affected in each case as the breaches were being dealt with locally.

However, City and Hackney Primary Care Trust has reportedly lost the details of 160,000 children after a computer disc failed to arrive at its destination at St Leonard’s Hospital, east London.

Another of the NHS trusts involved - Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells - has reported two breaches.

The others involved are Bolton Royal Hospital, Sutton and Merton%, Sefton Merseyside%, Mid-Essex Care Trust, East and North Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Norwich and Gloucester Partnership Foundation Trust.

NHS chief executive David Nicholson recently wrote to NHS managers reminding them of their responsibilities with regard to data handling.

A DoH spokesperson said: “Since the recent heightened concern about data protection a small number of trusts (nine) have reported breaches of their own security rules.

“There are strict guidelines and procedures for dealing with such breaches. Trusts have an obligation to inform patients where appropriate.

“There is no evidence of any data falling into the wrong hands.

“Investigations are under way in all the trusts involved and action will be taken against anyone who has failed to fulfil their legal responsibilities.”