NHS sacks 15 staff for snooping on Nottingham stabbing victims' records

More NHS staff have been sacked for inappropriately accessing the medical records of the Nottingham stabbing victims, taking the total dismissed so far to 15.

Grandfather Ian Coates and students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar were stabbed to death by Valdo Calocane in 2023.

During its investigation, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) said on Saturday that it has dismissed 15 staff so far.

It has also issued 15 final written warnings and two first written warnings.

Doctors, nurses, registered healthcare professionals and other staff were included in the investigation.

The three victims’ families were told about the latest update this week, the trust said.

Dr Manjeet Shehmar, medical director at NUH, said: “There is simply no excuse for accessing the records of a patient without a legitimate reason and I hope this sends a really clear message – we will investigate and we will take action.

“To lose a loved one in the way that the families of Ian, Grace and Barnaby have is heartbreaking enough. I am so sorry that they have had this further compounded by the actions of these staff members.

“We will continue to investigate inappropriate access to these records and take action as and where necessary.

“Alongside this, we are doing all we can to educate our staff on appropriate access and how to keep the records of our patients safe. We are also introducing a new system which acts to detect possible data breaches.”

Sir Jim Mackey, the head of NHS England, announced in September that NHS staff suspected of inappropriately accessing patient medical records will be suspended immediately and have their access to health service computer systems cut off.

He said that there had been “too many cases” of workers “abusing” trust, and warned that “snooping” could cost staff their careers and they could end up with a criminal record.

Launching the crackdown, Sir Jim wrote to all NHS trusts demanding that the new approach be implemented in a bid to protect patients from further breaches.

It follows a number of high-profile cases of staff snooping in recent months.

In May, it emerged that dozens of staff at University Hospitals of Liverpool Group had looked at the records of victims of the 2024 Southport attack, which left three girls dead and 10 others injured.

The records of a three-year-old boy hurt after falling into a crocodile pit in Cambridgeshire in June were also viewed by around 40 hospital staff.