Nottingham Trust Sacks 15 Over Attacks Victims' Records Access
Disciplinary actions follow unauthorised viewing of medical files belonging to Barnaby Webber, Grace O'Malley-Kumar, and Ian Coates.
Carla Rooney
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust has dismissed 15 employees for improperly accessing medical records.
A hospital trust confirmed updated figures Friday, having previously informed victims' families earlier this week. Beyond dismissals, the trust issued 15 final written warnings and two first written warnings as part of the ongoing investigation.
Dr. Manjeet Shehmar stated, "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." Shehmar added, "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."
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.
The families of Barnaby, Grace, and Ian previously welcomed the trust's initial actions. They called a development in May a "kick in the teeth." Dr. Manjeet Shehmar affirmed, "We will continue to investigate inappropriate access to these records and take action as and where necessary."
Beyond the hospital trust, court workers accessed case information without authorization in January 2024. Seven probation service officers were identified; three lacked legitimate reasons. The Ministry of Justice deemed these breaches insufficiently serious for further action.
The trust tests a new monitoring system to track patient record access. This system expects to go live early next year. Dr. Manjeet Shehmar noted, "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."
A campaign titled "Your Responsibility, Your Actions, Their Privacy" launched to educate staff on data protection. This follows an announcement in September by NHS England's head, Sir Jim Mackey, that staff suspected of inappropriate access would be suspended and have their computer access cut off.
Similar incidents of unauthorized access emerged elsewhere. NHS ambulance staff accessed or attempted to access the medical records of William Chapman, who died after a tiger mauling at Yorkshire Wildlife Park. A spokesman for Yorkshire Ambulance Service Trust stated, "The Trust has identified an information governance concern in relation to this tragic incident at Yorkshire Wildlife Park and William's family has been informed of our ongoing investigation into this."
The spokesman for Yorkshire Ambulance Service Trust also claimed, "We believe there may have been two instances involving two members of staff accessing or attempting to access incident/medical information following this incident without a legitimate reason to do so." Around 40 hospital staff viewed the records of a three-year-old boy injured in a crocodile pit incident in Cambridgeshire. Dozens of staff at University Hospitals of Liverpool Group looked at the records of victims of the 2024 Southport attack.
A statutory public inquiry led by Deborah Taylor KC examined the lead-up to the Nottingham attacks and the subsequent response by authorities. The inquiry exposed failures and missed opportunities by various agencies, including the NHS and police, in their handling of Calocane. He serves an indefinite hospital order after pleading guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility in January 2024.
The inquiry heard evidence from 164 witnesses over 14 weeks between February and June 2026. Nottinghamshire Police will audit staff viewing of footage and images from the attacks following a complaint by Barnaby Webber's mother. Investigations are ongoing into unauthorized access to files belonging to surviving victims Wayne Birkett, Sharon Miller, and Marcin Gawronski.