NHS data breaches a disgrace, says Health Secretary Yvette Cooper

NHS staff accessing the medical records of the Nottingham attacks victims and possible breaches over a man killed by a tiger is a "disgrace", the health secretary has said.

Speaking to the BBC, Yvette Cooper said she expected action to be taken against staff who have breached NHS data and privacy standards.

Her comments came after Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust confirmed it had sacked a total of 15 members of staff and Yorkshire Ambulance Service said William Chapman's medical records may have been accessed illegitimately.

Dr Manjeet Shehmar, NUH medical director, previously said there was "simply no excuse for accessing the records of a patient without a legitimate reason".

Speaking to the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Cooper said "there's got to be proper respect for patients" from NHS staff.

"Let me be really clear about this," she said. "There are proper data and privacy standards across the NHS.

Students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, and grandfather Ian Coates, were stabbed to death on 13 June 2023 by Valdo Calocane, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2020.

NUH said in May that it had sacked 11 members of staff for inappropriately accessing the victims' medical records and had informed the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and Nottinghamshire Police of the investigation.

At the time, the ICO told the BBC it would "assess any evidence provided by the trust in due course and consider our next steps", while police said there was "no criminal investigation".

In its update about further dismissals on Friday, NUH said it had taken action against "doctors, nurses, registered healthcare professionals and other staff" and that independent regulators such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council and General Medical Council, the ICO and Nottinghamshire Police had been informed.

NUH added a new system, currently under testing, is being implemented to protect patient records in future and alert the trust to potential breaches.

Reacting to the dismissals on Saturday, Dr Sanjoy Kumar, Grace's father, said the families of the victims of the attacks would like to meet with Cooper.

He also called for action to be taken over the data breaches.

Kumar added: "I'd like to ask Yvette Cooper the question, when is this going to stop and what is she doing exactly to make this stop and decrease the suffering of people who are victims of crime and of major incidents, when is this going to stop?

"I am appalled. It's time to get a handle on these failures.

"Clearly, the way that the highest confidential data, which is medical data, is being looked at by voyeuristic people in the NHS is disgraceful."

On Friday, Yorkshire Ambulance Service said staff members may have accessed the records of William Chapman, 24, who was mauled to death by a tiger at Yorkshire Wildlife Park on 10 October.

It said an investigation had been launched "to establish the full circumstances surrounding these potential breaches".

On Thursday, an inquest into Chapman's death heard that he died as a result of "multiple traumatic injuries and animal interaction" after entering the tiger's enclosure at the park, near Doncaster.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust said Chapman's family was aware of the potential breach and offered their condolences to his relatives.

Cooper said: "Every member of NHS staff knows that, and every member of NHS staff needs to abide by it, and the overwhelming majority of NHS staff not only do that, they also hugely value those privacy and dignity standards.

"It is a disgrace that we've had cases where people don't, and we do expect action to be taken, including people being sacked, and I've spoken to the NHS England chief executive about this.

"We also expect where there are these breaches taking place, we expect people to be swiftly suspended while investigations take place.

"There's got to be proper respect for patients, and I think that is a core value in the NHS."

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Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust