Southport and Nottingham attack victims demand end to data breaches

Southport and Nottingham attack victims demand end to data breachesImage source, Family photographsImage caption, Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar died in the Southport knife attacks on 29 July 2024Families affected by the Southport and Nottingham attacks have called for stronger safeguards against NHS staff improperly accessing confidential patient records.In an open letter, they described the breaches as a "flagrant abuse of power" and urged ministers and NHS leaders to take further action.More than 30 people have signed the letter, including those affected by the maternity scandals.The BBC has contacted NHS England, the Department for Health and Social Care and Department for Culture for comment.Grace O'Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber, both 19, and grandfather Ian Coates, 65, were stabbed to death in the street by Valdo Calocane in Nottingham in 2023.The authors of the letter highlighted how, in the wake of the attack, "staff began prying, while parents were still coming to terms with the deaths of their children. Other victims were still in hospital fighting for their lives when their records were breached".Last month, Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust said a total of 15 people had now been sacked as part of its investigation for inappropriately accessing medical records of the Nottingham attacks victims.Image source, SuppliedImage caption, Barnaby Webber, Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates were stabbed to death by Valdo CalocaneNHS workers also snooped on the records of victims of the Southport attack, when Axel Rudakubana killed Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and nine-year-old Alice Da Silva Aguiar during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in 2024. "Strangers, who had no direct involvement in their care, probed their most sensitive and personal information in a flagrant abuse of power," the authors wrote.This "deeply troubling" behaviour has been repeated following other high profile incidents, they said.Liverpool Heart and Chest NHS Foundation Trust is investigating allegations staff inappropriately accessed Southport stabbing victims' medical records.In May, the University Hospitals of Liverpool Group (UHLG) admitted that nearly 50 of its staff had wrongly looked at victims' medical files and there is a separate investigation being held at North West Ambulance Service Trust in relation to staff looking up the victims of the attack without authorisation."NHS staff breached the records of three-year-old Noah Woods, who drowned after disappearing near a Suffolk pond; William Chapman, who died after entering a tiger enclosure in Yorkshire; and a two-year-old boy, who was thrown into a crocodile pit at a zoo in Cambridge," they added.Image source, Press AssociationImage caption, The Southport knife attacks happened during a Taylor Swift-themed dance classThe authors said the issue was "not exclusive to the NHS" as they highlighted how the Ministry of Justice and HM Courts and Tribunals Service "have both apologised for inappropriate access of sensitive, personal information belonging to the Southport victims".In September NHS officials announced a crackdown on staff inappropriately accessing patient medical records.Health chiefs said that staff suspected of snooping will be suspended immediately and have their access to health service computer systems cut off.But the measures do not go far enough to prevent such behaviour in the future, according to the letter.The authors have called for a "tick box" to enable staff to access records which confirms they have legitimate reason to do so.They have also called for audits on snooping and for patients to be "properly recognised" by the Information Commissioner."These breaches are deeply distressing and entirely preventable," the authors said."We believe these three measures would make significant progress in tackling the problem and preventing further harm."'Abused their position'Nicola Ryan-Donnelly, partner at Fletchers Solicitors which penned the letter, said: "We have written and published this open letter because victims of NHS snooping have had enough."Every week in the media we are learning of a new breach into patient's medical records by staff who have no legitimate cause to access them."Among the child Southport survivors I represent, many of their parents do not feel they have a voice to speak out about how this has affected them."They had hoped that their anonymity would protect their children's most vulnerable and difficult moments, but the truth is staff have repeatedly abused their position to pry into their most private and sensitive information."Anybody, no matter who they are or what they have been through, should feel confident and that staff will protect their privacy and dignity while they are being treated or cared for by the NHS and other agencies."Stronger sanctions and dismissals for NHS staff who snoop is a step in the right direction, but it does not do enough to address the problem."We have to instil a new culture in our health system and give victims a powerful voice to challenge breaches."Get in touchTell us which stories we should cover on MerseysideMore on this storyRelated internet links