NHS sacks staff for inappropriately accessing Nottingham attack victims' medical records

It emerged in 2025 that staff at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) had accessed the victims' records without justification, prompting an internal investigation which has now resulted in the dismissal of 11 employees.

In a statement, NUH said they stared "thorough and professional inquiries to identify wrongdoing" and the first of those investigations have now been completed.

Among those investigated was doctors, nurses, registered medical professionals, admin and clerical colleagues.

Dr Manjeet Shehmar Medical Director at NUH, said: “The families of Ian, Grace and Barnaby have had to endure much pain and heartache, and I am truly sorry that the actions of some of our staff have added to that.

"To access the medical records of our patients without a legitimate reason is totally unacceptable and we are doing all we can to identify where and how that has happened.

"I hope that the families, staff and our communities feel reassured by the outcomes so far , that we are taking this seriously and will continue to do so.

"We know that the vast majority of our staff understand that appropriate access is a fundamental principle of our duty of care and know that it is essential that access to patient records is lawful, justified, and directly related to their role.

"By accessing records inappropriately, staff are damaging the valuable contributions made by those colleagues providing care for those patients.

"In those cases where it does happen, I hope that this is a very clear reminder that we will take appropriate action."

Emma Webber, Barnaby's mother, said the news has been "shocking" and "heartbreaking".

She said in a statement: "To learn that 11 staff have been dismissed and 14 faced disciplinary actions is shocking.

"What is more shocking is the scale of misconduct – 150 members of staff accessed the records.

"The process is not yet complete so we anticipate these numbers to escalate considerably.

"The trust is also aware that we do not accept their findings that 48 members of staff had legitimate access. The number is far too high.

"The rationale given for legitimacy does not stack up and we are formally challenging this in order to scrutinise properly.

"It’s heartbreaking that on top of our tragic loss, we’ve also had to face such appalling additional failures by members of staff who should know better.

"I’d ask them all to consider how they would feel if it was their child or father."

Other investigations are ongoing against staff who inappropriately accessed medical files of the surviving victims of the attacks, Wayne Birkett, Sharon Miller and Marcin Gawronski.

The NUH is not the only organisation where staff have been found to have improperly accessed information relating to the fatal attacks.

In December 2024, an investigation was opened into allegations that Ministry of Justice staff had illegally accessed computer files connected to the case.

The public inquiry has since heard that court workers also inappropriately accessed information about the case in January 2024.

Amy Holmes, interim director general for the chief operating group of the Ministry of Justice, told the inquiry she was unable to detail what information had been accessed due to an ongoing police investigation.

Seven probation service officers were also identified as having accessed information related to the case, the inquiry heard.

HM Prison and Probation Service found that four of those officers had a legitimate reason to access the files, but three did not.

However, both the probation service and the Ministry of Justice's data protection unit concluded the breaches were not serious enough to warrant further action.

Footage and images relating to the attacks were also viewed on multiple occasions by Nottinghamshire Police staff without a legitimate policing purpose.

The force confirmed it would conduct an audit of how many times the material had been viewed and whether those accesses were appropriate, following a complaint made by Ms Webber in March.