Fifteen NHS staff sacked after accessing medical records of Valdo Calocane victims

Healthcare professionals retrieved files belonging to 19-year old students and a caretaker killed in Nottingham attack

A total of 15 NHS staff have now been sacked after accessing medical records belonging to the victims of a 2023 Nottingham attack, a trust said.

Valdo Calocane killed two 19-year-old students, Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, and Ian Coates, a 65-year-old caretaker, and attempted to kill three other people in the city in June 2023.

During its investigation, Nottingham university hospitals NHS trust (NUH) has so far dismissed 15 staff, issued 15 final written warnings and two first written warnings.

Doctors, nurses, registered healthcare professionals and other staff have been included in the investigation. The victims’ families were told about the latest update this week.

Dr Manjeet Shehmar, the 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.”

In May, the trust said it had sacked 11 staff members who illegally accessed the medical records of the victims.

Calocane was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order in January 2024 after admitting manslaughter by diminished responsibility and attempted murder.

The head of NHS England announced last month 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.

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

Launching the crackdown, Mackey wrote to all NHS trusts demanding the new approach is implemented in an effort to protect patients from further breaches. It follows a number of high-profile cases in recent months.