Nottingham University Hospitals Trust Apologises for Staff Accessing Victims' Medical Records
Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust's medical director has issued a public apology for "failures" after staff inappropriately accessed the medical records of victims from the attacks carried out by Valdo Calocane on 13 June 2023.
The Trust is currently investigating employees over these data breaches, which occurred after Calocane killed Barnaby Webber, Grace O'Malley-Kumar, and Ian Coates, and seriously injured Wayne Birkett, Sharon Miller, and Marcin Gawronski.
Last week, NUH confirmed that 11 employees had been sacked following initial investigations into the breaches. These dismissals included four nurses, one "other registered professional," and six "other staff." Additionally, four doctors, five nurses, one "other registered professional," and two "other staff" received final written warnings. None of the medical professionals involved voluntarily admitted their actions before discovery.
Medical Director Manjeet Shehmar, who became the strategic commander for the ongoing investigations, expressed regret for "not considering" the surviving victims in the initial probes. She stated, "I cannot change what has happened, but what I can do is formally apologise to you because we have caused additional distress to you."
The inquiry heard that the Trust's initial focus was exclusively on deceased victims. It was only after a solicitor representing survivors Wayne Birkett and Sharon Miller contacted NUH in March 2025 that their records were considered. Shehmar attributed this oversight to her lack of "in-depth context" as someone not from Nottingham, stating she had not "really considered the surviving victims" at that point.
Furthermore, Shehmar admitted that the Trust would not have become aware of the data breaches without the instrumental involvement of the bereaved families in instigating an audit. Tim Moloney KC, representing the families, highlighted that without their intervention, NUH would have remained ignorant of the "systemic failings" regarding data access.
A notable failing revealed was the Trust's omission of contacting Elaine Newton, Ian Coates' partner of 25 years, regarding the breaches, despite her working for NUH at the City Hospital. Moloney pressed Shehmar, asking if she was "appalled" that an employee whose partner was killed and whose records were accessed had not received an apology from her employer. Shehmar responded that it was "distressing to hear."
The inquiry continues, with victims and families still awaiting full details regarding who accessed their records, what information was viewed, and why.
