A member of police staff has been suspended over a security breach in an investigation into deaths and serious injuries allegedly related to maternity care at an NHS trust.
Nottinghamshire Police launched a criminal investigation, called Operation Perth, in September 2023 after concerns were raised about severe harm allegedly linked to maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH).
On Friday, the force said information was allegedly changed or deleted from its systems and a member of staff was suspended while an investigation takes place.
The force said it has no information that anyone else was involved and it does not believe that any information was shared outside of the investigation, or that anyone’s medical record has been affected.
Nottinghamshire Police said it has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
NUH is currently the subject of the largest-ever NHS maternity review, which is being led by former senior midwife Donna Ockenden, which includes more than 2,000 experiences of maternity care at the two hospitals run by the trust.
Temporary Deputy Chief Constable Rob Griffin said: “Nottinghamshire Police has acted swiftly to suspend a member of police staff from Operation Perth following a security breach, namely changing or deleting information from our systems.
“This security breach was identified due to our robust audit checks and therefore we were able to quickly identify the person responsible. This person had the correct level of up-to-date vetting to access the information they were able to.
“The member of staff was immediately removed from all access to our systems on Wednesday August 20. The member of staff has now been suspended.
“We recognise the impact this news will have on the families of Operation Perth and I have written to all families to explain what has happened and what action we have taken.
“We want to reassure them that at this stage we are confident we have all the processes in place to restore all information and ensure it does not affect the integrity of the investigation.
“We have also voluntarily referred ourselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct to offer further transparency as well as the Information Commissioner’s Office.
“We cannot comment on the actual nature of the incident while a thorough investigation takes place.
“This person was not in a supervisor role or part of the management team on Operation Perth and did not make any decisions about the conduct of the investigation.
“Due to our robust systems, we can identify, retrieve and restore all information.
“We will continue to keep families informed of all developments and to notify any family members whose information has been affected.
“I want to stress that the families are at the heart of everything we do, and we are determined to ensure they continue to have trust and confidence in our investigation.”
