Four More NHS Staff Fired for Accessing Nottingham Attack Victims' Records
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust confirms 15 dismissals and 17 warnings following unauthorized access of patient files.
Four additional National Health Service (NHS) workers have been dismissed for improperly accessing the medical records of victims from the Nottingham stabbing incident, bringing the total number of sackings to 15. Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust also issued 17 warnings, including 15 final written warnings and two first written warnings, as a result of internal investigations.
The breach involved employees accessing records of students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, and grandfather Ian Coates, who were fatally attacked by Valdo Calocane on June 13, 2023. Investigations revealed that staff accessed these records without a legitimate reason in 2025.
Dr. Manjeet Shehmar, Medical Director at NUH, apologized for the staff's actions, stating that dismissals aim to send a clear message. "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," Shehmar said.
The revelation comes amid a public inquiry into the attack and follows a similar breach reported in relation to victims of the Southport attack. An investigation is also underway concerning NHS ambulance staff who accessed or attempted to access the medical records of a man who died after being mauled by a tiger at a Yorkshire zoo.
Emma Webber, mother of victim Barnaby Webber, expressed shock at the scale of the misconduct, claiming the number of employees involved could be as high as 150. She stated that the families are formally challenging the trust's findings regarding legitimate access, deeming the provided rationale insufficient.
Nadia Whittome, Labour MP for Nottingham East, welcomed the disciplinary actions, emphasizing the privacy violation and the distress caused to victims' families. The trust has informed the families of the investigation's findings, and Nottinghamshire Police and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) have been notified. The General Medical Council and Nursing and Midwifery Council are also expected to review the matter.
The public inquiry into the triple killings has heard concerns that similar incidents could recur due to a perceived lack of consequences for failures by police and mental health services. Experts noted that "red flags" regarding Calocane's behavior were missed in the months leading up to the attacks. Calocane had been sectioned four times between 2020 and 2022 and had prior incidents, including taking a hammer to a hospital ward, which were reportedly not adequately addressed before his discharge nine months before the fatal attacks.
Separately, three nurses involved in the case have been referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). The trust's Chief Nurse, Diane Hull, acknowledged that while the events of June 13 might not have been entirely preventable, the trust and other agencies "failed to exhaust all of the options and all of the interventions available to us."