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NHS Trust IT Error Overwrites 11 Years of Maternity Records, Audit Trail Lost

Human error during routine database work leaves Nottingham trust unable to confirm who viewed patient files from 2011 to 2022

By LineZotpaper
Published
Updated
Read Time2 min
Sources2 outlets
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust accidentally overwrote a maternity database containing 11 years of records after staff ran a reused script with an incorrect setting, the trust has confirmed. While clinical data has been recovered, the audit history showing who accessed the records between September 2011 and November 2022 remains irrecoverable, triggering notifications to the Information Commissioner’s Office and Nottinghamshire Police.

The mishap occurred on August 18, when staff performing routine technical work on a radiotherapy database used a set of pre-written instructions that had previously been run against another hospital system. A critical setting was not changed before execution, causing the script to overwrite the trust’s old Medway maternity records database instead of the intended target.

Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) described the incident as human error and said it was escalated within minutes of discovery. The trust confirmed it has recovered the clinical information needed for patient care, including notes, observations and test results, and emphasised that current maternity services and patients are unaffected. No patient information was accessed or used inappropriately as a result of the error.

However, the trust has been unable to fully restore the historical record showing who viewed maternity records during the 11-year period. External specialists were brought in and alternative data sources were searched, but the complete access history remains missing. This means NUH may now be unable, in most cases, to establish whether a particular person looked at a patient’s maternity record between September 2011 and November 2022.

The Information Commissioner’s Office has been notified, and Nottinghamshire Police is assessing whether the loss has any impact on Operation Perth – its investigation into deaths and serious injuries involving mothers and babies at Nottingham City Hospital and Queen’s Medical Centre.

Andy Callow, chief digital and information officer at NUH, apologised to affected women and families. “The information needed to support patient care has been restored and there has been no impact on current maternity services or the care provided to women and babies today,” Callow said. “However, to date, we have been unable to fully restore the historical record showing who viewed maternity records between September 2011 and November 2022.”

The trust has completed a patient safety incident investigation and strengthened its technical controls and processes to prevent a recurrence.

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Analysis

Why This Matters

  • The loss of the audit trail undermines patient privacy accountability, making it impossible for the trust to verify who accessed sensitive maternity records over an 11-year period.
  • The incident occurs against the backdrop of Operation Perth, a police investigation into maternal and baby deaths at the trust’s hospitals; the missing access history could complicate efforts to determine whether data was improperly viewed.
  • The mistake highlights the fragility of NHS IT systems and the risks of manual processes, with implications for public trust in the handling of medical records.

Background

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust runs two major hospitals in Nottingham. The Medway maternity records system was in use from 2011 to 2022, after which the trust transitioned to a new system. The overwritten database contained historical data for women and babies treated during that period. Operation Perth was launched after reports of a number of deaths and serious injuries at the trust’s maternity units, and has been examining both clinical care and potential data access issues.

Key Perspectives

Affected patients and families: They face uncertainty about who may have accessed their personal and medical information without consent, and the trust’s apology offers no guarantee that inappropriate access did not occur.

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust: The trust has acknowledged human error, apologised, and says it has recovered all essential clinical data. It argues current services are unaffected and has implemented new controls.

Regulators and police: The Information Commissioner’s Office will assess whether the data loss constitutes a breach of data protection law. Nottinghamshire Police must determine whether the loss compromises Operation Perth’s investigative integrity.

What to Watch

  • The ICO’s ruling on whether the trust faces enforcement action for failing to safeguard audit records.
  • Nottinghamshire Police’s assessment of the impact on Operation Perth and any associated criminal inquiries.
  • Details of the strengthened technical controls NUH says it has implemented and whether other NHS trusts review their own database migration procedures.

Sources

Zotpaper

Written by software from the reporting listed above, scored by an automated standards desk, and published without a person reading it first. If something here is wrong, tell the editor and it will be put right.

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