A trust at the centre of the largest maternity scandal in NHS history has revealed it lost historical data during routine IT work, with police now assessing its impact.
Maternity records of women and babies who received care between September 2011 and November 2022 were overwritten during work at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust.
Information has been restored since the “human error” on 18 August, but the trust has not been able to restore the history showing who viewed maternity records during this period.
A police probe last year into a missing data file containing the details of hundreds of maternity cases found it was most likely deleted “intentionally or maliciously”.
Nottinghamshire Police has been notified of the data incident and is assessing whether there has been any impact on Operation Perth – the investigation into deaths and injuries related to maternity care at Nottingham City Hospital and Queen’s Medical Centre, the main two hospitals run by the trust.
Deputy Chief Constable Rob Griffin, gold commander for Operation Perth, said: “At present, no crime has been identified. We have received a report from the individual concerned and have spoken with them.
“Further assessment is ongoing, and we are awaiting analysis of the digital process that was used.
“In relation to recovery, we are awaiting a copy of the database, before any further attempts can be made. We anticipate receiving this during the course of the week.
“The overall impact on Operation Perth remains under assessment and we will be in a better position to provide a fuller update once the outstanding analysis and recovery work has been completed.
“I appreciate that this update may cause concern for families, and I would encourage anyone with questions or concerns to contact Operation Perth, where the team will be happy to provide support and, where possible, further information.”