Police staff member suspended over security breach in maternity care investigation

"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)."

"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. Nottinghamshire Police launched Operation Perth in September 2023 (Rui Vieira/PA) 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."

A police staff member was suspended after a security breach involving alleged changes or deletions of information in Operation Perth, the criminal investigation into severe harm linked to Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust maternity services. Nottinghamshire Police launched Operation Perth in September 2023 and say audit checks identified the breach. The force reports no evidence of others being involved, no information shared outside the investigation, and no affected medical records. The force referred the matter to the IOPC and ICO. NUH is the subject of a large maternity review spanning more than 2,000 experiences.

Read at www.independent.co.uk