Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust has dismissed a total of 15 staff members for inappropriately accessing the medical records of victims from the June 2023 Nottingham attacks. The trust confirmed the latest update on Friday, bringing the total number of sacked employees to 15.

Students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, along with Ian Coates, a grandfather, were fatally stabbed by Valdo Calocane on June 13, 2023. Calocane had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2020. The inappropriate access to the victims' records by NHS staff has caused further distress to their families.

Dr. Sanjoy Kumar, father of Grace O'Malley-Kumar, expressed his dismay, calling the actions "disgraceful" and urging the trust to address these "failures." He highlighted the breach of confidentiality as particularly appalling, given the sensitive nature of medical data.

In addition to the dismissals, the NUH Trust has issued 15 final written warnings and two first written warnings. Two cases were found to have no grounds for disciplinary action. The trust stated that action has been taken against a range of healthcare professionals, including doctors and nurses, and that relevant regulatory bodies, such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council, General Medical Council, and the Information Commissioner's Office, have been informed.

Dr. Manjeet Shehmar, Medical Director at NUH, emphasized that there is "simply no excuse" for unauthorized record access and vowed that the trust would investigate and take action. She conveyed her apologies to the families for the added pain caused by the staff's actions.

The trust is implementing a new system, currently in testing, designed to detect potential data breaches and protect patient records in the future. A campaign titled "Your Responsibility, Your Actions, Their Privacy" has also been launched to educate staff on data protection and the consequences of violating privacy rules.

Investigations are ongoing into the inappropriate access of records belonging to surviving victims of the attacks, including Wayne Birkett, Sharon Miller, and Marcin Gawronski. The trust maintains that while these actions are disappointing, they represent a small fraction of its wider workforce.

NUH has committed to continuing its investigations and taking necessary action, alongside educating staff on appropriate data access and patient record safety. The trust aims to ensure that only lawful and justified access to patient information occurs within its hospitals.