Parents' plea to NHS maternity data loss perpetrator

Parents have appealed for NHS staff to come forward after a police investigation found a file containing maternity data was "most likely" intentionally deleted.

Police confirmed on Tuesday an inquiry into the temporarily lost data - which was later recovered - at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust was likely to be the "action of an individual".

Police could not determine who was behind the data deletion but Sarah and Jack Hawkins, whose daughter was stillborn in 2016 after staff failings, have called on the person responsible to explain why they did it.

NUH chief executive Anthony May said he was considering options as to "further examine what happened".

Families were told in a letter from Deputy Chief Constable Rob Griffin, seen by the BBC, that the deletion of the file - which contained details of hundreds of maternity cases - was "most likely to have been done intentionally/maliciously rather than accidentally".

Ms Hawkins said: "If anyone knows who they are, or if they come forward themselves, just please let us know because I frankly don't know how people are sleeping at night.

"You can't just delete important files and think that's OK. I don't know what their motive was but you cannot have that culture in a hospital where you treat vulnerable patients."

The Hawkins' labelled the police findings as a "patient safety emergency" and said anyone who knew who was responsible had a "moral and professional duty" to come forward.

Ms Hawkins, previously a physiotherapist at NUH, said: "I'm baffled as a bereaved mother but also as a clinician.

"Why would you do something like that? What are you trying to hide? Why are you not there for the patients?."

Dr Hawkins added: "What are they going to do next, this person? And what have they also done?"

Mr May said: "It is very disappointing to learn that the deletion of this data may have been done maliciously.

"While the police investigation may have concluded, I should like to assure the public that we will not let this rest.

"I am considering options as to how to further examine what happened, using all means available.

"I would encourage anyone who has information about what happened to speak up so we can account for ourselves, reassure affected families, and rebuild trust and confidence."

He added the trust informed the police when the issue was discovered and "engaged fully in the investigation".

"Nottinghamshire Police is also carrying out a separate corporate manslaughter investigation to examine whether maternity care by the trust had been grossly negligent.

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