NHS Staff Face Immediate Suspension for Snooping on Patient Records
Sir Jim Mackey has written to every trust in England ordering that anyone suspected of improperly accessing patient records be suspended at once and locked out of NHS systems, including from home. “We have seen too many cases of people abusing that trust, and enough is enough,” he said. At least 214 staff have lost their jobs and around 2,000 have been sanctioned over five years. The order follows breaches involving the Southport and Nottingham victims.
The scale explains the bluntness. Separate research counted 2,914 breach cases investigated by trusts since 2021, of which only 409 were referred to the Information Commissioner, with two-thirds ending in a minor sanction — and of 134 trusts that responded, only 54 said they routinely look for breaches at all. That is a system that mostly finds out by accident. Sir Jim’s warning was aimed squarely at deterrence: anyone who thinks they can satisfy their curiosity “should know this: they will be found out, they may lose their career and could end up with a criminal record”. Leanne Lucas, who survived the Southport attack, called suspension “step number one” but said more policies need examining. Watch whether referrals to the Information Commissioner now rise.