Operation Perth - security breach

A member of police staff from Operation Perth has been suspended while an investigation into a security breach takes place.

Operation Perth is Nottinghamshire Police's ongoing investigation into deaths and serious injuries related to maternity care at Nottingham City Hospital and Nottingham Queen’s Medical Centre, which are both part of the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.

This investigation is closely aligned to Donna Ockenden's independent review of maternity services within the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.

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.

“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.

“The member of staff was immediately removed from all access to our systems on Wednesday 20 August. The member of staff has now been suspended.

“We recognise the impact this news will have on the families of Operation Perth and I have written to all families to explain what has happened and what action we have taken.

“We want to reassure them that at this stage we are confident we have all the processes in place to restore all information and ensure it does not affect the integrity of the investigation.

“We have also voluntarily referred ourselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to offer further transparency as well as the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

“We cannot comment on the actual nature of the incident while a thorough investigation takes place.

“However, what we can say is we do not believe that any information has been shared outside of the investigation, nor has any person’s medical records been affected.

“We have no information that any other persons are involved.

“This person was not in a supervisor role or part of the management team on Operation Perth and did not make any decisions about the conduct of the investigation.

“Due to our robust systems, we can identify, retrieve and restore all information.

“We will continue to keep families informed of all developments and to notify any family members whose information has been affected.

“I want to stress that the families are at the heart of everything we do, and we are determined to ensure they continue to have trust and confidence in our investigation.”

Details on how families can contact the Operation Perth investigation team or access support can be found here.