Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust announced that a data loss incident occurred on August 18 involving maternity records spanning an 11-year period from September 2011 to November 2022. The English hospital system disclosed the problem publicly this week through a blog post.
The incident resulted from human error during routine technical work, according to NUH’s account. Staff members were creating a copy of a radiotherapy database for reporting purposes when the process was mistakenly applied to the maternity database instead. The error stemmed from a setting that should have been modified before execution but was overlooked. Computer instructions that had been written for use with a different hospital system were repurposed for this task without proper adjustment, leading to the maternity records database being overwritten.
NUH worked with external specialists to recover as much data as possible following the incident. The hospital successfully restored patient care-related information, including clinical notes, observations, test results, and care documentation. However, the system’s viewing history—records indicating which individuals accessed particular maternity records during the 11-year window—could not be fully restored. This means the hospital is largely unable to confirm whether specific personnel viewed particular maternity records during that period.
The data loss does not affect ongoing patient care, and NUH stated that no patient information was accessed or used inappropriately as a result. Andy Callow, the hospital’s chief digital and information officer, expressed regret for any concern caused and indicated that a patient safety investigation has been completed. NUH indicated it has implemented unspecified measures to strengthen technical controls and processes to prevent similar incidents.
The incident occurs amid a broader police investigation into maternity care at NUH, which centers on allegations that over 500 mothers and babies experienced potentially avoidable harm or deaths. Nottinghamshire Police is examining whether the recent data loss impacts that larger investigation and whether criminal charges may apply, though no crime has been identified at present. Family groups representing affected patients have expressed concern about the loss of records related to their cases.
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