NHS staff suspected of snooping on patient data to face immediate suspension

Other staff have been struck off after looking up the medical records of relations, acquaintances and ex-partners without authorisation.

In 2023 an NHS consultant in Cambridgeshire was investigated by the General Medical Council (GMC) after accessing the health history of a woman who had started dating the doctor’s ex-boyfriend.

There is no single NHS-wide electronic record system that every member of staff can access.

Instead, organisations including GP practices, hospitals and specialist clinics maintain their own records and determine who can view particular information.

IT systems keep an audit trail that should be able to show exactly who accessed a patient’s records and when.

Paula McGowan, whose autistic son Oliver died in 2016, was told that at least five members of staff at Southmead Hospital may have accessed his records without permission as recently as this year.

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust said it was undertaking a “thorough investigation” and it would be “inappropriate to reach conclusions before those enquiries are complete”.

McGowan said she welcomed the NHS’s commitment to tackling the problem but said it must now be followed by “meaningful action”.

“Medical records contain deeply personal information about people and their families,” she said.

“Accessing them without a legitimate clinical or professional reason is a serious breach of trust and must have consequences.”