Human Error Erases 11 Years of Maternity Record Access Logs at NHS Trust

A technical failure at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) has resulted in the loss of audit histories for maternity records spanning more than a decade. According to reporting from The Register and Ars Technica, the incident occurred on August 18 when staff performing routine work to copy a radiotherapy database for reporting purposes used a set of pre-written computer instructions previously used for a different hospital system.

Because a necessary setting was not changed before the instructions were executed, the process ran against the wrong database. This resulting error wiped the Trust's legacy Medway maternity records database, which held information on babies and women treated from September 2011 through November 2022.

NUH stated the incident was the result of "human error" and was escalated within minutes of discovery. While the Trust managed to recover clinical information essential for patient care—including test results, observations, and notes—it has been unable to fully restore the audit history. Consequently, NUH may be unable to establish who viewed specific maternity records during that 11-year window.

Andy Callow, the chief digital and information officer at NUH, offered an apology to affected families and noted that the Trust has tightened its technical processes and controls following a completed patient safety incident investigation. Callow noted that current maternity services remain unaffected and no patient information was used or accessed inappropriately during the mishap.

The loss of these records comes at a critical time for the Trust. Nottinghamshire Police are currently conducting "Operation Perth," an investigation into deaths and serious injuries involving mothers and babies at Queen's Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital. As reported by the BBC, a June review led by a senior midwife alleged that over 500 mothers and babies suffered potentially avoidable harm or died due to systemic failings, including undertrained staff and understaffing.

Nottinghamshire Police are now assessing if this data loss impacts the Operation Perth investigation. Deputy chief constable Rob Griffin told the BBC that, at present, no crime has been identified. This follows a separate incident in June 2025, where a local police investigation found that records for hundreds of maternity patients were likely erased "intentionally or maliciously," though that data was recovered days later.

In a statement provided to the BBC, the Nottingham Maternity Family Group described the recent data loss as "extremely unnerving," arguing that families who have already suffered bereavement and preventable harm should not have to worry about the security of their records.