Victims demand tougher restrictions on snooping

Victims of the Southport and Nottingham attacks have told ministers and NHS leaders that far stricter, more robust processes are needed to stop staff snooping on patient records – and that actions outlined so far are not enough.

The open letter, which has also been signed by maternity and patient safety campaigners, has been sent to health secretary Yvette Cooper, culture secretary Lisa Nandy, and NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey.

The letter says the “repeated incidents of NHS staff snooping on some of the most vulnerable patients in our care system” had led to victims witnessing or experiencing “the devastating effects of medical data breaches”.

Among the signatories were lawyers representing victims and relatives from the 2023 Nottingham stabbing, in which three people were killed, and those of the 2024 attack on a children’s dance class in Southport.

Their letter also mentioned investigations into other high-profile incidents such as a man killed by a tiger in a Yorkshire zoo recently, as well as breaches caused by “disturbing targeted and personal attacks”.

The letter says: “While we recognise commitments have been made to dismiss or discipline NHS staff who snoop, we do not believe this goes far enough to prevent others falling victim to snooping in future.”

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Source: HSJ, 5 November 2026