NHS staff suspected of snooping on patient records will be immediately suspended and locked out of systems

From the Newshound archive · first published 25 September 2026 · last updated 26 September 2026.

NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey has written to every trust directing that any staff member under suspicion of viewing patient records without authorisation be suspended at once and immediately locked out of relevant systems. The directive follows thousands of snooping incidents logged over five years, during which the majority of those involved received no stronger penalty than a verbal or written warning. Mackey warned that offenders 'may lose their career and could end up with a criminal record.'

Southport attack survivor Leanne Lucas's records were accessed without her knowledge, and she was not told by the hospital for two years.

Other prominent cases involve staff accessing the records of Nottingham stabbing victims, a three-year-old crocodile-pit victim, and the Princess of Wales.

A five-year investigation found that no fewer than 214 NHS staff had been dismissed and roughly 2,000 sanctioned for snooping.