NHS Trust IT blunder overwrites 11 years of maternity records

[SerendipityJane]

One can't help but speculate whether it would have been treated so lightly had it not been a womens issue ?

https://www.theregister.com/databases/2026/09/22/nhs-trust-it-blunder-overwrites-11-years-of-maternity-records/5298130

NUH has been unable to completely restore the audit history showing who viewed maternity records during the 11-year period covered by the database. That means the Trust may now be unable, in most cases, to establish whether a particular person looked at a patient's maternity record between September 2011 and November 2022.

One of those occasions when I find it really hard to decide between conspiracy or cock-up, because either seems believable.

I think it’s far too convenient in the circumstances for it not to be deliberate. I mean, otherwise people might be held accountable and we can’t have that.

How convenient.

I'm confused as to what setting they didn't change. I've worked with SQL and Linux, and they're both very pernickety with commands; if a single comma is out of place, they both start screaming in big red letters at you.

I agree. OTOH there have been some sophisticated frauds in the NHS and I can't help wondering if this is an organised attempt to head off another scandal. Maternity care hasn't been subject to decent standards for decades.

I'd happily see a shift in legal practise so that in cases like this due to the asymmetry of power the onus is on the authority to rebut claims. And if they have managed to destroy lose the evidence they need to do so then ... well bad luck. They have to cough up.

(This is how it works with financial organisations. Which is why you can guarantee your call is being recorded ....)