A survivor of the Southport attack has said she is “devastated and horrified” after it emerged hospital workers inappropriately accessed the medical records of victims.
Leanne Lucas, who was the instructor at the Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop targeted by Axel Rudakubana in July 2024, said staff have “abused their position”.
Three girls – Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven – were murdered by Rudakubana at The Hart Space, while 10 others were injured.
Some of those injured were treated at University Hospitals of Liverpool Group.
An information access audit carried out by the trust in the days following the incident showed 48 staff accessed the records of the victims without good reason, the HSJ reports.
This information was not given to the patients involved until this week.
Ms Lucas, who now campaigns against knife crime, has waived her right to anonymity following the incident.
She said: “I am absolutely devastated and horrified that my privacy has been invaded when I was at my most vulnerable.
“Nothing will take away my gratitude to the staff who saved my life, but 48 people not involved in my care abused their position of trust to access the files of victims who have suffered unspeakable trauma.
“The decision to keep this from me for almost two years is a new low. I am speaking out as I want this scandal and the attempted cover up by senior management exposed for what it is.”
Nicola Brook, a legal director at law firm Broudie Jackson Canter, which is representing three survivors including Ms Lucas at the Southport Inquiry, said: “This is a truly unbelievable breach of privacy for victims of one of the most horrific attacks this country has ever seen.
“This is more than a few bad apples when it was 48 different members of staff who, for no legitimate reason, chose to access vulnerable victims’ records.
“That speaks to a culture and one that will only change if there are real consequences for those responsible.”
According to the HSJ, University Hospitals of Liverpool Group reported the incident to the Information Commissioner’s Office in August 2024.
Trust chief executive James Sumner said after it had concluded its investigation, it had made the decision not to inform the patients involved after “taking into consideration the potential psychological impact it may have upon them at the time”.
He said the trust had “notified the relevant regulators and professional bodies”, including the ICO, and “were fully transparent about any findings and actions taken”.
Mr Sumner said: “We are sincerely sorry for any distress that may have been caused to the patients that were under our care and who trusted us to look after them when they were most vulnerable.
“Breaches of patient confidentiality are inexcusable and undermine the hard work of those teams who sought to provide the highest standard of care to these patients after they experienced such traumatic and life-changing events.
“Staff who were found to access patient records inappropriately were subject to HR disciplinary processes.”
Rudakubana was jailed for a minimum of 52 years for the murders of the three girls and attempted murders of eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, as well as Ms Lucas and businessman John Hayes.
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