Lost Maternity Data, Cake Sheds Consultation, Government Early Release Support Services & More
Happy Friday readers, the weekend is in sight !
I hope you have something nice planned for the weekend but until then .... grab a brew and a chocolate digestive and have a read of today's newsletter covering all things Bassetlaw and surrounding areas.
Today's Quote of the Day - "The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." — Nelson Mandela
Enjoy the read and have a great weekend wherever you are reading this.
Justin Doddy, Editor
P.S. If someone forwarded you this newsletter, click here to sign up to get quality local journalism in your inbox.
Cake Shed Consultation Underway
A series of drop-in events for Bassetlaw District Council's cake sheds consultation are taking place over the next few weeks.
Bassetlaw District Council is asking cake shed operators, residents, and local businesses to share their views on how cake sheds and cupboards should be considered as part of its Street Trading Policy.
The Council has launched a consultation to further understand the broad range of opinions on cake sheds and cupboards, which will be used to help the Council make a final decision on the policy as part of a future meeting of Licensing Committee.
Retford Market – Saturday 3rd October, 12.30pm to 2.30pm.
Harworth and Bircotes Town Hall – Thursday 8th October, 10am to 12noon.
Tuxford, Museum of the Horse – Thursday 15th October, 2pm to 4pm.
Worksop Market – Saturday 17th October, 10am to 12noon.
NOTTINGHAM UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS: ‘Heartbreaking disappointment’ over lost maternity data
By: Lauren Monaghan, LDRS
Families involved in the largest NHS maternity scandal say they are ‘playing whack-a-mole’ with a hospital trust after more than 200,000 records of mothers and babies were lost.
In September, Nottingham University Hospitals Trust (NUH) revealed that a “human error” on August 18, 2026, had caused the accidental loss of some maternity data relating to women and babies who received care at the trust between September 2011 and November 2022.
The trust, which runs Queen’s Medical Centre and City Hospital, said that during routine technical work, an error had occurred while creating a copy of a radiotherapy database for reporting purposes. The process used a set of pre-written computer instructions that had previously been utilised for a different hospital system.
A setting that should have been changed before the process was run was missed, resulting in the process being carried out on a maternity database – concerning records relating to women and babies who received care between September 2011 and November 2022 – instead of the radiotherapy database.
This caused the records to be overwritten, NUH said.
The trust previously confirmed it had restored information needed to support patient care, including clinical notes, observations and test results, but that it was not able to restore the complete history showing who viewed the maternity records during this period – what are known as access logs.
Families involved in the recent Donna Ockenden Maternity Review – the largest in NHS history – have previously said the news of the lost access logs “devastated” and “frustrated” them.
They explained the access logs acted as viewing history, which essentially shows an audit trail when developing a wider picture of someone’s care.
The independent review, which was published in June 2026, uncovered the true extent of a catalogue of failings by NUH’s maternity and neonatal service which led to the harm and death of more than 2,400 mothers and babies. The majority of cases were from 2012, but some dated as far back as 2006.
In NUH’s annual public meeting on, Wednesday September 30, impacted families heard the amount of records the trust had lost in the “human error” incident was around 215,000. During the meeting NUH chief executive, Anthony May, told families he was “ashamed” and “embarrassed” at the mistake.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Emily Stringer, whose four-year-old daughter Caitlin suffered a serious brain injury at a few weeks old after delayed care at the trust in 2021, said the missing access logs “compounds the harm” for families involved.
She said:
“For the maternity families who have already lived through harm, who are facing information delays, in accessing information, with information requests taking years, it adds to that harm, it compounds the harm.
“It feels like a really bad game of whack-a-mole. You bop one mole on the head and another one pops up somewhere else where you’re not expecting it – five years of whacking moles and they’re still coming up.”
Ms Stringer said families were told Nottinghamshire Police were forensically examining the error to see if there is a possibility of recovering the lost access logs
Jack Hawkins, whose daughter Harriet was stillborn at City Hospital in 2016 due to care failings, described the missing access logs a “heartbreaking disappointment”.
He told the LDRS:
“We understand the chief executive is ashamed and he should be.
“It is yet another kick in the teeth for families, yet another blow for families looking for accountability – we cannot believe they’re now unable to tell families who accessed their records.”
NUH says the data problem was “escalated within minutes of being identified”, where it worked with external specialists to recover as much data as possible.
The trust also notified the Information Commissioner’s Office [ICO] and Nottinghamshire Police, which is assessing whether the data issue has affected the force’s Operation Perth.
The police say at present, “no crime has been identified” with the recent data error.
Operation Perth is the force’s ongoing investigation into deaths and serious injuries relating to maternity care under NUH’s maternity service. It was closely aligned to the Ockenden review.
Andy Callow, chief digital and information officer at NUH, said: “I am sorry for the concern and distress this incident may cause to women and families affected.
“On August 18, 2026, a human error during a routine technical process resulted in a maternity records database being unintentionally overwritten.
“There has been no impact on current maternity services or the care provided to women and babies today. However, to date, we have been unable to fully restore the historical record showing who viewed maternity records between September 2011 and November 2022.
“We have informed the Information Commissioner’s Office, completed a full investigation and strengthened our processes and controls to help prevent a similar incident from happening again.”
Deputy Chief Constable Rob Griffin, Gold Commander for Operation Perth, added:
“At present, no crime has been identified. We have received a report from the individual concerned and have spoken with them. Further assessment is ongoing, and we are awaiting analysis of the digital process that was used.
“In relation to recovery, we are awaiting a copy of the database, before any further attempts can be made. We anticipate receiving this during the course of the week.
“The overall impact on Operation Perth remains under assessment and we will be in a better position to provide a fuller update once the outstanding analysis and recovery work has been completed.
“I appreciate that this update may cause concern for families, and I would encourage anyone with questions or concerns to contact Operation Perth, where the team will be happy to provide support and, where possible, further information.”
An ICO spokesperson previously said:
“When people access medical care, they share some of their most sensitive personal information and trust that it will be protected. We expect organisations to have appropriate measures in place to keep medical records safe and secure.
“[NUH] has made us aware of this incident involving maternity records and we are making enquiries.
“We recognise this incident may be concerning for those affected. Anyone worried about their personal information can visit the ICO website for advice and support.”
Inspire Nottinghamshire Libraries Fun Palace is back at Worksop library on Saturday
Come along and try out different arts, science, and cultural activities from local community groups and organisations.
All free and no need to book.
Just drop-in between 10am and 3pm and join in the fun!
Find out more at https://tinyurl.com/bdz6w9rt
Councils begin preparation for new Minerals Plan for Nottinghamshire
Residents, businesses and community organisations will soon be able to have their say on the preparation of a new Minerals Local Plan for Nottinghamshire.
Nottinghamshire County Council and Nottingham City Council have formally given notice of their intention to begin preparing the plan under the Government’s new plan-making system.
The Minerals Local Plan will set out the strategic vision, spatial strategy and planning policies needed to ensure Nottinghamshire has a sufficient supply of minerals to support homes, businesses and infrastructure – while helping to protect the environment.
It will help guide decisions on where future mineral development could take place across the county and how sites can be restored once mineral extraction has finished – including opportunities to enhance biodiversity and create valuable new habitats.
The first opportunity for people to get involved will be through a scoping consultation, which will run from 12 October to 9 November 2026, and will seek views on what the Minerals Local Plan should contain, the key issues it should address and how people would like to be involved in its preparation.
Councillor Bert Bingham, Nottinghamshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment, is encouraging people to take part.
He said:
“The Minerals Local Plan will play an important role in shaping how minerals are provided for across Nottinghamshire while ensuring that environmental considerations, including biodiversity and the restoration of former mineral sites, are given proper consideration.
“This is an early opportunity for residents, businesses, community groups and other interested organisations to tell us what they think the plan should address and how they would like to be involved.
“I would encourage everyone with an interest in the future of Nottinghamshire’s environment, economy and communities to take part in the consultation and help us develop a plan that works for the county.”
Councillor Jay Hayes, Executive Member for Housing and Planning at Nottingham City Council, said:
“The Minerals Plan sets our responsibility to plan for the minerals needed for homes, schools, hospitals, roads and other infrastructure across Nottinghamshire. I encourage the residents of Nottingham to have their say during this consultation.”
The councils have published a timetable setting out the key stages, timescales and opportunities for public consultation during the preparation of the Minerals Local Plan. This timetable will be maintained and updated as work progresses.
Formal preparation is expected to begin in spring 2027, following consideration of feedback received through the scoping consultation and the gathering of information about potential mineral sites from operators.
Towards the end of the expected 30-month preparation period, the Minerals Local Plan will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for independent examination, before it is expected to be adopted in 2029.
Until the new plan is adopted, the existing Nottinghamshire Minerals Local Plan and Nottingham Land and Planning Policies Local Plan document will remain relevant to planning decisions relating to mineral development.
More information about the notice, timetable and how to get involved is available on the county council’s website.
Extra support is being provided for Nottinghamshire victims who are affected by or worried about the Government's early prison release scheme.
The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire has been awarded £195,000 by the Ministry of Justice UK to help provide extra capacity within local support services over two-and-a-half years, including specialist domestic and sexual abuse support services.
The services being uplifted are:
Nottinghamshire Victim CARE, delivered by Remedi: Restorative Services
Nottinghamshire Domestic Abuse Helpline, delivered by Juno Women's Aid
Male Domestic Abuse Helpline, delivered by Equation
LGBTQ+ Domestic Abuse Helpline, delivered by Equation
Nottinghamshire Women's Aid Ltd
Nottinghamshire Sexual Violence Support Services (Notts SVSS)
The Government is introducing changes to prison release arrangements through the Sentencing Act 2026, to help ensure there is enough space in prisons, while making sure there is tough supervision of offenders when they are released to keep victims and the wider public safe
Content courtesy of the Office of the Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner
Larwood Health Partnership urgently need 2-3 volunteers for this weekend's Big Vaccine Weekend at Larwood Surgery.
Could you help on Saturday and/or Sunday to assist with car parking at the event?
The partnership are looking for 2–3 volunteers to help manage the car parking throughout the clinic.
There are two car parks at the front of the surgery and, when one becomes full, it would be helpful to have someone temporarily stop cars entering that car park and operate a simple one-out, one-in system where needed, as well as helping direct patients to the other car park.
Thanks so much for reading our local newsletter and for supporting us. We’re committed to providing Bassetlaw with the quality local news service it deserves, but sustaining this work may come with some challenges. Our team is currently discussing how to make Bassetlaw Today financially viable in the long term, and one option we’re considering is introducing a subscription model to help cover our costs.
We want to be open with you about these conversations so you’re aware that a fee may need to be introduced in the future. If that happens, we hope you’ll continue to stand with us and support the publication.
Have a great day and I look forward to seeing you read our next newsletter.
Justin Doddy, Editor
Bassetlaw Today
P.S. Your feedback about this newsletter is important to me. You can email me your feedback to news@bassettlawtoday.co.uk
