Police clear Colchester trust of data ‘manipulation’ claims

Essex Police concluded that “no criminal offences have been committed” and there was “no evidence to support any criminal charges against either any individuals or the hospital trust”.

The investigation was launched after a Care Quality Commission report, published November 2013, set out claims by staff that managers “bullied” them to into manipulating cancer patient waiting lists. The trust was also placed in special measures later that month.

Two separate investigations also found no evidence to support the allegations.

An independent investigation commissioned by Monitor, published in December, found “no evidence to support the view that there is a systemic culture of bullying in the trust and this suggestion was strongly rejected by the staff and their representatives”.

A separate review, commissioned by the trust, of cancer care between April 2010 and March 2014 found “no evidence of systematic, deliberate data manipulation”.

Chief inspector Tracy Hawkins said: “The [police] investigation has looked at whether or not any criminal offences were committed and has included interviews with staff and an assessment by independent experts of the medical records of a number of patients.

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“Throughout the investigation we have worked with NHS England, the trust and other health organisations to ensure we had access to all the information, reports and medical data that could be provided.

“We have concluded that no criminal offences have been committed and there is no evidence to support any criminal charges against either any individuals or the hospital trust. The police investigation has now concluded.”

The trust’s director of nursing and quality Barbara Stuttle said: “This will be enormously reassuring to our cancer patients – past, present and future.

“It is another important step towards rebuilding public trust and confidence in the cancer services we provide.

“The police investigation has been hanging over the trust for almost two years so it is pleasing that, at long last, we can finally draw a line under it.”