EXCLUSIVE: Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin sewage ‘flood’ contaminated thousands of medical records
A Northern Scot Freedom of Information (FOI) Request has revealed that thousands of medical records were contaminated by a sewage “flood” at Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin.
New figures from NHS Grampian confirmed this week that 4507 sets of acute medical records, across 153 boxes and crates, were removed for decontamination by a specialist firm.
The leak, discovered more than seven months ago on January 15, was caused by “inappropriate objects” being flushed down the toilet.
No patients have been contacted by NHS Grampian to confirm whether or not they are affected, and the health board said it does not have a “breakdown of what has or has not been damaged”.
Until specialists have finished the “painstaking work” of decontaminating the files, a spokesperson added, the board cannot confirm “how many, if any, records are damaged beyond recovery”.
It is understood that NHS Grampian will only contact patients when their medical records are found to have been destroyed.
However, barcodes identifying the medical records were scanned as files were collected, we can reveal, suggesting that the health board knows who the contaminated records belong to.
Highlands and Islands Conservative MSP Douglas Ross said it was “shameful” that the total number of contaminated records needed to be “dragged out of NHS Grampian”.
“The Health Board must now let patients know if their files are affected as it is clear that the barcodes from the files were scanned at the time,” Mr Ross added.
“The Health Board have to be honest and upfront about the scale of the damage to files, and which patients are affected.
“It raises serious questions that this information is held by NHS Grampian, but has not been shared with patients, despite more than six months passing since the sewage leak and resultant damage to the files.
“I’m also extremely concerned that within days of the leak, NHS staff were discussing thousands of patient files being affected, but more than six months on not a single patient has been notified about the impact to their file and medical data.”
Moray SNP MSP Richard Lochhead hoped to meet NHS Grampian chief executive Adam Coldwells soon, and would be asking for more information about the sewage leak.
He added: “Patients in Moray will be concerned that their medical records might have been damaged by the sewage leak and it is absolutely essential that NHS Grampian make contacted with all those affected as a priority.
“It is almost six months since this incident and if NHS Grampian’s initial assessment – that thousands of records might be affected – is correct, then they must be ensure patients are aware of any damage to their records as soon as possible.”
Internal emails revealed by the FOI also shed light on what happened after the leak was discovered.
A message sent on the morning of the “flood”, on Monday, January 15, said the leak likely started over the weekend but went undiscovered since the records department was only staffed on weekdays.
"…urine only, and not faecal…"
The sewage water, coming from a blocked toilet in the day case unit about the records area, was believed to be “urine only, and not faecal”.
Two shelves of medical records were contaminated by the “foul water”, which had been covered by a “tarpaulin/sheeting” in an attempt to shield them from the contaminated water.
The records area contained all of the hospital’s acute medical records besides maternity files.
Shortly after the leak, an internal email said: “We’ve eyeballed the extent of the damage and estimate significant numbers of records impacted - 1000s rather than 100s.”
Emails also stated that the boxes of “wet” files would be 88 metres long if placed in a line.
“…ink is still bleeding…”
Two Ford Transit vans collected these documents, described as the “most heavily contaminated records”, on Monday, February 19.
An update on the files from February 21, 2024 said “pages can be turned, but pages are too wet/flimsy to be scanned and ink is still bleeding”.
Moray Council has also offered NHS Grampian a room in Elgin to temporarily house all files, once decontamination is complete, so the records area can be deep cleaned.
An NHS Grampian spokesperson said: “Following the leak into the medical records facility at Dr Gray’s Hospital, we continue to work with a specialist service to assess the extent of the damage.
“This is a painstaking task, as medical records can be substantial documents.
“…we are unable to confirm how many, if any, records are damaged beyond recovery.”
“Until this work is complete, we are unable to confirm how many, if any, records are damaged beyond recovery.
“If records are permanently lost, we will be directly in contact with those individuals affected.
“To date, the removal of these records has not caused delay to care or treatment at Dr Gray’s Hospital.”
