Staff who accessed confidential medical records related to a high-profile missing child case have faced disciplinary action.<\/p>\n
Noah Woods went missing from a playground in Branthom, Suffolk on September 15 after escaping his grandfather\u2019s supervision.<\/p>\n
Police said the child was non-verbal, partially deaf, and was undergoing an autism diagnosis.<\/p>\n
Sign up to The Nightly’s newsletters.<\/p>\n
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.<\/p>\n
By continuing you agree to our Terms<\/a> and Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n His body was located on September 16 in Decoy Pond, about 300 metres from the playground, in a devastating end to a frantic search involving police and Coastguard helicopters and more than a thousand volunteers.<\/p>\n The UK\u2019s National Health Service (NHS) has removed 10 employees after Noah\u2019s medical records were accessed.<\/p>\n An investigation was launched on September 17 after concerns were raised about a number of staff members accessing his confidential information.<\/p>\n In a statement<\/a>, the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust apologised \u201cunreservedly\u201d to Noah\u2019s family and deputy chief medical officer Dr Martin Mansfield said any unauthorised access to medical information was \u201ccompletely unacceptable\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have apologised unreservedly to Noah Woods\u2019 family for the extra anguish this breach of trust has caused them at an already devastating time,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cAs soon as we became aware of concerns that Noah\u2019s medical records may have been viewed inappropriately, we launched an urgent internal investigation. Immediate steps were also taken to secure the records and prevent further access that was not for a legitimate, clinical reason.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr Mansfield continued, writing that the matter had been reported and Noah\u2019s family would continue to be updated on the investigation.<\/p>\n The Trust confirmed to The Mirror that all 10 people were stood down.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of those colleagues have been removed from active duty or suspended whilst investigations are concluded,\u201d a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n New information about Noah\u2019s movements<\/p>\n The news comes days after an inquest into the toddler\u2019s death learned that there was a gap in the playground fence, which he climbed through.<\/p>\n The Suffolk Coroner\u2019s Court was told that Noah left the playground \u201cthrough a gap in the fence\u201d, then walked into a memorial garden, and left that through an open gate. Afterwards, he followed the path of a new housing estate which led to Decoy Pond, the BBC<\/a> wrote.<\/p>\n Detective Chief Inspector Matt Connick said Noah\u2019s relative could be seen on CCTV footage closely following the boy and shouting after him until the three-year-old disappeared from view.<\/p>\n Another man joined the search and then police were contacted.<\/p>\n Assistant coroner Jyoti Gill said it was a \u201cvery sad and tragic death\u201d.<\/p>\n The inquest has been adjourned to an unconfirmed date.<\/p>\n Noah\u2019s devastated family issue heartfelt statement<\/p>\n