Police analysing claims of hospital data 'fiddling'

Northamptonshire Police is evaluating evidence of a hospital's waiting time figures, after claims were made they were 'fiddled' to meet targets.

A BBC investigation in May found that thousands of Kettering General Hospital patients had waited a year or more for operations, with a hospital review finding that 138 patients were harmed by the delays, including one patient who has lost their sight.

With the hospital is still attempting to clear the backlog, David Phelan, a hospital trust governor, recently claimed that patients were removed from waiting lists because national targets were being missed. The trust which runs the hospital has maintained denial of manipulating data but has apologised for losing track of patients.

Professor Andrew Chilton, Kettering General Hospital medical mirector, said: "I categorically deny at any time has data ever been manipulated to try and make us look as if we were in a better position. When the problem started to emerge around 2015 we immediately dealt with the problem. We worked very openly and transparently with both our commissioners and GPs and regulators."

In a statement, a police spokesman said: "An allegation of potential misconduct at Kettering General Hospital has been made to Northamptonshire Police and we are in the process of scoping that allegation. It would therefore be inappropriate for us to comment further at this time."