Ten NHS staff have been removed from duty or suspended after a data breach involving the digital medical records of three-year-old Noah Woods.

Launching an “urgent” investigation, Dr Martin Mansfield, deputy chief medical officer at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said that any unauthorised access of patient data was “completely unacceptable”.

The trust has apologised “unreservedly” to Noah’s family and said disciplinary action would be taken if needed.

A major search for Noah was carried out in the village of Brantham, Suffolk, after the child went missing on 15 September. His body was found the next day in nearby water by police divers.

A spokesperson for the trust said 10 employees had been “removed from active duty or suspended whilst investigations are concluded”.

It comes after Sir Jim Mackey, the chief executive of NHS England, wrote to every trust on Friday, ordering stronger measures to tackle data breaches.

“We have seen too many cases of people abusing that trust, and enough is enough,” said Sir Jim.

“Anyone who thinks they can satisfy their curiosity by looking at a patient’s record should know this: they will be found out, they may lose their career and could end up with a criminal record.”