NHS officials have called in police officers as part of an investigation to identify a hospital worker whose leak of confidential information highlighted serious allegations about the work of a doctor.

Now Staffordshire Police is applying for a court order to force an internet provider to name the mystery worker who revealed that some of the work of University Hospital of North Staffordshire (UHNS) radiologist Dr Changez Jadun was branded 'negligent'.

Officers will ask a judge to make the company reveal the owner of an email address suspected of being the source of top-secret documents sent to The Sentinel.

Detectives have also served a court order on The Sentinel to hand over the material.

The documents showed how two external and one internal inquiry had been carried out into the safety of Dr Jadun's work.

Fears over the safety of his work were raised by both a national expert and then three of his fellow consultants.

The paperwork contained the names of a number of Dr Jadun's patients; and hospital bosses say that broke the law.

The court application is being prepared after a complaint by UHNS that the breach flouted the Misuse of Computers Act and Data Protection Act which carries a maximum fine of £500,000.

Despite UHNS chief executive Julia Bridgewater saying she encouraged staff members to whistle blow, police were brought in when two sets of documents were anonymously sent to The Sentinel's Etruria headquarters in April.

After a string of new reviews into dozens of patients Dr Jadun operated on, the radiologist is to be allowed back to work full-time.

Deputy chief executive Chris Calkin confirmed he, along with medical director Robert Courteney-Harris and deputy human resources director Ro Vaughan, had met police to inform them of the potential breach. It is understood no suspects have been interviewed.

Health campaigners criticised the hospital for bringing in the police.

But Mr Calkin said: "We have obligations under the Data Protection Act which we cannot ignore. Whistleblowing is not the issue here – it is the potential criminal act of releasing patient information without consent.

"Health records are sensitive personal data subject to particularly stringent protection.

"We contacted the police because unlawfully obtaining, disclosing, or procuring the disclosure of personal data is a criminal offence.

"The police investigation is a small but important aspect of the larger review into interventional radiology. Our main focus has always been the concerns raised about clinical practice.

"Patient safety is our first priority."

Ian Syme, co-ordinator of the Healthwatch group, said: "Involving the police could take some time and it sends a strange signal out to anyone who is considering whistle-blowing."

An insider at the hospital said: "Because the police are in, there is a feeling of fear with people scared to talk about the issue in case they come under suspicion."

A police spokesman said: "Our investigation into a potential breach of the Data Protection Act is ongoing."

Dr Jadun timeline: Page 6; Comment: Page 10