Police investigating historical claims that Kettering Hospital doctored waiting lists
Police are investigating an historical allegation that patient waiting lists were manipulated by a hospital.
Northamptonshire Police said allegations "of a non-recent nature" connected to Kettering General Hospital were now being reviewed.
The force's involvement came to light after a letter from Heath Secretary Matt Hancock to Labour's shadow health spokesman and Leicester South MP, Jonathan Ashworth.
In correspondence, Mr Hancock said the force was looking into allegations of False or Misleading Information Offences (FOMI).
Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said it was "happy to support the police" in their work, covering allegations dating to 2015, which first came to light after a whistleblower raised concerns in 2017.
A hospital review carried out that year found 138 patients were harmed because of long waits.
But while concluding there had been inappropriate filtering of data to remove patients from lists, described as "well-intentioned, if misguided", the review said allegations of deliberate doctoring were "entirely false".
An investigation in summer 2017 by NHS Protect, or what is now the NHS Counter Fraud Authority, found no evidence of fraud.
The police will revisit ground covered by the two previous investigations, which found no evidence patients had been deliberately removed from waiting lists by the trust to improve target performance.
A spokesman for the force said: "Northamptonshire Police have received allegations of a non-recent nature that are currently being reviewed.
"As such, it would not be appropriate to comment further on this matter."
Trust chief executive Simon Weldon, said: "We are an open and transparent organisation, and are happy to support the police with their enquiries.
"Although the 2017 independent investigation concluded that allegations made were unsubstantiated, if there are new findings then I give my assurance that I will absolutely address them.<
"I would like to reassure patients that the actions recommended to improve waiting list management were implemented three years ago, ensuring we have robust systems in place to validate waiting list information.
He added: "As our hospitals resume usual activities following our response to Covid-19, we are doing everything possible to ensure our patients receive the care and treatment they need as quickly as possible."