Patient records may have been breached following the death of man who entered tiger den
“The Trust has commenced an investigation to establish the full circumstances surrounding these potential breaches”
Patient records may have been breached following the death of a man at Yorkshire Wildlife Park.
William Chapman died after entering the tiger enclosure at the Doncaster visitor attraction on Saturday (October 10).
The case has since become headline news across the globe.
Now, Yorkshire Ambulance Service Trust said it believes two members of its staff accessed or attempted to access medical information "without a legitimate reason to do so" following the incident.
Suspicions were raised as a result of the services proactive audits.
Yorkshire Ambulance Service said that they take patient confidentiality seriously and have robust systems in place to protect information.
They said that the trust has commenced an investigation to establish the full circumstances surrounding these potential breaches and the actions of these individuals.
The matter has also been reported to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
In a statement, they said: “First and foremost, our thoughts are with William Chapman’s family at this distressing time.
“The Trust has identified an information governance concern in relation to this tragic incident at Yorkshire Wildlife Park and William’s family has been informed of our ongoing investigation into this.
“We believe there may have been two instances involving two members of staff accessing or attempting to access incident/medical information following this incident without a legitimate reason to do so.
“We take the confidentiality and security of patient information extremely seriously and have robust systems in place to protect information, and this concern has been identified as a result of our proactive audits.
“The Trust has commenced an investigation to establish the full circumstances surrounding these potential breaches and the actions of these individuals. We have also reported this matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and we will continue to keep William’s family informed as our investigation progresses.”
Mr Chapman's family previously said the 24-year-old had a significant mental illness and were utterly devastated by his death.
They shared a statement on Tuesday night (October 13) where they asked people to stop sharing upsetting content online, which they said was causing "severe distress at an exceptionally vulnerable time".
An inquest into the death, which opened at Doncaster Coroner's Court on Thursday (October 15) heard Mr Chapman had previously been diagnosed with schizophrenia and suffered bouts of psychosis.
He was under adult mental health services in Doncaster but was "highly functioning and independent with no care requirements", the hearing was told.
A full inquest is set to be held in March next year.