A man killed by a tiger may have had his medical records breached by NHS staff, an ambulance trust has said.
William Chapman, 24, died at Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster on Saturday after he climbed over two fences and entered the tiger enclosure.
Yorkshire Ambulance Service Trust has now said that two members of its staff may have accessed or attempted to access medical information "without a legitimate reason". It has launched an investigation.
In a statement, the trust 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.”
Emergency services were contacted shortly after 1.30pm on 10 October when Mr Chapman, 24, who police said was visiting the park alone, entered the enclosure of a rare Amur tiger called Altai. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Mr Chapman, 24, died after scaling two fences at the attraction’s Land of the Tigers enclosure, an inquest has heard.
A coroner was told Mr Chapman had a diagnosis of schizophrenia, had suffered previous bouts of psychosis and his family had expressed “a number of concerns” in relation to his contact with mental health services.
The inquest opening hearing on Thursday heard Mr Chapman was a self-employed online trader who was living in Doncaster at the time of his death.
He was under adult mental health services in Doncaster but was “highly functioning and independent with no care requirements”.
A coroner heard the Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust had launched an investigation.
An initial post-mortem examination found he had died from multiple traumatic injuries after his encounter with the tiger.
The park reopened for the first time on Friday since the incident, including the Land of the Tigers enclosure.
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