(Image: PA)
NHS staff who inappropriately accessed the medical records of a man mauled to death by a tiger must be sacked, the Health Secretary has said.
Two members of staff at Yorkshire Ambulance Service are believed to have accessed or attempted to access the records of William Chapman after his death at Yorkshire Wildlife Park on October 10 without a legitimate reason.
The ambulance service opened an investigation into the potential breaches on Friday.
Speaking on Sky News’s Sunday Morning programme, Health Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “If there are breaches then people actually need to be sacked.”
She said no member of NHS staff should be accessing records “for something to do with voyeurism, or what is in the news or any of that kind of reason”.
She added: “It is not only is it a total disgrace, but I’ve spoken to the NHS chief executive about this.
“We agree that if there are cases here of people inappropriately accessing medical records, then they should be suspended while the investigation takes place.”
Mr Chapman, 24, died at the park in Doncaster after scaling two fences at the attraction’s Land of the Tigers enclosure, an inquest has heard.
A coroner has been told how he 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 coroner was also told that Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation trust has launched an investigation into their handling of his case.