Ambulance service probes staff access to records of man killed by tiger
Developing story first seen 3 hours ago
Yorkshire Ambulance Service is investigating after identifying two instances in which staff may have accessed or tried to access William Chapman’s medical information without a legitimate reason. The trust has informed his family and reported the concern to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Chapman, 24, died after entering a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park on Saturday and being attacked by a 200kg Amur tiger. An inquest heard his provisional cause of death was multiple traumatic injuries; he had a history of mental illness, and his family has raised concerns about his contact with mental health services.
- Ambulance trust identified two possible improper attempts to view records.
- The concern has been reported to the data protection regulator.
- Chapman died after entering a tiger enclosure at the Yorkshire zoo.
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Yorkshire Ambulance Service is the NHS trust that provides ambulance care in the county. Like other health services, it holds private medical information about patients, which staff should access only when needed for their work.
William Chapman was 24 when he died after entering a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park. An inquest is examining the circumstances of his death; his family has also raised concerns about his contact with mental health services.
The case brings together questions about patient confidentiality and how mental health support is provided. The Information Commissioner’s Office oversees the handling of personal data in the UK.
Full account
Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust is investigating whether two members of staff accessed, or tried to access, information about William Chapman without a proper work-related reason. Chapman, 24, died after entering a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park on Saturday. The trust said its audits had flagged two possible instances involving incident or medical information. It has told Chapman’s family and reported the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
The trust said it takes the privacy and security of patient records seriously and has begun an investigation to establish what happened and what actions the staff members took. The reports describe the matter as a potential breach; the inquiry is ongoing, and neither establishes that records were successfully viewed in both instances.
Chapman was attacked after climbing over two fences into the enclosure, an inquest at Doncaster Coroner’s Court heard. The coroner said he had a history of mental illness, including schizophrenia and previous episodes of psychosis, and was receiving support from adult mental health services. The inquest heard that he was independent and had no care requirements. His provisional cause of death was recorded as multiple traumatic injuries; one report also includes animal interaction in the description.
Emergency crews attended, and Chapman was pronounced dead at the scene. Yorkshire Wildlife Park later reopened to visitors. The reports place the ambulance service investigation alongside the inquest into the death, but focus on different aspects: the trust’s response and potential records access, and the inquest’s account of Chapman’s death and circumstances.
Where outlets differ
Both reports describe two possible instances involving two staff members and say the trust notified the family and the Information Commissioner’s Office. The first calls the issue an “information governance concern”; the second frames it as potential breaches and says the inquiry will establish the circumstances and staff actions.
The second report gives more detail from the inquest about Chapman’s diagnosis, mental health services and level of independence. The first adds details about the park’s response to the attack and reopening, but its supplied text ends part-way through the inquest account.
The reports differ slightly in their description of the cause of death: one says multiple traumatic injuries, while the other says multiple traumatic injuries and animal interaction.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “NHS ambulance workers accessed care record of man mauled to death by tiger at zoo”.