NHS trust responds after staff accused of accessing tiger attack victim's medical records 'without legitimate reason'

Medical records relating to a man mauled to death by a tiger were either inappropriately accessed or attempts were made to do so, an ambulance service has said.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust said it has launched an investigation after two members of staff accessed or attempted to access medical information about the death of William Chapman at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, UK, as the attraction opened to the public for the first time since the tragedy on October 10.

The trust said in a statement: “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.”

William Chapman died after scaling a fence and going on to be mauled by a tiger (Instagram)

The statement continued: “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.”

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.

Yesterday (October 16), the park opened its doors for the first time since the tragedy, including to Land of the Tigers, where the fatal incident happened.

The UK-based wildlife park reopened its doors on October 16 (PA Media)

Early visitors reported that the five-year-old male Siberian tiger involved, called Altai, was out in one of the enclosures, eating a meal while lying on top of a wooden platform.

A handful of visitors watched him from the raised wooden walkway, waiting for him to face them for photographs as a substantial number of park staff looked on.

The walkway is level with the top of the 15ft-high fence which surrounds the tigers, with an extra section stretching away from visitors for about another metre.

Signs on the fences warn it is electrified.

Shortly after last week's devastating ordeal, the park confirmed that Altai will not be put down as a result of Chapman's death.