NHS staff investigated over access to dead teenager's medical records

The mother of a teenage boy who died in hospital has said she is "deeply concerned and hurt" after learning his medical records may have been accessed inappropriately for years after his death.

Paula McGowan, whose 18-year-old autistic son Oliver died in 2016, was told that at least five members of staff at Bristol Foundation NHS Trust may have accessed his records without permission as recently as this year.

Three nursing staff are under formal investigation, while a doctor who no longer works for the trust has self-referred to the General Medical Council. Another member of staff is having their case reviewed separately.

The trust said it was "deeply sorry" for any stress and anxiety caused.

It said it had voluntarily referred itself to the Information Commissioner's Office.

It is the latest case involving concerns that NHS staff may have accessed patient records without a legitimate professional reason. In July the head of NHS England, Sir Jim Mackey, issued a "stark warning" that staff could face the sack or even prison for doing so.

Recent high-profile examples include the victims of the Nottingham and Southport attacks and a child who was injured in a crocodile enclosure in Cambridgeshire.

This month an investigation for the Health Services Journal found that at least 214 NHS staff have lost their jobs and around 2,000 been sanctioned for snooping on sensitive patient data over the past five years.