NHS staff ‘tried to access’ medical records of man mauled to death by tiger in Yorkshire zoo

In a statement, the NHS trust said it has “commenced an investigation” into the incident and the concern had been identified “as a result of our proactive audits”.

The trust said: “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.”

The Trust confirmed that the Information Commissioner’s Office had been informed and Mr Chapman’s family will be kept up to date.

William Chapman, 23, died at the Yorkshire zoo after being mauled to death inside a tiger enclosure earlier this month.

Emergency services were contacted shortly after 1.30pm on October 10 when Mr Chapman, who police said was visiting the park alone, entered the enclosure. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Paying tribute to the 23-year-old following his death, a statement from the family praised him as a “bright and warm young man”.

It read: “William was a bright, warm and engaging young man whom his family dearly loved – and William loved them back.

“Sadly, William suffered from significant mental illness over a number of years and was consequently prescribed strong medication.

“It will be for the coroner to decide what part this played in his death. We would ask everybody to respect that process.”

The statement then stressed: “The family are utterly devastated by their loss and are struggling to come to terms with what has happened.

“The publication and circulation of deeply offensive media content is causing them severe distress at an exceptionally vulnerable time. We ask people to stop doing this.

“The family are hopeful that the relevant authorities will do their utmost to get to the bottom of why our amazing son did what he did.

“In the meantime, please do not approach the family, their addresses, or scrape any further social media from William’s or his family’s accounts.”

An inquest into Mr Chapman’s death, opened on Thursday, heard that he died of “multiple traumatic injuries”.

City of Doncaster Council, which is responsible for licensing the park, has also opened a health and safety investigation following the incident.

After being closed for several days, Yorkshire Wildlife Park reopened today, with the public able to visit the tiger enclosure and Altai the tiger.