Open petition: Review security protocols for keeping deceased patient records confidential

Created by Paula McGowan OBE
Closes on 22 April 2027

We call on the Government to conduct a review of all NHS trusts and how they ensure deceased patient records are kept confidential. We suggest that such a review should consider the merits of requiring pre-authorisation to access patient records, removing routine staff access.

We are concerned that several recent cases of staff accessing patient records for unlawful and illegitimate reasons suggest that there are not sufficient protocols or safeguards in place. We therefore call for a review of practices, which could consider pre-authorisation requirements to access patient records, and a single national standard across NHS trusts which could ensure that patient records are kept confidential and accessed only by those with a legitimate need to do so. We think this is crucial to protect the dignity of the deceased patients and their families.

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