NHS staff are alleged to have accessed the medical records of a nine-year-old girl found fatally injured on a Scottish industrial estate.
Minnie Merriman, from West Yorkshire, was discovered just after midnight on Monday at the Elliot industrial estate in Arbroath, Angus, while her family were camping in the area.
She was taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, where she was later pronounced dead.
Her father Christopher Rice, 35, has appeared in court charged with her murder.
Health board NHS Tayside, which runs the hospital, is now investigating claims staff accessed Minnie’s medical records without clinical need or permission.
In the early hours of Monday morning, emergency services including four ambulances were called to the estate where the family had camped the night before.
Minnie and three other people were rushed to hospital.
Rice was also taken to the same hospital separately but was later discharged and charged over his daughter’s death.
Minnie Merriman, nine, died following an incident at an industrial estate in Arbroath in the early hours of Monday
Christopher Rice, 35, appeared at Forfar Sheriff Court charged with her murder on Wednesday
During a hearing at Forfar Sheriff Court on Wednesday, Rice did not enter a plea and was committed for further examination and remanded in custody.
He is due to appear in court again next week.
A spokesperson for the health board said: ‘NHS Tayside is currently investigating the circumstances of an alleged data breach, which happened in a working clinical area where staff access patient information.
‘As a matter of governance, any data protection breach would be recorded and investigated by NHS Tayside and, where appropriate, reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
‘It would not be appropriate for us to comment further on individual staffing matters.’
If the data breach is proven, matters could be escalated to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
It is not the only example of medical staff allegedly accessing records with no proper reason – in June, it emerged that a probe was underway after 40 NHS employees were accused of accessing the records of a three-year-old boy allegedly thrown into a crocodile pit in Cambridgeshire.
And Southport attack survivor and teacher Leanne Lucas described being ‘devastated and horrified’ after it emerged 48 hospital workers inappropriately accessed the records of some of the victims.
Tributes have been laid at the scene on behalf of the public at the scene in Arbroath
Paul Arnold, ICO chief executive officer, said: ‘When people seek medical care, they share some of their most sensitive personal information and trust that it will be kept safe.
‘As we’ve seen in a number of recent cases, unauthorised access to those records is not just a breach of data protection law – it can be a betrayal of that trust, with real and lasting consequences for patients and their families.
‘Having the ability to view a record is not the same as having a legitimate need to do so. Every member of staff at health organisations across the UK has a personal responsibility to respect that boundary, and every patient has a right to expect that they will.
‘Staff who breach that trust face serious consequences: loss of employment, removal of professional accreditation and criminal prosecution.’
Minnie’s family had earlier paid tribute to her in a statement released through Police Scotland.
They said: ‘We are devastated with the loss of our beloved, absolutely incredible, beautiful and brave Minnie Moo.
‘Our family asks that our privacy is respected at this extremely difficult time.’
Her mother Laurie said in a heartbreaking social media post: ‘You have always and will continue being my strength, we are connected eternally, I have never felt a love so deep and a connection so strong.
‘My first true love, my twin, I am connected to you in life and in death. I will hold my head high knowing you will always be holding my hand for the rest of my life, I will see you again that I know for sure. I love you eternally.’
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