Murder victim's medical records wrongfully accessed

The parents of a murdered woman have said they are devastated after her digital medical records were accessed by staff without authorisation.

Michaela Hall, 49, from Mount Hawke, in north Cornwall, was killed in 2021 by her partner Lee Kendall who was later jailed for a minimum of 21 years.

Her parents said they were informed by Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust (RCHT) her records were accessed on multiple occasions over several years with one person accessing them seven times including on what would have been her birthday.

The trust apologised and said an investigation was under way and appropriate action would be taken.

Michaela's father, Peter Hall, said he wanted answers from the trust and the matter referred to police.

Referring to the person who accessed her records seven times, he said: "What's disturbing is that person accessed her record twice on what would have been Michaela's birthday.

"We would like to find out what they were looking for, what they found and what they have done with that information."

Anne Hall, her mother, added: "I cannot understand why somebody would want to do this to my daughter and to us. It's caused a terrible upset to all of us.

"Michaela is dead, she's defenceless, she can't stand up for herself so it's down to Peter and I to do it for her."

The trust said there was no evidence to indicate access to Michaela's patient records was for a criminal purpose and it did not meet the criteria for referral to police.

Peter described those who accessed Michaela's records as "callous" and called for "stronger safeguards" to be put in place.

The Halls are also taking civil legal action against Devon and Cornwall Police and the probation service over Michaela's death in the belief more should have been done to protect her.

Alison Thorne-Henderson, the trust's chief people officer, said they had written to the Halls to inform them Michaela's records had been accessed inappropriately following a routine audit.

"We are sincerely sorry this has happened," she said. "A full investigation is under way, and our disciplinary process will be followed, with appropriate action taken.

"We are also reviewing our policy to ensure it is fully aligned with the new guidance from NHS England and have written to all staff to remind them of their responsibility to treat our patient's information with the care and respect it deserves.

"We are absolutely clear that unauthorised access of records is unacceptable. For our staff this means it may lead to dismissal."

On Saturday, 10 NHS staff at another trust were removed from duty or suspended following a data breach involving the digital medical records of three-year-old Noah Woods, who was found dead after he went missing in the village of Brantham, Suffolk, earlier this month.

NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey subsequently ordered every trust to take stronger measures against such data breaches.

"Anyone who thinks they can satisfy their curiosity by looking at a patient's record should know this: they will be found out, they may lose their career and could end up with a criminal record," he said.

The RCHT said it was seeking further advice in light of the NHS England guidance, including in relation to former members of staff.

Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk.