Confidentiality guidance: Disclosure after a patient's death

1. 70. Your duty of confidentiality continues after a patient has died.³⁰ Whether and what personal information may be disclosed after a patient’s death will depend on the circumstances. If the patient had asked for information to remain confidential, you should usually respect their wishes. If you are unaware of any instructions from the patient, when you are considering requests for information you should take into account:
   1. (a) whether the disclosure of information is likely to cause distress to, or be of benefit to, the patient’s partner or family³¹
   2. (b) whether the disclosure will also disclose information about the patient’s family or anyone else
   3. (c) whether the information is already public knowledge or can be anonymised or coded, and
   4. (d) the purpose of the disclosure.

1. 71. There are circumstances in which you should disclose relevant information about a patient who has died, for example:
   1. (a) to help a coroner, procurator fiscal or other similar officer with an inquest or fatal accident inquiry³²
      (b) when disclosure is required by law, is authorised under section 251 of the NHS Act 2006, or is justified in the public interest, such as for education or research
      (c) for National Confidential Inquiries or for local clinical audit
      (d) on death certificates, which you must complete honestly and fully
      (e) for public health surveillance, in which case the information should be anonymised or coded, unless that would defeat the purpose
      (f) when a parent asks for information about the circumstances and causes of a child’s death
      (g) when a partner, close relative or friend asks for information about the circumstances of an adult’s death, and you have no reason to believe that the patient would have objected to such a disclosure, and
      (h) when a person has a right of access to records under the Access to Health Records Act 1990 or Access to Health Records (Northern Ireland) Order 1993.³³

1. 72. Archived records relating to deceased patients remain subject to a duty of confidentiality, although the potential for disclosing information about, or causing distress to, surviving relatives or damaging the public’s trust will diminish over time.³⁴