Block on data sharing contributed to death

A failure to share medical information between IT systems contributed to the death of a man in prison custody, a coroner has concluded.

In a newly published report on the death of Finlay Finlayson at HMP Lewes in 2019, the coroner highlighted “information sharing” problems and “permissions issues” between the prison IT system and that of the man’s GP surgery. 

Mr Finlayson died from blood clots in his lungs, having suffered from multiple long-term health conditions including cancer during his life. At the time of his death in 2019, health services at HMP Lewes were provided by Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust, though they are now provided by the Practice Plus Group.

According to the Prevention of Future Deaths report issued last month, coroner Laura Bradford heard evidence that Mr Finlayson’s care was affected by “confusion and uncertainty about his medical conditions caused by information sharing and permissions issues with SystmOne”.

It appears the GP practice had not enabled sharing of the data, which would have been required for it to be accessed in the prison.

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Source: HSJ, 22 April 2024

Further reading on the hub:

• NHS England warns electronic patient record could pose ‘serious risks to patient safety’: what can we learn?
• The digitalising of patient records — why patients MUST be involved