The Department of Health (England) needs the consent of families to release information of deceased relatives.
- if you are aware of any wishes (written or verbal) of the deceased individual relating to their information being shared - if there is anything in the record which would either cause distress to the family or benefit them to know - if there is any third party information in the record; for example, information about other family members - if there is anything in the record which if disclosed might cause harm to another person - to explain any clinical abbreviations or terminology in the record, to help the person who has asked for a copy of the record understand it [...] Where confidential information about a deceased person is required for a purpose beyond individual care, such as research, service evaluation or national clinical audit, the requester should obtain approval from the Health Research Authority, under section 251 of the NHS Act 2006. [...] You will also need to consider the likelihood of information sharing being of benefit to the family of the deceased; for example, sharing certain information could reduce the emotional or mental harm experienced by grieving relatives. For example, where a person died of COVID-19 and their relatives were unable to visit them because of the infection control measures in place; or where a parent asks for information about the circumstances and causes of their child's death.