well, yes yes and yes
If that patient's death is being investigated there is very little that is confidential. The first person to intervene is the coroner and he takes and gets everything - notes X rays and so on.
If it is a hospital case, then the police will apply to the data controller and they will probably co-operate. Clearly if it another patient, then they should say no.
If it is a GP, then again there should be a data controller, however the principal would ring up his insurance union whom I would be sure would tell him to co operate if the patient were dead and its their own notes.
I dont think confidentiality was raised at any point during Shipman
No confidentiality does NOT expire when the patient dies - the person who is the dead patient on earth and has every right the dead fella had including to peruse 'his own' notes is the executor named in the will. Following Diana's death, doctors were reminded that facts in the public domain may still be confidential ( what hey say that again ! ) becasue the doctors knew what the terms meant
I think I saw this prog - it didnt strike me as too outrageous to be honest. The coroner can do just about anything with or without the relatives permission to investigate the cause of someone'd death.
With Schumacher - the Frenchie doctors were pretty hot on comment, and then I think they relatives told them to shut up. I did wonder who had given them permission to go into detail and it seems not one had.