Health records consist of information relating to the physical
or mental health of a person who can be identified from that
information. Please click on the below bookmarks for more
information:
For further information please complete the contact
us form or contact the Clinical Negligence
team in Southampton on 023 8085 7271,
London on 020 7814 6902 or
Oxford on 01865 248607 or email
clinicalnegligenceinfo@bllaw.co.uk
patients
Patients have a right of access to health information about
themselves. The Data Protection Act 1998 governs an individual's
right to access their health records whilst they are still alive.
The Act gives every living person, or their authorised
representative, the right to apply for access to their health
records and to obtain copies.
what can I request?
Under the Act, patients have the right to:
- receive copies of their records and
- have entries in their records corrected
Access must be given to all records, regardless of when they
were made. This applies both to manual and computerised
records.
who do I request the records from?
Requests for access should be made in writing to the person in
charge of keeping the records. This will usually be the health
professional responsible for the patient's care who compiled them.
In hospital trusts, it will be the member of staff responsible for
supervising medical records.
how quickly can I obtain my records?
Access to records must be given promptly, within a maximum of 40
days of receipt of the written request and payment of the
appropriate fee.
how much will it cost to obtain my records?
For paper records the maximum fee is £50. This includes the cost
of copying and a £10 administration charge. The fee for obtaining
records held only on computer is £10. Access is free where records
were created within 40 days of the request for access.
can anyone else request access to my records?
No, because access is restricted to:
- a person authorised in writing to make the application on the
patient's behalf
- where the record is held in England and Wales and the patient
is a child, a person having parental responsibility for the
patient
- where the patient is incapable of managing his or her own
affairs, any person appointed by a court to manage those
affairs
can access to my records be limited?
It is possible for access to an individual’s health record
request to be limited or denied for two reasons:
- where the information released may cause serious harm to the
physical or mental health or condition of the patient, or any other
person, or
- where access would disclose information relating to, or
provided by, a third person who had not consented to that
disclosure.
what if I no longer live in the UK?
If you no longer live in the UK but received treatment during
your stay in the UK, you have the same rights of access to your UK
health records.
For further information please complete the contact
us form or contact the Clinical Negligence
team in Southampton on 023 8085 7271,
London on 020 7814 6902 or
Oxford on 01865 248607 or email
clinicalnegligenceinfo@bllaw.co.uk.
deceased persons
The Access to Health Records Act 1990 governs who can gain
access to the health records of those who are now deceased. Access
applies to records that were created since 1 November 1991.
However, it can be limited if:
- the deceased person has indicated that they did not wish their
records to be disclosed
- the records contain information that the deceased person
expected to remain confidential
- disclosure would cause serious harm to the physical or mental
health of any other person, or would identify a third person
what records can I request?
Under the Access to Health Records Act 1990, an individual has
the right to:
- receive copies of the records, and
- have entries in the deceased's records corrected
Access must be given to all records that came into existence
since 1 November 1991, regardless of when they were made, and
applies to both manual and computerised records.
who can request records?
Access may be requested by a personal representative or a
person, such as a beneficiary, who may have a claim arising out of
the death.
who do I request the records from?
Requests for access should be made in writing to the person in
charge of keeping the records. This will usually be the health
professional responsible for the patient's care who compiled the
records. For GP records it will be the Records Manager at the
relevant Primary Care Trust. In hospital trusts it will be the
member of staff responsible for supervising medical records.
how quickly can I obtain the deceased’s records?
Access to records must be given promptly, within a maximum of 40
days of receipt of the written request and payment of the
appropriate fee. If the records have not been added to within 40
days preceding the receipt of the written request, the records must
be provided within 21 days.
how much does it cost to obtain the deceased’s records?
Where the health records of the deceased have not been added to
in the 40 days preceding the request, an administrative fee of £10
may be charged, plus an additional fee for copying and posting the
records. Although there is no limit on the charge, the Department
of Health's guidance is that it should not result in the record
holder making a profit, and they should be able to justify such a
charge. No charge is payable for inspection of manual records at
least some of which were created after the beginning of the period
of 40 days preceding the request for access.
