Access to your medical records

The Access to Health Records Act 1990 gave the individual the right of access, subject to certain exceptions, to health information recorded about themselves.

In May 2018, The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR 2016/679 ) superseded
The Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998. Under GDPR, patients have the right to apply for access to their medical records. This is known as a Data Subject Access Request.

Following the decision for the UK to leave the European Union on 1.1.21. until further notice all references to GDPR will now be referred to as UK GDPR.

The practice has a duty to maintain the confidentiality of patient information and to satisfy itself that the applicant is entitled to have access before releasing the information. Therefore, you will be asked to provide proof of your identity and that of your representative if they are applying on your behalf.

If you wish to apply for access to patient information held by the practice, you need to apply, preferably in writing, to the Management Team stating:

• Your name
• Address
• Contact details
• Status, eg you are the Data Subject or a parent/carer of the Data Subject

You will be provided with an Information Leaflet.

The practice can provide patients with a full or partial copy of their medical records, if requested, but with certain exceptions.

Following application, the practice will contact you to discuss your entitlement, any written authorisation that may be required and make arrangements as necessary for your request to be processed.

Data protection

Under UK GDPR, we ask you to be aware that we cannot disclose information to other people, including relatives and solicitors, etc without your permission.

Data protection privacy notice

This notice lets you know what happens to any personal data that you give us, or any that we may collect about you. Please refer to the Notice for full details.

NHS App

From 1st November 2022, patients will be able to access their prospective medical records via the NHS App. More information is available on the leaflet here.