How do I access my health records? Under the Data Protection Act 2018, you have a legal right to access your health records. If you want to see your health records, you should contact Anita Summerfield, in the first instance to arrange a date and time to come in and read them. You do not have to give a reason for wanting to see your records. |
Hospital Records As well as having a copy of your health records, the surgery will also have a summary of any hospital tests, or treatment, that you have had. Any hospitals where you have had treatment, or tests, will also hold records. To see your hospital health records, you will have to contact the Hospital Trust where you were seen / received treatment. |
Charges Under the Data Protection Act 2018 (Fees and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2001 there is no cost for providing a copy of the medical records under a subject access request (SAR). If the request is for a medical report to be created, or for interpretation of information within a medical report/record, this will fall under the Access to Medical Report Act (AMRA) - as these both require new data to be created, which is out with the scope of the GDPR and Subject Access Requests. In these cases, a fee can be charged. |
Power of AttorneyYour health records are confidential, and members of your family are not allowed to see them, unless you give them written permission, or they have ‘Power of Attorney’. A lasting ‘Power of Attorney’ is a legal document that allows you to appoint someone to make decisions for you, should you become incapable of making decisions yourself. The person you appoint is known as your Attorney. An Attorney can make decisions about your finances, property, and welfare. It is very important that you trust the person you appoint as Attorney, so that they do not abuse their responsibility. A legal ‘Power of Attorney’ must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian before it can be used. |
Some things which must be kept private
The NHS is dedicated to protecting your information
In order to provide you with the best possible healthcare, we need to maintain proper records of your health and make sure that this is available to your medical team, wherever and whenever possible.
All of our staff are trained in their responsibilities to protect your data and are under legal obligations not to disclose this information to unauthorised bodies or people.
Your medical records are vital
We use your records to help us to give you proper healthcare and advice. We also need records to manage and plan the NHS itself in order to provide proper accounting for the public money we spend and to have the right resources in the right place.
We also use medical records in research to help find cures and treatments for illnesses. This helps us and other research bodies better understand diseases and determine which treatments work best under certain circumstances.
When we use this information we make sure that, wherever possible, we do not use personal details such as your name and address, in order to protect your confidentiality.
When releasing information to researchers, we give them only the minimum data necessary, and all their research is carefully vetted
If you have any queries around Data Protection please contact:
Anita Summerfield (Practice manager),
Rooley Lane Medical Centre
01274 223118