Access to health records

Access to Health Records 

Requesting records under the Data Protection Act (2018)

Under the Data Protection Act (2018), you have a legal right to apply for access to health information held about you.

A health record contains information about your health recorded by a health care professional as part of your care. It can contain notes, letters, results, x-rays etc. You do not have to give a reason to gain access to records about your care.

Requesting records under the Data Protection Act (2018) on behalf of someone else

Under the Data Protection Act (2018), you can apply to access someone else's health records if you are authorised to do so. You must have consent from the patient, have legal authority i.e. Power of Attorney or legal basis for access. Proof of authorisation must be submitted with the request.

Requesting records under the Access to Health Records Act 1990 for a deceased person

Under the terms of the Access to Health Records Act 1990, you will only be able to access a deceased persons health records if you are the personal representative, the Executor or someone who has a claim arising from the death. Proof must be submitted with the request.

If you are a member of staff you need to state whether the information requested is related to your status as a current or former employee/bank worker of the Trust and if so you need to apply for your information from the HR Department.

Applying for access:

To request your health records or on behalf of someone else, you are required to read the guidance booklet for Data Subject Access Request (living person) below and complete the application form for Data Subject Access Request (living person):

To request health records for a deceased person, you are required to read the guidance booklet Data Subject Access Requests (deceased person) and complete the application form for Data Subject Access Requests (deceased person) below:

All completed application forms should be returned to the Access to Health Department via email or post. Copies of the guidance booklet and application forms can also be requested by contacting the Access to Health team.