Your doctor may be asked by another organisation e.g insurance company or employers to write a report on you regarding your medical history and your current state of health. The provision of medical reports is governed by the Access to Medical Reports Act 1988.
- A report will only be provided with your written consent.
- You have the right to see the report before it is sent to a third party.
- If you review the report before it is sent you can ask the doctor who wrote it to correct any information you feel is incorrect or misleading. If the doctor is unwilling to amend the report, a note detailing your remarks can be attached.
- If you wish to view the report before it is sent you must do so within 21 days of being told that it is ready. After 21 days the report will be sent anyway (provided you gave consent to the preparation of the report for the third party).
- The doctor must maintain a copy of the report for a minimum of 6 months. During this period you can see the report by arrangement with the Practice. A copy of the report can be provided for a fee to cover the copying costs.
- If you ask to see the report a doctor can decline to reveal elements of it if they feel disclosure would be likely to cause serious harm to your physical or mental health or to others.
To view the original wording of the Act, we have provided a link to the relevant pages below
Access to Medical Reports Act 1988
Accessing your own Medical Records
The Data Protection Act 1998 gives you the right to look at or receive a copy of your health records (digital or written).
If you would like to access your medical records please discuss this with your usual doctor. The doctor may be able to tell you the information you require without you having to request a copy of your notes.
If you do want a copy of your notes please make a request to the Practice Manager.
Please click here for our request form.
Requests should provide enough information to identify yourself and the period of time or specific treatment you want records for.
We comply fully with the Access to Medical Records legislation and your information will be provided within 1 calendar month after the request has been received.
Under the law there may be some rare circumstances when the information you have requested cannot be provided to you.
If your enquiry is with regard to your hospital records you will need to discuss this with the Access to Medical Records officer at the hospital.
