Subject Access Request (SAR)
Under the Data Protection Act 2018, you have the ‘Right of access’ which is commonly known as a Subject Access Request (SAR). This gives you the right to request a copy of the data we hold about you; this means that you are entitled to see your medical records. We are required by law to respond to your request within 1 calendar month.
You can make a Subject Access Request electronically, verbally or by using our form; whilst we accept all requests, we would prefer the request to be made in writing, to ensure that we are providing you with the information you want.
You can request a summary of your information, specific dates or conditions or your full medical record.
You do not need to provide us with a reason for requesting your data.
When making the request we will ask to see 1 form of photo ID as we need to verify the identity of the patient.
SARs are currently being managed by an NHS approved partner called iGPR.
Subject Access Request Leaflet
Common Abbreviations to Help You Understand Your Medical Records
Access to Medical Records of Deceased Patients
Access to the medical records of a deceased patient is granted under The Access to Health Records Act 1990. The Act only allows you access to medical records created after 1st November 1991, there is no right to access information before this date.
After death, patients continue to have the right to confidentiality, and we must be satisfied that you have a right to access their medical records.
Access can only be granted in the following circumstances:
- You are the patient’s personal representative with a role set out in law, for example if you hold a Grant of Probate, Letter of Administration or if you are named as an executor in the deceased’s will.
- We have been ordered by the Court.
Please note that evidence of the above must be supplied along with proof of identity (1 x photo ID and 1 x proof of address).
If you are not the personal representative, but you have a claim arising out of the death you may have the right to see the health records of the deceased where they are relevant to your claim. These requests will be decided on a case-by-case basis.