The Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998 gave every living person, or their authorised representative, the right to apply for access to their health records irrespective of when they were compiled. A health record is defined as a record consisting of information about the physical or mental health of an identifiable individual made by, or on behalf of a health professional in connection with the care of that individual.
The General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) became effective in May 2018. The GDPR forms part of the data protection regime in the UK, together with the new Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018), which makes the data protection laws fit for the digital age in which an ever increasing amount of data is being processed. The main provisions of this apply, like the GDPR, from 25 May 2018 and DPA 2018 replaced DPA 1998.
The records of the deceased are still governed by the Access to Health Records Act 1990 (AHRA 90) – see Section 4. Under the Act, when a patient has died, access to the records may be granted to the patient’s personal representative i.e. executor of the will and someone who has a claim resulting from the death.
The DPA 2018 also gives patients who now resides outside the UK the right to apply for access to their former UK health records
Under the DPA 2018, as a general rule, a person with parental responsibility who now resides outside the UK has to right to apply for access to their former UK health records
In order to obtain a copy of your health records from one or more of our services we need to have your written consent and proof of your identity or eligibility to receive the records.
You will need to download, complete and sign the form below and return it to us with the necessary ID documentation.
Please select the location you have visited to be directed to the correct information.
