Access to Medical records - Police & other requestors
I would like to access a medical record for someone who is deceased, how do I find out what their last registered GP practice was?
PCSE are happy to help provide you with this information. Please email informationservices@nhs.net with your request.
Following the recent changes for requesting deceased medical records, who should we now contact to request access to the medical record?
PCSE will process this request for you, click here.
Please note however, PCSE do not have access to the patient’s digital record and can only provide copies of a Health Record which we hold in storage.
There may be instances where parts of a person’s medical record may be held with Hospital, Community or Mental Health trusts, as well as any previous primary care practice(s). PCSE cannot provide access to these records, and you may wish to make a separate application to the relevant Health Organisation
The GP Practice has refused to redact the medical records, what should I do?
GPs are legally obliged to follow the Access to Health Records Act 1990, as the GP is the record holder as per s3(2) of the Act. If a practice refused to process the request, the requestor should complain to the GP practice and/or raise the issue with NHS England, please see NHS England » Complaining to NHS England.
What if the practice where the patient was last registered has merged with another practice?
If there has been a practice merger since the patient has died, please contact the practice that it has been merged with.
I've received the decision on disclosure and I wish to appeal the decision.
To appeal a decision on disclosure please email pcse.accessrequests@nhs.net
Please ensure to include a statement as to why you wish to appeal the decision.
If your appeal is accepted, it will be passed to the NHS England Redaction team to review the initial decision.
How long does it take to process a request for medical records?
If you or the person whose records you are requesting on behalf of are unregistered, PCSE will process the access application within 28 days.
In certain circumstances, this may not be possible (for example, where the record cannot be traced, or is held by a third party storage provider outside of the control of PCSE.)
If you are requesting records for a deceased person, GP practices are required to respond to Access to Health Records Act (AHRA) requests, however PCSE will process the Access to Health Records request if the last registered GP Practice has now closed.
In these circumstances, if the request for a medical record is under the Access to Health Records Act 1990, PCSE will process the access application within 40 days. In certain circumstances, this may not be possible (for example, where the record cannot be traced, or is held by a third party storage provider outside of the control of PCSE.)
PCSE will update the applicant on likely timescales.