Access to personal information
You have a right under the Data Protection Act 1998 to request access to view or to obtain copies of what information the surgery holds about you and to have it amended should it be inaccurate. In order to request this, you need to do the following:
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- Your request should be made to the Practice Manager and can be made orally, in writing, or electronically, eg email. In order to locate your records we will ask you to complete a form that clearly identifies you and allows you to specify what you would like a copy of.
- You may also be asked for a form of photographic ID to confirm your identity.
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- Your right is to the data relating to you and you only, and not necessarily the record itself which can, where appropriate, be redacted if third parties are named.
- You can authorise someone else to make the application on your behalf and if you have parental responsibilities you may make an application to see your child’s notes.
- There is no charge for a printed copy of the information held about you. However, if the request is subsequent/repetitive for copies of the same information, the practice may need to charge an administrative fee. This may vary from request to request and will be based on the volume of administrative work required to copy the record for you.
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- Requests for access to medical records should be completed within one month of receipt of request. This can be extended by up to an additional 60 days, if the request is deemed complex, requires additional clarification or multiple requests have been made. North Harris Medical Practice will provide a clear explanation as to why this deadline might be extended in the event of a complex query.
- Maintaining the confidentiality and security of personal information is of utmost importance to North Harris Medical Practice. No copies of information will be sent using external mail unless this has been arranged in advance with the Practice Manager and in these circumstances Recorded Delivery will be used.
- Requests for information held by other health care providers should be made direct to the individual provider – eg Hospitals, Dentists, Opticians etc
