Access to Medical Records

Under the Data Protection Act 2018, you are entitled to request information from your clinical records, or any other personal data that we hold about you.

You also have the right to have it amended should it be inaccurate this is called:

• Right to erasure: In certain situations you have the right to request us to “erase”  your personal data. We will respond to your request within 30 days (although we  may be allowed to extend this period in certain cases) and will only disagree with      you if certain limited conditions apply.

The surgery operates an online access system where you can view (and print/save) your health records. In order to request access to this, you need to complete the application forms available online or by visiting the practice.

If you do not want to access this online you can request access to your information by writing to:

Middlewich Road Surgery

163 Middlewich Road

Northwich

Cheshire

CW9 7DB

• For information from the hospital you should write direct to them
• We are required to respond to you within 30 days
• You will need to give adequate information (for example full name, address,  date of birth, NHS number) and details of your request
• We will also ask you to provide additional information before we release information to you

You should however be aware that some details in your health records may not be able to be given to you. This will be in the interests of your wellbeing or to protect the identity of a third party.

Provision of Information to Third Parties

The practice may share your personal information with other NHS organisations where this is lawful and appropriate for your health care. In other circumstances we may approach you for specific consent to release personal information to a third party. Information will not normally be released to other family members without written patient consent.

In some circumstances there are statutory or ethical obligations (for example, in connection with public health) for information to be disclosed to one or more third parties without your consent, however you may be consulted about these in advance. All staff have access to some or all of your personal information and health record, but only to the extent required in relation to their roles, governed by employee contractual confidentiality agreements and by the legal requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018.

More information about accessing your records can be found at NHS Choices.