Under the Law and GDPR, we must have formal consent to discuss medical information about any patient.
Health and care records are confidential so you can only access someone else’s records if you’re authorised to do so.
To access someone else’s health records, you must:
- be acting on their behalf with their consent, or
- have legal authority to make decisions on their behalf (power of attorney for health and wellbeing), or
- have another legal basis for access
This applies to but not limited to husbands, wives, grandparents etc, friends, carers or next of kin. This also includes children once they reach the age of 13 as they are usually considered to have the capacity to give or refuse consent to parents requesting access to their health record. https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/nhs-services-and-treatments/can-i-access-someone-elses-medical-records-health-records/
We have forms available at reception, and if the person is not able to hand them in themselves, we will need signature proof to be able to identify them as well.
If you would like a form emailing to you, please contact us via our website: /navigator/ask-the-reception-a-question/