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Your Records
are Safe with us
Your medical records are used to help the National Health
Service (NHS) to provide you with the best possible care.
1.
How your records are used to help you
As you may know, your
doctor and the team of health professionals caring for you keep
records about your health and the care you receive from the NHS.
These are important to help ensure that you received the best
possible care from us. Your records are used in the following ways
to guide and administer the care you receive:
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To ensure that your
doctor or nurse has up to date and accurate information to assess
your health and decide what care you need when you visit in the
future
- To ensure that full information is
available should you see another doctor, or be referred to a
specialist or another part of the NHS.
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To ensure that there is
a good basis for looking back and checking on the type and quality
of care you have received.
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To ensure that your
concerns can be properly investigated if you need to
complain.
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You records also help
to plan NHS services for the future and ensure that there is a
good basis for checking that NHS money has been well spent and
that staff are paid for the work they have done.
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If you do not want
certain information recorded on your records, please talk to your
doctor
2. Keeping your records
confidential
Your doctors, their staff and everyone else
working for the NHS have a legal duty to maintain the highest level
of confidentiality about patient information.
In some instances
you may be receiving care from other people as well as the NHS. We
may need to share some information about you with them so that we
can all work together for your benefit. Anyone who receives
confidential information about you from us is also under a legal
duty of confidence.
Unless there are exceptional circumstances,
for example when the health or safety of others is at risk, we will
not disclose your information to third parties without your
permission.
In certain circumstances we are required by law to
report information to the appropriate authorities. This information
is only provided after formal authority has been given by a
qualified health professional. For example: |
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However, our guiding
principle is that we are holding your records in strict
confidence.
3. How you can arrange to see your own
records
Everyone should be able to see the information that
is kept in his or her medical records. If you want to see them, you
should make a written request to the person who holds your records.
This person (eg GP/Practice Manager) will let you see the
information and also to explain any part of the record which you do
not understand.
You are also entitled to receive a copy of the
information you have seen. There will be an administration charge
for the time and administration involved. Should your doctor decide
that seeing your records might put your health at risk, you may only
be shown part of your records or your request may be
declined.
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