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Accessing Your Medical Record Online
Most patients (aged 18 and over) will be able to automatically view their prospective/future medical records online from November 2023 (or their date of registration) onwards. This can be done using the NHS app you can use these services to:
- Order repeat prescriptions
- View your upcoming appointments/cancel appointments.
- View your medical record including test results, recent consultations, diagnoses, immunisations and documents.
- View your COVID-19 vaccination status
If you have trouble accessing your medical record, or if you lack access and want it, visit the Access to Online Records link below. Please see the eligibility criteria below before requesting. You can also use this link to request restricted access. For example, you can use it just to view appointments or request repeat prescriptions. Your query will be passed to our patient services admin team.
If you would like to opt out of viewing your medical record online or have any concerns then please contact us. You may wish to speak with us first to understand what it is that you will see, and the risks which may be involved in having such confidential data either on your smartphone or online. This may be a concern if other people have access to your devices. If you are in a difficult or pressured relationship for example, you may prefer your records to remain accessible only to those treating you.
It’s important to remember that these documents may contain information that could be upsetting, especially if they contain news of a serious condition. It can also be a cause for worry seeing results online when it isn’t clear what the results might mean.
Your GP may talk to you to discuss test results before you are able to see some of your information on the app.
Sometimes people with a mental health condition might prefer not to see documents that remind them of difficult times in their life. Letters from mental health teams sometimes go into detail about past events, and great care would be needed in deciding whether you would want to see these letters. It is possible for individual items to be hidden at your request and your GP would be happy to talk about any concerns you may have.
Great care is also needed in case private details might cause harm at home, should people in a difficult or pressured relationship be forced to show their medical record to an abusive partner. Anyone in such a position should make this clear to us at the practice, so we can take steps to keep you safe. This might mean removing access through the NHS app for the time being, or through a careful process where we hide sensitive things. We would talk this through with you.
Proxy access request for a child's online record
This practice is committed to providing patients with access to their health information and online services in a secure and appropriate manner. This policy outlines the principles and processes for granting parents or other legal guardians (hereafter referred to as 'parents') proxy access to the online medical records of children and young people aged under 16.
The policy is designed to respect the developing confidentiality rights of young people while acknowledging the role parents play in their healthcare. It is based on the principles of Gillick competency and Fraser guidelines, and complies with UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, and guidance from NHS England and the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP).
Guiding Principles
- Birth up to 11th Birthday: It is presumed that a person with documented parental responsibility will have full proxy access to their child's online services, including the medical record. This access will be automatically restricted on the child's 11th birthday.
- 11th to 16th Birthday: This is a transitional period. Proxy access is not granted by default. Any request for new or continued access will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, considering the competency of the young person and their best interests.
- Gillick Competency: The central consideration is whether the young person is 'Gillick competent' – that is, they have sufficient understanding and intelligence to enable them to understand fully what is proposed. A Gillick-competent young person has the legal right to consent to or refuse proxy access to their medical record.
- Safeguarding: The safety and well-being of the young person is paramount. The practice will refuse or withdraw proxy access if it is believed that granting it could place the young person at risk of physical or emotional harm, or if it could inhibit them from seeking confidential medical advice.
- 16th Birthday: On a young person's 16th birthday, they are legally presumed to be competent. All remaining parental proxy access will be automatically switched off. The young person can then register for their own access or formally consent to a proxy of their choice.
The Process for Assessing Proxy Access Requests (Aged 11-15)
Step 1: Application
A parent wishing to have proxy access for a child in this age group must complete the practice's "Proxy Access Request Form for a Young Person". The form requires verification of parental responsibility (e.g., birth certificate, court order).
Step 2: Initial Assessment
The application will be reviewed by a GP, usually the practice Safeguarding Lead or the young person's Usual GP. The initial assessment considers:
- The reason for the request (e.g., managing repeat prescriptions for a long-term condition).
- Any known safeguarding concerns or risks.
Step 3: Competency Assessment
A clinician (GP or appropriately trained Practice Nurse) must arrange to speak with the young person, without the parent present, to assess their capacity to consent. This conversation will be conducted in a sensitive and age-appropriate manner and will cover:
- What online access means and what information a proxy would see.
- The young person's own views on their parent having access.
- Whether they understand they can say no,or change their mind later.
- Whether they feel pressured or coerced into agreeing.
This assessment and its outcome must be clearly documented in the young person's medical record using the EMIS document called “Parental proxy access competency assessment”. This should be printed out and completed with the young person present, then scanned into the record.
Step 4: Decision Making
- If the young person is deemed Gillick-competent and consents: The practice may grant limited proxy access. Typically, this will be restricted to ordering repeat prescriptions and booking appointments. Access to the full medical record will not usually be granted unless there is a compelling clinical reason and the young person explicitly consents to this level of access.
- If the young person is deemed Gillick-competent and refuses consent: The request for proxy access will be denied. The practice will support the young person's decision. The refusal and the competency assessment will be documented.
- If the young person is not deemed Gillick-competent: The GP must make a decision in the young person's 'best interests'. This involves weighing the benefits of parental access (e.g., improved management of a complex condition) against the risks (e.g., loss of confidentiality). Access, if granted, should be at the minimum level necessary.
Step 5: Review
Any proxy access granted for a young person in this age group must be reviewed annually, or sooner if circumstances change. The review will involve re-assessing the young person's competency and wishes.
Paper health records or access to full historic records
Sometimes you might wish to have access to your historic notes, and there are several ways to do this. It usually takes some time to provide these as the practice must read through the notes to ensure that any third party or harmful data is not released. This process can be quite laborious for the practice and reduces the amount of clinical time GPs have to see and treat other patients. For this reason we ask wherever possible that you consider requesting specific information (e.g. related to certain dates or condition) rather than your entire past medical records.
To access specific information please contact the practice. For patients wanting access to their full historic digital medical record (from approximately the year 2000) please complete the form below. Your request will be forwarded to our patient services admin team.
Subject Access Requests (SAR)
A request by a patient, or a request by a third party who has been authorised by the patient, for access under the GDPR (and DPA 2018) is called a Subject Access Request (SAR). If you want to see your health records, or wish a copy, please complete a Practice Subject Access Request Form which you can complete online or please contact the Practice and we will provide you with our paper format. Contact will, subsequently, be made by the Practice to arrange a time for you to come in and collect or read them. You don’t have to give a reason for wanting to see your records and there is no charge for this service. You willl however be required to produce proof of identity before being allowed to read them.