Hopefully this section will go some way to answering some of the questions we get relating to your medical rights and the NHS. We hope to provide enough information to answer your questions, further information may be available by searching the internet.
If you have any questions or concerns relating to the topics discussed here or have a question not covered here please don't hesitate to contact us and we will do our best to find the answer to your question or you can check with your local Citizens Advice Bureau or NHS direct.
Can my family see my medical records?
Information about your medical history should be kept confidential, and
should not be released to people who are not involved in your medical
care without your consent, that includes both family, employers and insurance
companies.
Parents can ask to see their children's records but permission can be
refused if the information in the record was given in the expectation
that it would not be disclosed to them. The holder of the record must
also be satisfied that the young person gave permission for their parents
to see their records.
The only way that your records can be taken out of your control is if a court decides you are no longer able to manage your own affairs and appoint a representative to manage your affairs.
After you have died, your personal representative will also have access to them.
Can I see my own medical records?
Everyone has the right to access personal data held about themselves in either computerized or manual form, whenever the record was made. This includes NHS medical records and private records made by doctors and other health professionals.
How to see your medical records:
First ask the person holding your records if you can see what has been
written. If your request is denied you have a legal right to ask again
in writing.
The record holder may ask you to fill in a form or apply in writing. Remember Health and Social Services may hold a number of records about you and you may need to make several applications to different organisations. If you need help to apply contact your local Health and Social Services Council. When you have filled in the form, send it to the person holding your records.
Sometimes your records will not be available immediately and it could take up to 40 days, there may also be a fee involved for seeing them. You can find out the exact amount by ringing your surgery, hospital or health authority.
The person holding the records must explain any part of the record which you cannot understand.
If you think any record is not accurate, you can ask the person holding the records to correct them. The person holding the records must either make the change or note your disagreement in the records. Whether or not the record is corrected, the person holding the records must give you a copy of the correction or the note free of charge.
Rights to see a GP
People who are ordinarily resident in the UK, including people from other EEA countries and abroad, have the right to be registered with a GP.
You can choose which GP you want to be registered with. However, the GP does not have to accept you and, if the GP decides not to do so, they do not have to give you a reason.
Choosing and registering with a GP
You can obtain a list of local GPs from the Primary Care Trust or local health board. In England and Wales you can also find details of GPs from NHS Direct and NHS Direct online. The list will contain the following information about each GP:-
Surgery
address and telephone number.
Gender
of the GP.
Languages
spoken by the GP.
Whether
the GP does minor surgery.
Whether
the GP offers contraceptive and/or maternity services.
What
the GP’s deputising arrangements are and whether a commercial deputising
service is used.
The list may also contain information on whether any alternative therapies
are available within the practice. It may also give details of surgery
hours, whether there is an appointment system and whether there are any
special clinics run at the surgery.
Registering
You should take your medical card (if you have one) to the GP’s
surgery in order to register with the GP of your choice. You will need
to fill in part A of the card and hand it to the GP or practice staff.
A GP may wish to see you before agreeing to register you. The GP will
forward the medical card to the local health authority, who will send
you a new medical card.
Children under 16 should be registered by their parent(s), but you do not have to register with the same GP as the rest of your family.
If you are staying somewhere in the UK for less than three months, you can ask to be registered with a GP on a temporary basis. You can also register temporarily if you move around the country and have no permanent address.
Treatment from a GP
A GP must provide any treatment which is immediately necessary in an emergency, even if you are not registered with them.
Medication
A GP must supply any drugs needed for immediate treatment in an emergency. There is no prescription charge for these.
As the patient you do NOT have to take any medication subscribed to you if you feel an alternative treatment may be more suited to you.
See also right to refuse treatment.
Second Opinions
You do have the right to see a GP competent to deal with your particular case. If a GP refers you for a second opinion, you cannot insist on seeing a particular practitioner. However, you should not be referred to someone you do not wish to see.
If the GP refuses to arrange a second opinion, you may wish to change your GP (See Changing a GP).
If a GP is unsure about a diagnosis, they could be found negligent if they failed to refer you to a specialist and you suffered as a result of this. If you have not been referred for a second opinion and have suffered as a consequence, you may wish to complain.
For information about complaints, see Making a complaint in NHS complaints.
Changing a GP
You do not need the consent of your GP to change GPs. When you have found another GP willing to accept you, you should take your medical card to the new GP to be registered (See registering with a GP). You can then make an appointment to see the new GP immediately.
If you wish to change your GP, but cannot find a new GP who will accept you, you should contact the Primary Care Trust, who should find you an alternative.
Right to refuse treatment
If there are a number of alternative treatments which can be used to treat your condition, you should be given information on these.
However, you cannot insist on a particular treatment if the doctor or consultant thinks this is not appropriate.
Forcing treatment on you against your will is assault. If you are assaulted, you should contact your Primary Care Trust, NHS Trust or Patient Advisory Liaison Service (PALS) to make a complaint. You may also wish to involve the police.
For more details on complaining, see Making a complaint.
Refusing treatment for your child:
If you or the guardian of a child refuse to give consent for treatment
which a doctor thinks is necessary, the doctor is still obliged to treat
the child. The action the doctor takes will depend on how urgently the
treatment is needed.
When a child’s life is in danger, the doctor has the right to do whatever is needed to save the child’s life. If you or a guardian either fail to provide medical help for a child, or unreasonably refuse to allow treatment, you can be prosecuted for neglect.
Making a complaint
There are NHS complaints procedures for all parts of the UK. This information covers the procedures for England, Scotland and Northern Ireland but refers to the NHS organisations in England. NHS organisations in Scotland and Northern Ireland have different names. In Scotland, NHS Trusts and Primary Care Trusts are known as Health Boards. The equivalent of the Department of Health is the Health Department and the work of the Independent Complaints Advisory Services is carried out by Local Health Councils. In Northern Ireland, the NHS is called Health and Personal Social Services (HPSS). The work of the Primary Care Trust or NHS Trust is done by Health and Social Services Boards and the Central Services Agency. The Department of Health is the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and functions of The Independent Complaints Advocacy Services (ICAS) are carried out by health and social services councils.
Time limits for making a complaint
You should make your complaint as soon as possible after the problem
incident. The time limit for complaints is usually six months from
the date of this incident. However, if a hospital or practice is
unaware of the complaint, the six months limit starts from the time
they first know about it. In England and Scotland, this start date
must be within twelve months of the date of the incident.
There is discretion to waive the time limit where it would be unreasonable to expect you to have complained in time, for example because of grief or trauma. It must, however, still be possible to investigate the complaint.
Back
to Top ^ | Homepage
| E-mail this page to a friend
OCD-UK is a non-profit making charity and not associated with any other
organasation.
Medical information is provided for education/information purposes only, you should obtain further advice from your doctor. Any links to external websites have been carefully selected, however we are not responsible for the content of these third party websites.
Copyright © 2004-2008 OCD-UK. All rights reserved.
WC3 XHTML 1.0 Validated | WC3
CSS Validated | Sitemap
| Accessibility
