Third Party Access To Medical Information

The practice complies with the General Data Protection Regulations

All patient information is confidential and we are unable to discuss any aspect of a patient’s medical file with anybody other than the patient, without express consent, with the exception of someone holding a Power of Attorney, or the parent of somebody aged 15 or under.

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), or
• have another legal basis for access
• If a person does not have the mental capacity to manage their own affairs and you are their attorney, you will have the right to apply for access to their health and care records.

This would apply, for example, if you have a Lasting Power of Attorney with authority to manage their property and affairs.

How do I provide consent to allow access to medical information for a third-party

If you would like to provide consent for someone else to be able to discuss your medical records with practice staff, you must do the following:

1. Attend the GP practice with photographic ID and present to our front desk team
2. Request to complete the ‘Consent Form for Medical Info’ form – To ensure that we are complying with GDPR regulations, you will need to present photographic ID to the front desk team to ensure that we are able to ascertain your identity. To do this, we check photographic ID (i.e. passport or driving license). If the patient has no ID but is well known to the surgery, a member of staff may be able to confirm their identity. If the patient has no ID and is not well known to the surgery, the ability to answer questions about the information in their GP record may confirm that the record is theirs.

Verbal consent will not be a first choice and to evidence when the consent was given, our consent form should be completed in the practice and will be evidenced in your medical record. We have a duty to maintain the confidentiality of patient information and to satisfy ourselves that consent has been sought and obtained from the respective patient.

If you require further support in completing the consent form, our reception team will be able to assist you. We have a secure consultation room available at all times and you can speak with our staff confidentially. If you do not speak or read English, we have a telephone interpreting service available to us 24/7 and our team will be able to talk through and complete the form with you.