You have the legal right to see the information we hold about you under the Data Protection Act (2018).
If you are a patient and require a copy of your health records, please complete the Request access to your health records online application in full and send it, along with acceptable proof of identity (as listed on the form), to healthrecords.cnwl@nhs.net.
Staff, volunteers and job applicants should use the Accessing personnel records – guidance for staff form to obtain access to the information the Trust holds on you.
Also, if you are not a patient or Service User you will need to complete the Subject Access Request application to obtain the access.
On receipt of your completed request, and proof of identity, we will commence the process of dealing with your request. This process can take time, but we will normally respond to you within one calendar month from the date of the request. This can be extended by up to a further two months, taking into account the complexity and number of requests.
Before health records can be viewed or released there are a number of processes that we are legally obliged to follow under the Data Protection (Subject Access Modification) (Health) Order 2000.
Exemptions
CNWL may withhold some, or all, of your personal information because of an exemption in data protection law. Exemptions are meant to protect particular types of information, or how certain organisations work.
CNWL may also refuse to give you your information if it also includes personal information about someone else, except where:
•the other individual has agreed to the disclosure; or
•it is reasonable to give you this information without the other individual’s consent.
Alternatively, the Trust may attempt to remove (or edit out) the other individual’s information before sending your information to you. This is commonly known as ‘redaction’. This could mean you only receive partial information – such as copies of documents showing blanked-out text or missing sections.
Possible charges
Under GDPR legislation there are no fees for the first request. We usually provide this to you electronically, via secure email. Making paper copies costs the Trust in staff time, printing and postage, and we want to avoid costs where possible.
For further requests for the same information, a reasonable fee may be charged to cover CNWL administration costs.
A reasonable fee can also be charged where the request is deemed to be 'manifestly unfounded' or ‘excessive ' under the Access to Health Records Act 1990.
How do I complain about the contents of my records?
If you think that your current records contain inaccurate information, you should contact the health professional treating you and ask for it to be amended. You will need to complete and submit the form in the linked below:
Apply to have information amended or removed from your health record
If you request to have your records amended, and we are unable to make the amendment, we will attach a statement of your views to your records.
If you have a complaint about the way your data has been handled, you can:
If you still have any concerns about the way we have handled your data or are not happy with the Trust’s response to any data protection concern you have raised, you are entitled to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office as below.
The Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
0303 123 1113
More information
If you need more information or have any questions, please contact the Information Governance Team on email healthrecords.cnwl@nhs.net.
How to access non-medical records
Please complete this online form and email a copy of an acceptable proof of identity (described on the form).