Access to your medical records

The right of access, commonly referred to as Subject Access Request (SAR), gives individuals the right to obtain a copy of their personal data, as well as other supplementary information. All patients have a legal right to see their medical records and receive copies of information we hold about you. You do not have to explain why you want to see your medical records or access the information.

You can request a copy of your medical records in a number of ways:

1. Online via Anima - admin "SAR request" (link below)
2. Contact us by telephone on 01925 650226 (option 6)
3. Face to face in the medical centre
4. By a third party such as a friend, relative, solicitor, insurer, or other person acting on your behalf with your consent. 

No. You do not have to pay for a copy of your medical records, this is free of charge.

However, GP practices  can charge a ’reasonable fee’ for the administrative costs of complying with a request if it is the request is considered unfounded or excessive. 

An unfounded or excessive request may be considered in the following cases:

1. Patient has recently had a copy of their medical records
2. Patient is making repeated requests for copies of medical record
3. Medical records have recently been provided to a third party with patient consent

Under guidance from the Information Commissioners Office and the General Data Protection Regulation, organisations are required to respond to subject access requests within one month or 28 calendar days.

If you have made a number of requests or your request is complex, we may need extra time to consider your request and this can take up to an extra two months to respond. If we are required to extend the time period for you receiving your information, we will let you know within one month and provide you with a reason why.

• Electronically via secure SMS - providing the documents are not of a large quantity 
• Collection in person

Individuals can apply on behalf of patients to request copies of medical records or data that Guardian Medical Centre holds about them. Due to confidentiality procedures, there are strict verification processes that must be completed prior to the release of any information to another individual. 

To make a data subject access request on behalf of another individual, please contact our administration team using the contact details below. 

Please contact our Administration Team:

1. Online by completing an admin anima request - administration request
2. Contact us by telephone on 01925 650226 (option 7)

If the team are not available to speak with, someone will call you back to discuss this as soon as possible.