Under the data protection legislation, you have the right of access to your own records. With some exceptions, this entitles individuals to a copy of information held about them.
You may authorise a third party to seek access on your behalf (e.g. a solicitor), but we will need your written consent.
Where a service user is incapable of managing his or her own affairs, a person appointed by the court to manager those affairs may seek access.
Access may be limited or denied if:
- Disclosing information may cause serious harm to you
- Giving access would disclose information relating to, or provided by a, third person who had not consented to disclosure
Generally, a child aged 13 or over will be considered competent to request their own records. If the child is deemed not to have capacity to consent, under the Children Act 1989, authority must be given by an individual who has parental responsibility.
If you require a copy of your records, you can download and complete a request form. This can be sent to us in the following ways:
Post:
Subject Access Team
Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust HQ
225 Old Street
Ashton-under-Lyne
OL6 7SR
Email: pcn-tr.sar@nhs.net
You can also make a request by phone on 0161 716 3149/3959, or speak to the healthcare professional involved in your care.
You may be required to provide recent documentary evidence to confirm your identity.
You are entitled to receive some, or all, of your information within one calendar month and generally this would be free of charge.
Where we consider we are unable to provide the information, either within one calendar month, or free of charge, we will contact you to discuss.
A copy of the Trust’s Access to Health Records Policy will be available soon.
The Information Commissioner’s Office has produced some guidance to support the process of making an application for subject access. Click here to visit the ICO website.
Under the data protection legislation, you are not entitled to request copies of records relating to deceased individuals. However, you may be able to make an application under the Access to Health Records Act 1990.
Any person with a claim arising from the death of a patient has a right of access to information directly relevant to the claim.
A request under deceased records should also be made using the above contacts.
Further information is available in the Access to Health Records Policy, which will be available soon.
As well as a right of access under the data protection laws, you also have the right to have incorrect information corrected or erased.
Once in receipt of your records, if you would like to request that we amend the content of your records, you can request a change by completing and submitting the attached request form.
In relation to correcting or amending records, although we will always respect your rights, there may be times we are unable to respect your wishes (for example igf it would require us to act unlawfully).
Once in receipt of your request, if the health professional agrees that the information is inaccurate or incomplete, the information will be corrected and you will be provided with confirmation that this has happened.
As far as is reasonable, we will inform any third parties who have been given the inaccurate information.
If the health professional does not agree that the information is inaccurate, they will make a note on the record of the point you have brought to their attention and you will be informed of the decision.
We would always encourage you to speak to the Subject Access Team first, to see if a satisfactory resolution can be made.
However, if you are unable to resolve your queries, or would like to escalate the issue further, you can put your concerns in writing to our IG Manager in the following ways:
Post:
The IG Manager, Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust HQ, 225 Old Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 7SR
Email: pcn-tr.ig@nhs.net
If your concern is in relation to the Trust not complying with data protection law in relation to subject access you should contact our Data Protection Officer in the following ways:
Post:
Data Protection Officer, Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust HQ, 225 Old Street, Ashton under Lyne, OL6 7SR
Email: pcn-tr.dpo@nhs.net
If you are unhappy about the way you have been treated, or about the outcome of your request, you may consider contacting our complaints team.
If you have tried to resolve the issue with the Trust and are still not satisfied, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Officer (the regulatory body for data protection in the UK): The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Click here to access the ICO website.