jumbo

Has anyone taken their UK medical records to Oz. I expected to be able to do this but was faced with refusal at my doctors.

Cheers

ABCDiamond

Don't worry about them. Doctors here don't need them.

Pollyana

ABC is right, but if you feel that you or your family have records that you want to bring with you then you are legally entitled to have a copy of your records. If the doctor refuses, speak to your local NHS Trust, patients records dept - the relevant law is the Data Protection Act, and although they may charge you (mine cost £8), they are legally bound to hand over a copy.

Check the papers carefully too - I had the results of TWO different peoples medical tests in with my records.....:scared:

jumbo

Thanks for that.

Were your records the originals or copies?

Cheers

banjo

we had the same response when we asked for ours and after speaking to others, this seems pretty standard. Bizarre! We are generally all well so couldn't be bothered to fight about it....preferred to fight with the estate agent.

Pollyana

Mine were copies, the originals go back to the local NHS Trust who holds them in case you come back to the UK.
Its a question that often comes up on here, and people who have argued their case have got them in the end it seems.
If you want them, fight for them, under the DP Act, you are legally entitled to copies.

arlene

i have written a letter to my practice formally requesting my medical records

no problems i hope

arlene

alrobson

Hi,

I actually looked into this as well. It appears that although the data is about YOU, the records actually don't belong to you. You can request that your details be sent directly to Australia as some local authorities will not give them directly to you. They don't want you to see what the medical staff have written about you!!! This is actually all changing in the next few years with the restructure of NHS IT. The government has got a plan that includes patients be able to access their medical notes online. We will all be connected to a 'Data Spine' which will hold every patients details in England (Scotland and Wales are not part of this yet). That's the simple explanation but you can research it further if you need more details.

Anyway, I won't be taking mine with me. Too much hassle. Don't forget that the most important record of your health is YOU. I'd much rather a Doctor ask me a question instead of make a decision about some notes someone wrote 20 years ago!!

Adrian

bundy

I'm with Pollyana. You are most certainly allowed to get hold of a copy of your records. My mum used to be a GP practice manager, btw, so I know this to be true.

GP surgeries can be unwilling to do this, but this is mainly due to the time involved in copying all the pages - I used to have to do this for people, and believe me, it's a tedious task. But if you give them plenty of time and keep insisting (and pay the charge) they have to do it. If you get stuck, do as Pollyana says and contact your local NHS trust.

You can also get hold of any hospital records you have by contacting your hospital - mine actually has a downloadable form which you can pilfer off the internet and use to get hold of your records.

Although all GPs still keep paper notes, a summary of your medical history, dates of illnesses and operations, immunisation records etc etc will be computerised. You can ask for a print out of these records. They often look like total mumbo-jumbo to the uninformed, but a medical person will understand them!

If all else fails, your GP can write out a basic report letter detailing any current conditions and treatment etc.

If you have an ongoing medical condition, it's really important to take notes with you to save time and the expense of a load more tests at the other end...

I shall be demanding my notes! In a nice way, of course

sky

I asked my doctor when we left for nz and she said just fill the doctor in when we visit them about any medical stuff from the past