Subject Access Request Policy

Under the Data Protection Act, subject to certain conditions, an individual is entitled to be:

• Told whether any personal data is being processed
• Given a description of the personal data, the reasons it is being processed,
  and whether it will be given to any other organisations or people; and
• Given a copy of the information comprising the data; and given details of the source of the data (where this is available)

The Data Protection Act extends equally to all relevant records relating to living individuals, including records held in the private health sector and health professionals’ private practice records.

Personal data held by the Practice may be:-

• Personnel/Staff records relating to a member of staff, present, past or prospective, whether permanent, temporary or volunteer
• Health records consisting of information about the physical or mental health of an identifiable individual made by, or on behalf of, a health professional in connection with the care of that individual.

Access encompasses the following rights:-

• To obtain a copy of the record in permanent form
• To have information provided in an intelligible format (and explained where necessary)

The Data Protection Act also gives subjects who now reside outside the UK the right to apply for access to their former UK health and employment records:

• Employees are legally entitled to request their personal records and may take them outside of the UK at their own discretion.
• Original health records should not be given to people to keep/take outside the UK. A GP or community health professional may be prepared to provide the patient with a summary of treatment; alternatively the patient may make a request for access in the usual way.

Organisations must have procedures in place to ensure that individual’s rights of access are met within a timely and appropriate fashion.

Individual’s rights regarding the sharing of their personal information are supported by the Care Record Guarantees, which set out high-level commitments for protecting and safeguarding service user information, particularly in regard to individuals’ rights of access to their own information, how information will be shared (both within and outside of the organisation) and how decisions on sharing information will be made.

In the response to the Caldicott2 Report, the Department of Health confirmed that service users should have access to information about themselves even if it was obtained through new or non-traditional approaches (for example, virtual consultations) to delivering health and care services.

The BMA Confidentiality and Health Records Toolkit helps identify the key factors to take into consideration when making a decision around confidentiality and disclosure of health records.

Scope

This policy applies to any request by a patient or member of staff for access to their personal information held by the Practice.

This policy applies to all staff (employees, governing body members, contractors) of the Practice.

Who can make an Access Request?

An application for access to personal data may be made to the Practice by any of the following:-

• an individual
• a person authorised by the individual in writing to make the application on an individual’s behalf e.g. solicitor, family member, carer
• a person having parental responsibility for the individual where he/she is a child.
• a person appointed by a court to manage the affairs of an individual who is deemed incompetent
• individuals who hold a health and welfare Lasting Power of Attorney
• where the individual has died, the personal representative and any person who may have a claim arising out of the individual’s death (the executor of the deceased’s will; someone who has been appointed as an Administrator of the Estate by the Courts; someone who has the written consent of either of the above to be given access, someone who is in the process of challenging the deceased’s will)

The Police may, on occasion, request access to personal data of individuals. Whilst there is an exemption in the Data Protection Act which permits the Practice to disclose information to support the prevention and detection of crime, the Police have no automatic right to access; however they can obtain a Court Order.

Parental responsibility for a child is defined in the Children’s Act 1989 as ‘all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority, which by law a parent of a child has in relation to a child and his property’. Although not defined specifically, responsibilities would include safeguarding and promoting a child’s health, development and welfare, including if relevant their employment records. Included in the parental rights which would fulfil the parental responsibilities above are:

• having the child live with the person with responsibility, or having a say in where the child lives;
• if the child is not living with her/him, having a personal relationship and regular contact with the child;
• controlling, guiding and directing the child’s upbringing.

Foster parents are not ordinarily awarded parental responsibility for a child. It is more likely that this responsibility rests with the child’s social worker and appropriate evidence of identity should be sought in the usual way.

The law regards young people aged 16 or 17 to be adults for the purposes of consent to employment or treatment and the right to confidentiality. Therefore, if a 16 year old wishes HR or a medical practitioner to keep their information confidential then that wish must be respected.

In some certain cases, children under the age of 16 who have the capacity and understanding to take decisions about their own treatment are also entitled to decide whether personal information may be passed on and generally to have their confidence respected.

Where a child is considered capable of making decisions, e.g. about his/her employment or medical treatment, the consent of the child must be sought before a person with parental responsibility may be given access. Where, in the view of the appropriate professional, the child is not capable of understanding the nature of the application, the holder of the record is entitled to deny access if it is not felt to be in the patient’s best interests.

The identity and consent of the applicant must always be established. The applicant does not have to give a reason for applying for access.

The Practice is a Data Controller and can only provide information held by the organisation. Data controllers in their own right must be applied to directly, the Practice will not transfer requests from one organisation to another.

Subject Access Request Full Policy