If you have accessed your medical record and believe something is incorrect, unclear, or should not be included, you have the right to raise this with us.
Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), you have the right to request that inaccurate personal data is corrected and, in certain circumstances, erased.
What You Can Raise With Us
You (or your authorised representative) may contact us if you:
- Believe there is an error in your record
- Do not understand a medical term or code
- Notice information about a third party that concerns you
- Disagree with something recorded
- Believe information should be corrected or removed
How to Raise a Concern
To raise a dispute about your medical record, you must contact us in writing:
- Write to the Practice, clearly explaining what you believe is incorrect and why. Please mark your letter for the attention of the Practice Manager.
or - Complete the online administrative form available on our website.
Please provide as much detail as possible so we can investigate fully.
What Happens Next?
Once we receive your request:
- We will review the information promptly (note: this can take up to 6 weeks)
- The responsible clinician and the Practice’s Caldicott Guardian/Data Controller will consider the concern.
- Where appropriate, we will consult the clinician who made the original entry.
We will then decide whether:
- The record should be amended
- Additional clarification should be added
- The entry should remain unchanged
If we are unable to amend the record, we will explain the reasons to you. In some cases, we may offer to meet with you to discuss the decision.
Your Data Protection Rights
You have the right to request:
- Rectification (correction of inaccurate information)
- Erasure (deletion in certain circumstances)
- Restriction of processing
- Data portability
- To object to processing
Requests made under UK GDPR will be reviewed by the Practice’s Caldicott Guardian or Data Controller.
Please note that medical records are legal documents and, in most cases, clinical opinions will not be removed simply because a patient disagrees with them. However, we can record your disagreement within your record where appropriate.
If You Remain Dissatisfied
If you are unhappy with our decision, you may:
- Follow our Practice Complaints Procedure
- Contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Further information about our complaints process can be found on our website.