Your GP practice holds your medical records. That doesn't mean you have to accept "no" when you ask to see them.
The Legal Basis for Your Access Right
In the UK, your right to access your own medical records comes from UK GDPR Article 15 (the right of access) combined with the Data Protection Act 2018. This is often called making a "Subject Access Request" (SAR). It applies whether your records are held by the NHS or a private healthcare provider.
Who to Actually Ask
NHS England's own guidance is direct on this point: requests should generally go to the specific organisation that actually holds the records you want — your GP practice, the specific hospital trust, or the specific clinic — not to NHS England centrally, which doesn't hold your individual clinical record itself. If you've been treated at multiple places, you may need to make separate requests to each one.
What You Can Request, and What Can Be Withheld
You're generally entitled to a copy of your full medical record. There are limited exceptions — for example, information that could cause serious harm to your physical or mental health, or to someone else's, or information about a third party where sharing it isn't appropriate. These exceptions are meant to be narrow, applied to specific pieces of information, not used as a general reason to withhold the whole record.
If You Find an Error in Your Records
UK GDPR also gives you the right to request correction of inaccurate personal data. If you spot something wrong in your record — a misrecorded diagnosis, an incorrect medication history, factually wrong personal details — you can formally request it be corrected. If the organisation disagrees that it's inaccurate, they should still record your view alongside the disputed entry rather than simply ignoring the request.
What to Do If a Provider Isn't Cooperating
- Put your request in writing and keep a copy, with the date — this matters if you need to escalate later.
- If you get no response, or an unreasonable refusal, raise it as a formal complaint with the organisation first.
- If that doesn't resolve it, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which oversees UK data protection law including subject access requests.
What This Means Practically
- Direct your request to the specific organisation holding the records you want, not a general NHS enquiry line.
- Put the request in writing and keep your own copy and the date sent.
- If information is withheld, ask specifically why — a blanket refusal without a stated reason isn't how the exceptions are meant to work.
- If you find an error, request a formal correction in writing rather than just mentioning it verbally at your next appointment.
Related Kibbo Tools
Sources
- Information Commissioner's Office — Right of access. ico.org.uk
- NHS — How to access your health records. nhs.uk