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How to request a deceased relative's medical records

There are two separate legal routes. You do not need to be the executor, and you do not need a solicitor.

What is this?

When someone dies, their medical records do not become secret. As a relative you have a legal right to apply for them. There are two routes, and they come from different laws.

• The Access to Health Records Act 1990 (AHRA). This is the main route for a deceased person's records. It exists specifically for people who have died.
• A UK GDPR Subject Access Request (SAR). This is normally for living people, but it can still be useful where your own personal data is mixed into the records, or to request related material the hospital holds about you.

For a relative who has died, the AHRA is usually the right tool. This guide focuses on it, and explains where the GDPR route fits.

Who can use it?

Under section 3(1)(f) of the AHRA, the people who may apply for a deceased patient's records include the patient's personal representative and any person who may have a claim arising out of the patient's death.

That second category matters. You qualify if you may have a claim arising out of the death. This is a low bar and it is wider than most hospital staff assume.

Step by step: what to do

1. Find the right department. Records requests for deceased patients are usually handled by the NHS board's Legal Aspects, Health Records, or Information Governance team, not the ward. We have gathered the contact for every Scottish board on one page: see Scottish NHS board records contacts.
2. Write your request in writing. Use the template below. State the law you are relying on (AHRA section 3(1)(f)) and the basis on which you qualify (that you are a person who may have a claim arising out of the death).
3. Identify the patient clearly. Give their full name, date of birth, date of death, last address, and their NHS number or hospital number if you have it.
4. Prove who you are. Enclose a copy of your own photo identification and proof of your relationship to the deceased, such as a birth or marriage certificate. This pre-empts a request for identity checks.
5. Say what you want. You can ask for the complete record, or specify a date range or department if you only need part of it. Asking for the complete record is usually wise.
6. Keep a copy and proof of postage. Send it so you can prove the date it was received. The 40-day clock starts then.

What to include in your letter

• Your full name, address and contact details
• The deceased's full name, date of birth, date of death and last address
• The NHS or hospital number if known
• Your relationship to the deceased
• The legal basis: AHRA section 3(1)(f), as a person who may have a claim arising out of the death
• What records you want and any date range
• Copies of your identification and proof of relationship

What it costs

There is no fee for an AHRA request. A health body may charge for postage or for copying onto particular media in limited circumstances, but it cannot charge a fee simply to access the records.

What happens next

• The holder of the records must respond within 40 days of receiving your request and any information they reasonably need to identify the patient and confirm your status. (If the records you are asking for were all made in the 40 days just before your request, the period is shorter, 21 days, but for older records the 40-day rule applies.)
• One important limit: under the Act, the right of access applies to records made on or after 1 November 1991. Records created before that date are not covered by the AHRA, although you can still ask and a board may release them.
• Because you are applying as someone who may have a claim, the holder may give you the parts of the record relevant to that claim rather than every page. If pages are held back, ask them to explain why, in writing.
• If they refuse, delay, or demand things the law does not require, that is the subject of the next guide.

[Your full name]
[Your address]
[Your email and telephone]
[Date]

The Health Records Manager / Legal Aspects Team
[Name of NHS board]
[Address]

Dear Sir or Madam

Request for access to health records under the Access to Health Records Act 1990

Deceased patient:
Full name: [name]
Date of birth: [date]
Date of death: [date]
Last address: [address]
NHS / hospital number: [if known]

I am writing to request access to the full medical records of the above
deceased patient under section 3(1)(f) of the Access to Health Records Act
1990.

I qualify to make this request as a person who may have a claim arising out
of the patient's death. I am the patient's [relationship, e.g. daughter].

For the avoidance of doubt, the Act does not require an applicant in this
category to be the executor or personal representative, to hold confirmation
of the estate, or to be represented by a solicitor.

I enclose a copy of my photographic identification and a copy of [my birth
certificate / the relevant certificate] evidencing my relationship to the
deceased. Please tell me promptly if you require anything further to
process this request, so that the 40-day period under the Act is not delayed.

I should be grateful to receive the complete records held for this patient.
[Optional: I am particularly interested in records relating to the period
from [date] to [date] and to the [department/ward].]

I understand that no fee is payable for access under the Act. The Act
requires you to respond within 40 days of receiving this request together
with any information you reasonably require to identify the patient and to
satisfy yourself as to my entitlement.

Please send the records to me at the address above. I look forward to your
response within 40 days.

Yours faithfully

[Your name]