You have a legal right to request a copy of the personal information that we hold on you. Asking to see your information is called a Subject Access Request (SAR). You do not need to explain why you want the information. 

Please note that we (NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight) do not store medical records or personal patient information - to obtain this type of information you would need to contact either your GP practice or Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

Who can make a Subject Access Request?

Anyone can request to see copies of their information and you don’t need help from a lawyer or solicitor. Someone else may submit a SAR for you (a solicitor, family member or friend) but they will need to provide evidence that you have agreed to this request – sometimes this is provided through a signed consent form. 

You can make a request on behalf of someone else, who may lack the capacity to make the request themselves, providing you have a registered Lasting Power of Attorney (LPOA) for health and welfare. If an individual does not have a registered LPOA for health and welfare then a best interest decision may be considered. 

Young people aged 13 and over are considered to have good enough understanding to submit their own SAR, unless there is evidence or information to suggest otherwise. If a younger person does not have sufficient understanding, then a person with parental responsibility may be allowed to make a SAR on their behalf. 

How do I request access to my information?

You can request access to your information by contacting us. Requests can be made in writing, by email, by phone or face-to-face. You will find contact details at the bottom of this page. It is important to consider what information you would like to request. You can request all of the information we hold about you, however this might mean that the request takes longer to fulfil and you may end up getting a lot of information back which you don’t need or want. 

Once you’ve made contact with our team we will send out a request form for you to complete which will give us more information about what you are asking for. Due to the nature of the documents we hold we may ask you for proof of identity to ensure that we disclose records to the right people with the authority to view them. We will inform you of what you need to provide in order for us to commence with your request.

How long does NHS Hampshire and Isle Of Wight have to respond?

We have one month to reply to your request. However, if your response is unclear or if we need to ask for ID then the clock doesn’t begin until we have all the information we need to process your request. If you have made a number of requests or if your request is complex, we may need to apply an extension. In these cases, we have three months to respond. We will inform you if this is the case. 

A request may be considered complex if:

• There are technical difficulties retrieving the information
• The information includes particularly sensitive data that requires a significant review
• There are potential issues around disclosing information about a child to a legal guardian
• There are confidentiality issues around sensitive medical information
• Specialist legal advice needs to be obtained
• Large volumes of unstructured manual records need to be searched

What will NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight do once I have made my request? 

The amount of information you have requested will impact how long it takes the team to process your request. For most requests the team will review all of the information we hold on you and arrange it into a single document. This document will then be checked by a clinician, each page will be reviewed and if required redactions will be made. 

Redactions are when the reviewing clinician requests that specific parts of the file are removed, we need to do this to be compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Redactions might be made for several reasons such as: 

• The information would be likely to cause serious harm or distress to the requester or another person if released
• The information identifies a third party
• The information would prejudice the prevention or detection crime
• The information contains confidential employment data such as references or management information
• The information contains child abuse data

A full list can be found on the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website. Once ready the file will be shared electronically with you. 

For larger requests the final file can sometimes be thousands of pages long and for this reason we request that you consider what you need before you submit your request. 

How will I receive the information? 

We will share your file with you electronically via a secure process. 

Can I make a request to obtain copies of a deceased individual’s information?

Yes, this is called Access to Health Records. The process will follow the same steps but instead of an LPOA we will ask to see a certified copy of the Will and death certificate or a Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration. 

Where can I find more information on SARs?

You can find more information on the SAR process at the links below:

• Subject Access Requests - NHS Transformation Directorate 
•  What is the right of access? Information Commissioner's Office 

Contact details:

If you or a family member are funded via Adults Continuing Healthcare (CHC), or Children and Young People’s Continuing Care (CYPCC), and you would like to make a SAR/Access to Health Records request regarding the information held by our All Age Continuing Care Team, please use this email address: hiowicb-hsi.aacc.businessdevelopment@nhs.net

SARs for GP records need to be made directly to your GP surgery. We (NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight) do not store medical records or personal patient information. If you require hospital information, please contact Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

Otherwise, please contact hiowicb-hsi.hsiow-dpo@nhs.net to make a SAR to NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board. You can also contact us in writing at:

NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board
Omega House
112 Southampton Road
Eastleigh
SO50 5PB

Or phone us at: 0300 561 2561