Who can apply for access?
Patients may apply for access to their own records, or may authorise a third party, such as a lawyer, to do so on their behalf. Parents may have access to their child's records if this is in the child's best interests and not contrary to a competent child's wishes. People appointed by a court to manage the affairs of mentally incapacitated adults may have access to information necessary to fulfil their function. Information in medical records can only be accessed from November 1991 onwards.