Medical Records
How to request copies of your records, discharge summaries and medical reports.
What the records department does
Health records staff register patients, create and retrieve files, code diagnoses, compile the statistics the hospital and county use for planning, and handle requests for copies of records and medical reports. Accurate records are not paperwork for its own sake. They are how the next clinician who sees you knows what has already happened.
Requesting a copy of your records
- Apply in writing at the health records office, stating what you need. A discharge summary, laboratory or imaging results, a full record, or a formal medical report.
- Bring identification. Your national ID, or the parent's ID and the child's birth certificate for a child.
- If you are applying on someone else's behalf, bring written authority signed by the patient, plus both identity documents. For a deceased patient, bring documentation of your legal relationship or authority.
- Allow processing time. Straightforward copies are usually quicker. A detailed medical report requires the treating clinician to write it, which takes longer.
- Collect in person with your identification. Records are not released over the phone, by text or to unverified email addresses.
Where an official fee applies for reports or copies, it is charged at approved county rates and an official receipt is issued.
Medical reports for other purposes
Reports are sometimes needed for insurance, employment, education, legal proceedings or compensation claims. These must be requested in writing and are written by the treating clinician. A report states what the clinical record shows. It is not an opinion written to order.
Your information is confidential
Health information is held and shared in line with the Data Protection Act, 2019. It is not disclosed to family members, employers, insurers or anyone else without your written consent, except where the law requires it.
Records overview
ApplyIn writing, health records office
IdentificationRequired
On behalf of anotherWritten authority needed
CollectionIn person only
ReportsWritten by the treating clinician
FeesApproved county rates
Need a copy of your records?
Apply in writing at the health records office and bring your identification.