Hello
Apologies for posting about such a specific issue and I hope this does
not contravene the list charter.
I would like to find out how long other NHS Trusts retain x-ray films
for.
As you may know previously HSC 1999/53 said that the retention of x-ray
films was for Trusts to decide, and the Royal College of Radiologists
said that the film was considered a "transitory record" and the x-ray
report was the main record which needed to be retained.
However, now the DH Code of Practice has set the retention at 7 years
and the Royal College of Radiologists has published guidance supporting
the DH view:
http://www.rcr.ac.uk/docs/radiology/worddocs/RetentionandStorageofImages
.doc
The RCR guidance says:
2.1 Previous advice in "For the Record" regarded the radiological report
as the permanent record, and images and request information of a
transitory nature. In "For the Record" the published retention schedules
referred to the report of the radiological examination. The length of
time for retention of images was not specified and was based upon local
determination and policy. The balance lies between the costs of
additional storage, versus the needs of the clinical service, whether
the original examination has been reported (either within radiology or
by clinicians), and the costs of failed litigation due to the inability
to produce the image evidence.
2.2 With the development of electronic records and the increasingly
integrated nature of the radiological record, the traditional separation
between the images and the associated request and report has changed. It
is now considered that best practice should move towards retention of
image data for the same duration as report and request data. The
integrated nature of the radiological record is providing greater
cohesion between report and image data. This will have important
implications for the configuration of storage systems. This change is
reflected in the new advice given in RMCoP.
....
7.1 The radiological archive is one of text and image data. It is
recommended that the retention period for text and image data are equal
and comply with the published retention schedules. Compliance with the
Data Protection Act6, Freedom of Information Act7 and Principles of
Confidentiality are required. If electronic image and text data is to be
used as evidence then compliance with the appropriate British Standards
is necessary.
Do other Trusts have a view on this change? e.g. how this will affect
storage of manual films? I am aware that many Trusts previously had a
shorter retention for x-ray films, e.g. 3, 4 or 5 years. Are Trusts
finding that they are able to comply with the new Code of Practice for
these records?
Catherine Redfern
Modern Records Manager, Barts and the London NHS Trust
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information contained in this message is confidential and is intended
for the addressee only. If you have received this message in error or there
are any problems please notify the originator immediately.
The unauthorised use, disclosure, copying or alteration of this message is
strictly forbidden. This mail and any attachments have been scanned for
viruses prior to leaving Barts & The London NHS Trust network. Barts &
The London NHS Trust will not be liable for direct, special, indirect or
consequential damages arising from alteration of the contents of this
message by a third party or as a result of any virus being passed on.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|