Well yes and no. Medical notes have always been the property of the
hospital, and - by extension - the Department of Health and its Secretary of
State. But medical notes are compiled by physicians and their guardianship
is controlled by physicians, as the GMC guidance suggests. And private
medical notes are strictly the property of the physician. So I share
Rowley's concerns, and would be interested to hear if he follows this up
with the GMC (which is what I would suggest he does).
AF
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dunn Matthew Dr. (RJC) A & E - SwarkHosp-TR"
<[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, May 04, 2007 8:43 AM
Subject: Re: Notes and their ownership
> the
> Police now have only to apply to the local Security
> Management Service of the Trust while investigating any
> crime, and providing it is not a fishing trip the notes can
> be released - without as far as I could ascertain any
> reference to medical staff. It suggests that our notes, once
> made are no longer our property to guard, which contradicts
> the GMC guidance on notes:
> 20. You must not disclose personal information to a third
> party such as a solicitor2, police officer or officer of a
> court without the patient's express consent, except in the
> circumstances described in the paragraphs which follow.
This covers disclosure by doctors, but as far as I am aware the notes
themselves have always been the property of the Secretary of State for
Health. On whose trustworthiness with confidential information we may or may
not have formed our own views already.
Matt Dunn
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