Hi Sharon

 

My understanding is that there are no "legal" limits, but as others have said, consent needs to be informed and I would have thought that it is up to the GP/specialist to check that the consent is valid. They are providing the report...not us!

 

As you are no doubt aware some Dr's will accept them up to 6 months old, others no longer than a month. Given I have waited 8 months for a report before, it could be argued that the consent was not valid at the time of the release of the report as the individual had had significant changes in their health status between the consent being signed and the report being provided.

I have generally used a cut off date of 8 weeks when I use a consent form - mainly to stop the GP/specialist requesting up to date consent.

 

There are times when we are waiting for results/reports to reach a GP and I may not be seeing a person until after they have had surgery/investigations/results/treatments. I tend to discuss timing of seeking report when signing the consent with the individual (for example I saw someone a few weeks ago, they signed consent for a GP report - they had been somewhat illusive to OH, so I can write to his GP in a few weeks this is to ensure the results will have reached the GP)

I also tend to advise the GP within the request that I have "delayed seeking the report to enable results of investigations/outcomes of treatment plans pertaining to the health issue to be available" 

 

I also understood that when the individual wants to read the report OH is meant to notify the individual when the report is being requested. So they can always contact us then if there are any objections.

Hope this helps

Jacqui