Access to child's GP records whilst in LA care

[VD2ER]

I tried to obtain my children's GP details and when that was refused sent a SAR to them via the NHS (Primary Care Support England).

It was refused and the ICO refused to consider the request and stated, "We have considered the information you have provided in line with our published framework and have decided not to undertake a more detailed investigation".

And:
"Where an organisation has made a decision, they feel is in the best interest of a child, we wouldn’t ordinarily look to dispute this, recognising this is a subjective issue. It’s likely we would leave the matter to the discretion of the courts or other authorities to make a judgment."

Is this the norm? There is no substantive reason I should not obtain access to these records. I have never acted against the interest of my children.

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear VD2ER

Thank you for your enquiry details of which are below. Welcome to the discussion board, I am an adviser at Family Rights Group and will be replying to you today.

You requested your children’s GP records. This was refused so you made a Subject Access Request (SAR). The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) refused this for the reasons stated above. You say there is no substantive reason why you should not obtain access to your children’s records and want to know whether this is normal practice.

If you disagree with the outcome of the ICO findings, you may wish to make a formal complaint. I suggest you seek further information and advice from their website as this is outside of our remit and area of expertise.

Your children are in the care of the local authority. I will assume there are care orders in place. Whilst you retain parental responsibility for your children, depending on their age and understanding they may not wish for medical information to be shared. I suggest you discuss this with the allocated social worker for further information and advice.

I hope you find the information helpful. If you have any further questions or enquiries regarding children’s services, please do come back to us here or via or other methods of communication (please see our website for further information).

Best wishes, Suzie.

[VD2ER]

Many thanks for the reply.

The response from the social work is a simple "NO".

The sole justification is that my children are in local authority care. There is no further justification where I am allowed continuing unsupervised contact with my children.

I will pursue this and report back to the group.