Copy of bloods

[Glitterbug83]

Asked for a copy of my latest blood tests was told it's £10 charge ?

[Chocolate41]

Yes that's what they charged my daughter.

[Gambit62 Administrator]

It will probably change next year when the General Data Protection Regulations come in at the end of May - these would remove the ability of people that hold person data to charge individuals for copies of their personal data.

The fee is supposed to be an administrative charge - not a charge that acts as a penalty - though I it does sound rather punitive where it is just copies of a single blood test.

[EbonyEvans]

I thought they were allowed to charge a reasonable amount to cover paper and ink. Literally no more than an Internet cafe would charge.

You can use your phone to take a photo of the screen - they will need photo idea. Don't be put off if the receptionist doesn't know. It's your legal right.

[helvella]

Agree with Gambit62 and EbonyEvans - they should not use requests as an income stream. That is forbidden.

I suggest putting in a Freedom of Information Act request "How much does it cost the surgery to print the results on a sheet of paper?" (or something like that). Perhaps it needs to be couched in terms of "What was the total cost of printing results for patients last year and how many requests were there?" Whatever their answer to that is, you have what is a reasonable charge. And, if the ploy works, they have been forced to provide the information which undermines their £10 charge.

(It is extraordinarily unlikely that the cost would be exactly £10 at surgery after surgery.)

[JMN2017]

I thought it was already a legal requirement that all surgeries have the system in place to allow patients internet access to certain aspects of their records, such as repeat prescription ordering, blood results and more.

I'm aware some surgeries aren't up to speed on this as yet though but, if they're not, surely they shouldn't be charging the same price as for a GP letter etc for a copy of blood results?

Yes, ask to see your results and then take a photo (most mobile phones will have cameras )

[helvella in reply to JMN2017]

If photographing a screen, check that each image is legible as you take it. Even decent cameras can produce terrible images of computer displays.

[Sleepybunny]

Hi,

Link about access to medical records/results in UK

nhs.uk/NHSEngland/thenhs/re...

england.nhs.uk/contact-us/p...

nhs.uk/chq/Pages/2635.aspx?...

£10 charge seems unreasonable to me if it's one piece of A4. I have been charged between 50p and £1 in the past per A4 sheet. Of course if you had lots of blood tests covering several sheets, it might add up to £10.

Your MP may also be interested in the issue especially if charges seem unreasonable.

parliament.uk/mps-lords-and...

[Dewbuc]

bma.org.uk/advice/employmen...

This is current BMA advice based on the Data protection act.

The charge for printout of test results seems to me to be bloody minded in the extreme, although is what the BMA suggests.

The maximum chargeable is £50 for a copy of all records held on paper or on paper and computer.

It would be a horrible task and very time consuming, not to mention requiring lots of paper and ink, to copy out reams of notes still not held on computer. You could of course be bloody minded yourself and request just that. Depends if it would give you £50 worth of satisfaction to be equally bloody minded! Of course it might also give you lots of useful information and you then may challenge anything that is factually incorrect and ask it to be amended. If you disagree with anything you can ask for your comment to be appended.

[MariLiz]

That seems a bit exorbitant for one copy of a test result.

My surgery don't charge.

[Glitterbug83]

Thanks all gonna take it up with them again Monday

[geronimo1]

My surgery charged me 10p per page, total 40p. Receptionist ran them off when I picked up folic acid prescription. I am in Glasgow.