Access to Health Records

When making a request for your health records, please consider the information you actually require.

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust uses several clinical systems across different services and specialities. Requests for all records held across all systems may require extensive searches and review of large volumes of information before disclosure.

We are aware that some requests are prepared using online templates or artificial intelligence (AI) tools. These can sometimes result in very broad requests that do not accurately reflect the specific information an individual requires. If you would like to limit your request to a particular speciality, treatment episode, admission, clinic attendance or defined time period, please let us know. Whilst you remain entitled to request all information held by the Trust, a more focused request may allow us to provide a response more quickly.

Examples include:

• Records from my appointments during the last 12 months.

• Records relating to my maternity care.

• Records relating to a specific admission, procedure or clinic attendance.

• Records from a particular speciality, such as Ophthalmology, Orthopaedics or Cardiology.

• All records held by the Trust since 2025.

The more specific your request, the easier it may be for us to identify and provide the information you require.

Please complete our online form to make a request.

Please let us know your preferred method of receiving the information.

We can provide records securely by email, arrange collection in person, or send copies by post.

• View our accessing health records leaflet (opens in new window).
• View the Patient Information Privacy Policy.
• View our Data Protection, Confidentiality and Disclosure Policy (opens in new window) and Procedure (opens in new window).

If you are unhappy with how we have used, shared, stored, or protected your personal information, you can raise a data protection complaint with us.

How to contact us

Please email the Information Governance Team: sfh-tr.information.governance@nhs.net 

What we will do

We will:

• confirm we have received your complaint (we aim to acknowledge within 5 working days, and we will acknowledge within 30 days of receiving it)
• look into your complaint without undue delay, making appropriate enquiries and keeping you updated on progress
• tell you the outcome without undue delay.

We aim to provide a full response within 30 calendar days. If your complaint is complex or we need input from other teams, we will keep you informed and explain any revised timescales. 

If you remain dissatisfied

If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to raise your concern with the Information Commissioner’s Office. Government guidance says you should contact the organisation first and then escalate if you are unhappy with their response. 

Information on how to complain is available here: Make a complaint – Information Commissioner’s Office.