Access to the health and care records of deceased people

This guidance provides advice on access to health and care records following the death of an individual.

Guidance for patients and service users

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Access to the health and care records of deceased people guidance for patients and service users

This guidance provides advice on access to health and care records following the death of an individual.

Guidance for health and care professionals

ARTICLE

Access to the health and care records of deceased people guidance for health and care professionals

This guidance provides advice on access to health and care records following the death of an individual.

Guidance for IG professionals

ARTICLE

Access to the health and care records of deceased people guidance for information governance (IG) professionals

Information governance advice on the access to health and care records following the death of an individual.

These IG pages provide clear and consistent IG advice and guidance to patients and service users, health and care staff and IG professionals. NHS England convenes a working group to check and challenge the guidance.

Updates since original publication

Read the updates since original publication

Health and care professionals section:

Added advice on the right of access for social care records.

IG professionals section:

Added information on medical examiners and the changes in the Access to Health Records Act 1990.

Updated the public interest disclosures section for clarity.

Last edited: 11 May 2026 1:17 pm