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Sharing information with the police

This guidance is about disclosure of information by health and care organisations to the police.

Page contents

It does not include guidance on sharing information with the police about children. It also does not advise on sharing information with the police when someone is suspected of being suicidal. (Refer to the consensus statement on information sharing and suicide prevention for further information). 

Guidance for patients and service users

The police may ask health and care organisations to provide them with information about patients and service users to support their work. There are times when this information.

Must be provided to the police because the law requires it, for example, information relating to a road traffic accident. You will usually be told of this type of sharing although this will not always be the case

May be provided to the police because a sufficiently important reason has been given by the police. An example is in relation to the prevention or detection of a serious crime such as an assault where the victim has suffered serious harm. You will usually be asked before your information is shared with the police in these circumstances. However, there are times when it is not appropriate to inform or ask you about the sharing. An example is where asking you would put another person at risk of serious harm. Each request is considered carefully on a case by case basis

Example

In the case of an individual admitted to hospital with knife wounds, information may be given to the police when it is reasonable to believe that the wound is as a result of criminal activity.

Hospital staff would usually ask the victim or suspect of a knife wound before sharing information with the police and will generally respect their wishes. However, if staff were informed by the police that there was an ongoing risk to members of the public, they may decide to share the suspect’s or victim’s information with the police. This may be even if they decline. This is because the staff member’s obligations to protect others from risks of serious harm outweighs their duty to keep information confidential.

Where a decision is made to share information with the police, health and care organisations will only share the minimum amount of information they require to investigate or prevent crime. It may be that your address is shared rather than your health and care information. If you attended an out-patients appointment at a particular time, confirmation of this could be shared without details of the treatment you received.

Guidance for health and care professionals

Guidance for IG professionals

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

First published on 4 November 2021

Updated on 4 May 2022

Content updated to reflect that:

  • information can be shared with the police via the data subject making a SAR
  • the use of standard forms is not mandated, and orgs can make a disclosure without receiving one if they are satisfied they have legitimate grounds
  • where relevant, a record of the individual’s consent to share information should be submitted with a police request

Updated on 20 May 2025

Patient section

  • broadened out example for patients/service users of providing information to the police focussing on serious harm and made the example more readable and concise

Health and care professionals section

  • explained that cooperation with police forces serves the public interest in order for them to investigate violent crimes, assess the risk of further attacks, and take steps to protect the public
  • added new section on dealing with out of hours requests and added that IG professionals should put in place local policy and procedures to allow staff to deal with out of hours requests
  • added circumstances when it is not safe, practical or appropriate to seek a patient’s consent before disclosing confidential patient information
  • added advice on where a patient is at risk of harm but does not consent
  • updated general points to consider when responding to any request to align with the new standardised 3rd party request form
  • added information about the new standardised 3rd party request form and the scope of this
  • added information on use of 3rd party data processor to assist with information gathering, and that they are authorised to receive data on the police’s behalf
  • provided information about requests for information to support with a missing person(s) enquiry

IG professionals section

  • provided information about the new police form
  • advised that organisations should have a policy in place relating to out of hours requests
  • linked to guidance on access to health and care records of deceased people for further information on this topic

Last edited: 11 May 2026 1:18 pm