medical reports.

Hi Can anyone tell me if you have to pay for the treatment report done by your physio, I called my local hospital, and was told i could only get a copy via a solicitor, i am wondering if this is correct or is it poss that c.a.b. can get a copy.
Also how can i get copies from the doc, i have had a letter of support from him, but it is not very informative on my condition, can i get copies of xrays etc even if there is a cost attached to them.

cheers

Employees of NHS trusts aren't obliged to provide patients with fresh medical reports for specific purposes. I expect that the reference to a solicitor is that where a medical report is required for legal proceedings, a solicitor will normally arrange for it to be paid for. An NHS trust may be wary of providing any sort of report to a patient in exchange for a fee and they are not obliged to.

There are a number of ways round this.

One is to request a copy of any relevant notes or existing reports under either the Data Protection Act or the Access to Health Records Act (the Department of Health website has details of how to do this.)

The alternative is to see whether any of the professionals involved in your care also practice privately and would supply a professional written opinion via their private practice.

There are standard fees for requesting copies of NHS files, although they may be waived or reduced at the discretion of the NHS trust or GP practice concerned.

Information on accessing health records