Finding Medical Records of deceased parent

[TracieP]

Hi All
I'm new to this site, just found it whilst researching how to find my mothers medical records. She died in 1988 at Charing Cross Hospital, I have her death cert, however she also had some illness in approx mid/early seventies which I am trying to find more details on. Can anyone advise me on how I go about obtaining her medical records. I no longer live in the UK I live in Ireland so I would have to apply via post or emails/telephone.
Thanks in advance of any help/advice you can give!
TP

[Peter Goodey]

You could try asking the Health Records Manager at Charing Cross Hospital - the contact details are easily found on the internet. However you need to be aware that the chances are slim. Standard guidance is to destroy patients' records eight years after death.

[TracieP]

Thanks Peter, I am not optimistic about getting them at this stage but I will start off there with my enquiries. Cheers, Tracie

[Jonesy]

The length of time NHS Medical Records are kept is dependant on the type of records in question (see http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1889.aspx?CategoryID=68&SubCategoryID=160 for more info).

Remember to mention 'Freedom Of Information' when asking for such records.

Good luck!