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Mr. Forman
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why patients who have been treated either by general practitioners or in hospitals of the National Health Service are not allowed to see, or have copies, or their personal medical records.
Mr. Moyle
Medical records are compiled by doctors to assist them in the management and treatment of a case. It is a matter of clinical judgment for the doctor concerned to disclose to his patient such information as he considers necessary and advisable in the circumstances. Although he will wish to keep his patient properly informed, there are many occasions when it would not be in the interest of the medical well-being of a patient to disclose information contained in his medical records.