Genealogy Chat

i think medical records could help me a great deal in my research, has anybody had any experience of gaining access to medical records from the past? how could i get to see medical records from the last century of my deceased relatives?

Hi there! Hope this helps! I work for a hospital and know that to gain access to medical records you would have to request permission from the head of the records office at whichever hospital - do know that the hospitals should keep records on some form of disc if person deceased for many years.

Hi Scott I tried to delve into my fathers records as we needed to know if a condition my sister had could have been hereditary but our GP told us that as he had been dead for over eight years his medical records had been destroyed. so i hope you have more luck than i did

Try this to see what might be available: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/hospitalrecords/ Brenda

thanx for your replies, thanks nicola, the records i would be most interested in would be that of my great grandmother who died in 1980, but i would be interested in her medical records of when she was about 20 years old which would be about 1910. christine, perhaps your gp was refering to the records kept at his own practice, you may be able to find hospital records, which is what i am looking for mainly. brenda, thanks for the link, i took a look and found the hospitals that would correspond to what area i was looking for on that website, does the pro hold records of individuals medical details? what did you manage to find from that website or at the pro yourself regarding medical records?

I haven't used medical records myself. The records are likely to be in the relevant county record office. There are usually closure periods and what survives is a matter of luck, particularly with all the re-organisations that have taken place over time.

You can also check A2A to see about records held elsewhere. Don't get too hopeful - I had a criminal lunatic relative who spent over 40 years in Broadmoor. I had to send them lots of certs to prove that I was related distantly to him, even though he died nearly 100 years ago and left no descendents. When they sent the info, it was just the date he was admitted and the inquest after his death. Better than nothing, but I was expecting much more. nell

I was allowed access to my nans medical records from an asylum. They were held at the Archive Library for that area. I did not have to prove that I was related. There was some problems though, My nan had fallen pregnant in this hospital/asylum with my mother. The records clearly state her fathers name, (Which she has never known, It is not on her birth cert). The library ommited his name from the copy of the records they sent me. They said that he may still be alive, so due to the data protection act, they could not tell us who he was. I am currently waiting for the archives library to find out if he is dead. They say that if he is, they will tell me everything. I believe that there is usually a 100 year holding period, but that the final decision lies with the record holders. Pat

Thanks Pat Melia, You have given me a new line to search.I was born in either a hospital or a workhouse(both same address) and my mother was unmarried and I never knew my fathers name. So the search goes on. Thanks