Accessing Your Maternity Notes
Although your medical records are the property of the health care provider who holds them, you are legally entitled to access them and can do so through a variety of methods. Which avenue you take may change depending on which health care provider you are accessing your notes with.
Routine Administrative Access
The HSE policy states:
“(T)he health service supports the right of a client to see what information is held about him or her within its service. Generally, access to an individual’s own health record should be provided administratively”
In order to access your records this way I advise that you Google the hospital and “access records” or “records request”. Usually this will result in a page with the relevant address and department information, or an enquiry form to fill in. Should the search be unsuccessful, you can call the hospital and ask them to walk you through their process.
When writing to your health care provider to request your maternity record you will need to include the following information along with any further information they have advised you to provide
•Your name at the time of your care
•Your date of birth
•Your baby’s name and date of birth if requesting their records
•Your current address and contact number
You may be asked to give a reason for requesting your record.
You should receive confirmation of your request within 3 working days from their receipt of the application, and a copy of your records within 15 working days. If the notes are not available to you by that time, you should receive notification of what is causing the delay and when to expect the copy of your notes.
Freedom of Information Request - under the Freedom of Information Act 2014 (FOI)
Alternatively, you may access your medical records under a Freedom of Information request.
This request must be made in writing with clear reference to the Freedom of Information Act 2014.
You should specify how you wish to access the information, usually a copy of the record will suffice.
Again you should provide the following:
•Your name at the time of your care
•Your date of birth
•Your baby’s name and date of birth if requesting their records
•Your current address and contact number
•Photocopy of government issued identification (usually a passport or driving license)
You should complete a Freedom of Information request form along with your application
You do NOT have to give reason for requesting your record.
You should receive confirmation of your request within 10 working days of the receipt of the application wich should outline any process and time expectation. Normally the request is then processed within 20 working days.
Further information and the Freedom of Information Request form can be found here:
https://www.hse.ie/eng/services/yourhealthservice/info/foi/making-a-request/
Data Subject Access Request - under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)and the Data Protection Acts 1988-2018
Finally you can make a request under Data Protection.
This request must be made in writing with clear reference to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protectection Acts 1988-2018.
Again you should provide the following:
•Your name at the time of your care
•Your date of birth
•Your baby’s name and date of birth if requesting their records
•Your current address and contact number
•Photocopy of government issued identification
You should specify how you wish to access the information, usually a copy of the record will suffice.
You should complete a Subject Access Request Form (SARS form) along with your application.
Contact information for GDPR requests can be found here:
SARS forms can be found here: