Health Records

The Health Records department - part of the Information & Technology Directorate - is vital to the hospital. Whilst the hospital has a highly developed computer system that stores details about patients' hospital visits and treatments, it is still very dependent on paper Case Notes containing current and historical information that can go back many years.

The library holds up to half a million patient records, varying in size, in a secure environment. Case Notes are kept for varying lengths of time depending on the reason for the patient's visit. The department also deals with deceased patient records and with photocopying records for other hospitals.

The Health Records function is a 24-hour, 365 day a year operation. The busiest times are during main office hours but there is also an overnight service, handling urgent requests and pulling files for the following day's clinics.

Our staff are trained to treat patient records with the utmost respect and confidentiality, store and transport records securely, and ensure they are available to clinicians when they see their patients.

We are also continually exploring ways of making the service more efficient in dealing with the ever growing number of files, using the latest technologies wherever appropriate.