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Mental Capacity Act (2005)

This Act was created in 2005 to protect all adults who do not have the capacity to make decisions, either temporarily or more permanently. Capacity is decision specific and can relate to a small decision such as what colour dress to wear or a larger decision such as resuscitation in the event of death. A full description of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) can be found online.

The police may request access to a patient’s notes in certain circumstances, and they may use a court order to do so. The person in charge of the patient’s care is known as the ‘data controller’ and may share the records informally without the order being sought. Certainly, this applies where the access is in the public interest such as when a patient has a communicable disease and the public health department requires the police’s assistance in finding a patient and preventing the transmission of the disease.

Finally, a solicitor or legal professional may request access to records. The records that they may request may be the medical records only, but they may also want to examine nursing records as well. Potentially, therefore, nursing records could be used in court of law.