Proxy Access

How to get parent and guardian proxy access

If you care for a child aged under 16, and you have legal parental responsibility for them, you can usually get proxy access by asking the GP surgery to set this up. You may need to fill in a form.

Before giving you access, we will need to check:

ID for you and the child, for example passports
documents that help to prove you have parental responsibility, for example a birth certificate
with anyone else that shares parental responsibility with you
for safeguarding issues
that the child consents to your access (agrees to it) or lacks capacity to consent, if they are aged 11 or over

You do not have to live at the same address as the child to have access.

You can have proxy access for more than 1 child, and a child can have more than 1 proxy acting on their behalf.

Children's rights, capacity and consent

Children have the same legal rights over their data as adults. The GP surgery must get the child's consent before giving access to their online GP services, if the child is able to understand and make an informed decision. This is called having capacity.

Children aged 11 or over are usually considered to have the capacity to consent, or refuse access, unless for example they have a medical condition or learning disability that affects their understanding.

When your online access will stop

Most GP surgeries also have an automatic cut-off age between 11 and 14, where online parent and guardian access is stopped to protect an older child's confidentiality.

If your access stops, you can ask your GP surgery to restore it.

Your GP surgery will usually check the child agrees to your access (consents) first.

You can tell your GP surgery in advance if you think your child will not be able to understand what it means to give you access to their online GP services (called lacking capacity).

When your online access ends, you will still be able to manage your child's health and care at the GP surgery in the same way you do now.

Proxy access for another adult

Some patients find it helpful for a second person to have access to their online GP record. This is often a family member, medical next of kin, a close friend or a carer whom they trust to act on their behalf. This is called proxy access.

Where a patient is unable to give consent, proxy access may be agreed when:

the proxy has a lasting power of attorney for health and welfare granted by the Office of the Public Guardian
the applicant is acting as a Court Appointed Deputy on behalf of the patient
in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 code of practice, the GP considers it in the patient’s best interests to grant access to the applicant
the patient is a child under the age specified in the RCGP guidance and the person requesting access is a parent or other person with parental responsibility and there are no known reasons why proxy access should not be given

When someone is applying for proxy access on the basis of an enduring power of attorney, a lasting power of attorney, or as a Court Appointed Deputy, their status should be verified by making an online check of the registers held by the Office of the Public Guardian. This is a free service. The result of checks should be recorded in the notes.

In the case of a child, for example, proxy access for people with parental responsibility should usually be switched off once the child reaches the age deemed appropriate in the RCGP guidance. Furthermore, the RCGP guidance identifies the age at which the practice can have a discussion with both parties and agree further proxy access.

Refusing or withdrawing proxy access

Proxy access should not be granted or may be withdrawn if any of the following apply:

practice staff have good grounds for suspicion that the patient has not given consent freely
a patient of the age specified in the RCGP guidance is deemed competent to make a decision on access and they have not given consent to the proxy having access
there is believed to be a risk to the security of the online account posed by the proxy
the patient has previously expressed the wish not to grant proxy access to specific individuals should they lose capacity, either permanently or temporarily, as recorded in the notes
the patient’s GP assesses that it is not in the best interests of the patient
at the request of the patient
if required by or as part of a legal process