Doctors Patient Records

The History

Medical records have been held by Doctors since the profession emerged.

Sadly most of the older records held by individual Doctors have been destroyed.

Since the inception of the NHS in 1939 comprehensive records have been maintained although patient confidentiality restricts access to these records for family history purposes.

What records can you find?

County Records Offices and local museums sometimes have local records of Doctors and their patients.

Doctors and their premises have changed many times over the years which makes it quite difficult to find out which Doctor may have treated an ancestor unless there is some family record to indicate the name.

The certifying name on a death certificate may help identify the local Doctor.