The Trust may receive court orders requesting the release of person confidential information asking for copies of records and/or statements/reports from clinicians/healthcare professionals involved with a patient's care (see our Medical Reports guidance).
A court order must be acted on and complied with regardless of which type of court it comes from (this may be a Crown, County, Family, Coroner's or Court of Protection) or who it comes from (this may be the court, judge, coroner, solicitor or a patient themselves, etc.). Please note that private proceedings are no different.
It is imperative that, upon initial receipt, the court order is checked to confirm who it is served on and who it compels to provide the requested information to the court. If the court order is served on and compels Mersey Care to release the information, then it needs to be complied with.
If it is not served on or does not compel Mersey Care to release the information, then it may need to be handled differently under other legislation. For example, it may become a Subject Access Request requiring the consent of the named individual or authorised authority on their behalf.
As part of ongoing complaints against Mersey Care, the Trust may receive requests from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) requesting the release of person confidential information. Please note that the PHSO have the same powers as courts to request disclose of information but see their powers as falling under medical purposes, so information can be shared with them.