Every worker who needs health surveillance should have a health record. Health records are important and useful because they provide a record of:
A health record should contain the following information:
A health record is different to a clinical record and should not include confidential clinical data.
The employer should keep a health surveillance record irrespective of whether an employee is full or part time, permanent or on a temporary contract.
You should keep a health record as long as the person is employed by your company. You may need to retain health records for up to 50 years but this depends on good practice and specific legislation (eg asbestos). Also, ill-health effects may not emerge until long after a person leaves your employment.
It is good practice to provide them with a copy of their health record.
Clinical data that is used to make decisions on fitness to work is not held on this record. The occupational health service provider should keep the clinical data in confidence.
This clinical data can only be accessed either by the employee approaching your occupational health service provider under the Access to Health Records Act 1990, or by an employee giving written consent for their details to be released.
If details of a medical nature are disclosed to you following written consent then you must retain the medical information but separate it from the health record. This is because the medical information is confidential to the employee and should not be disclosed to a third party.
Under the Data Protection Act 1998, you have to inform employees that you have a health record for them, and that they have a right to access that information and correct it.
