Updates to the Records Management Code of Practice

Published 19 September 2023

A summary of updates and amendments made since the Records Code of Practice was published in 2021.

May 2024

Update to Appendix II, retention schedule – GP patient records: living patients section has been reworded to make it clearer.

A summary of amendments made in October 2023:

references to 'Shared Care Records programme' updated to 'Connecting Care Records programme'
link to NHSE’s Universal IG templates added
references to 'Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport' updated to 'Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology'
list of active inquiries updated

A summary of amendments made up to August 2023:

list of active inquiries updated
retention period for dental clinical care records reduced from 15 to 11 years
passage added noting that approval from the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is required for retaining records for more than 20 years (with some exemptions)
references to CCGs / NHSX / NHS Digital removed
broken links replaced

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