216 Mr. Cullimore asked the Minister for Health if he intends to introduce the necessary regulations and amendments to ensure that any patient of a general practitioner or hospital, either private or public, has access to his-her files and to the right to seek possession thereof; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

The record of the treatment of a patient is the property of the hospital or practitioner concerned. As a general rule, details of the relevant medical records would be made available to a patient, if requested, except where it is considered that it would not be in the best interests of the patient.

The relationship between a general practitioner and his or her patient is generally established over a long period of time and by its nature would allow for a mutually acceptable level and interchange of information. Under the terms of the General Medical Services contract and under the Health Services Regulations 1971, a health board has certain powers to have patients' records, which are held by a general practitioner, examined by another registered medical practitioner. The consent of the patient is a pre-requisite of such an examination. I have asked my Department to raise this issue with the Irish Medical Organisation during the course of the current discussions on the General Medical Services review in the context of a Patients' Charter on Primary Care.