Using family and carer access (also known as proxy access), you may be able to act for someone you support by:
- ordering repeat prescriptions
- booking appointments
- contacting the surgery or speaking to surgery staff
- viewing test results or vaccinations
- accessing all or part of the GP health record, to help with health-related tasks and managing health issues
You can ask your GP surgery to set up family and carer access. They may also call it proxy access, and you may need to fill in a form.
Who can get family and carer access for a child aged under 16 years old
You can only get online access to the health services of a child aged under 16 if you are their parent or guardian with legal parental responsibility.
Find out more about parental responsibility on GOV.UK.
Before setting up access, the GP surgery may ask you to show them:
- ID for you and the child, for example passports
- documents that help to prove you have parental responsibility, for example a birth certificate
The GP surgery will also need to:
- check with anyone else that shares parental responsibility with you
- make sure the child is not at risk of harm (for safeguarding issues)
- make sure the child consents to your access (agrees to it) or lacks capacity to consent, if they are aged 11 or over
You do not have to live at the same address as the child to have access, but both you and the person you're applying about must be registered at the same GP surgery.
You can have family and carer access for more than 1 child, and a child can have more than 1 person acting on their behalf.
Access for young people aged 16 or over
Young people aged 16 or over are presumed to have capacity to decide on their own medical treatment, unless there's evidence to suggest otherwise.
You may be able to access health services on their behalf if they want you to be their trusted person (also known as their proxy), or if they have a condition that means they cannot manage their health and care on their own.
Children and young people's consent
Children have the same legal rights over their data as adults. The GP surgery must get the child's consent before giving access to their online GP services, if the child is able to understand and make an informed decision.
Children aged 11 and over can begin to make their own decisions about their healthcare. A healthcare professional will assess if a child is competent to consent. This is known as being Gillick competent.
Find out more about children and young people's consent to treatment.
If you think your child will not be able to understand what it means to give you access to their online health services, you can tell your GP surgery.
If your child is unable to consent to you having access to their online GP services, the GP surgery will still be able to give access based on parental responsibility, if this is in the best interests of the child.
When your online access will stop
Family and carer access usually ends when a child turns 16 years old. If your child wants or needs you to help manage their health services when they are aged 16 or over, your GP surgery can set it up again.
Most GP surgeries also have an automatic cut-off age between 11 and 14 years old, where online family and carer access is stopped to protect an older child's confidentiality.
If your access stops, you can ask your GP surgery to restore it if your child consents to it.
You can tell your GP surgery in advance if you think your child will not be able to understand what it means to give you access to their online GP services (called lacking capacity).
When your online access ends, you will still be able to manage your child's health and care at the GP surgery in the same way you do now.
NHS trial to apply for family and carer access in the NHS App
Some GP surgeries are trialling a new NHS service which you can use to apply for family and carer access in the NHS App. Both you and the person you're applying about must be registered at the same GP surgery.
If your GP surgery is using this service, you can apply for family and carer access online.
Apply for family and carer access in the NHS App