Policy statement

Kearsley Medical Centre recognises that patients may wish to audio or video record their clinical consultations for personal use.

Recording can support person-centred care by helping patients:

• remember information provided during consultations;
• understand complex diagnoses, treatment options and advice;
• involve family members or carers who cannot attend;
• manage anxiety or distress;
• overcome communication or memory difficulties;
• participate more effectively in decisions about their care.

Kearsley Medical Centre will therefore generally support reasonable, open requests from patients to audio record their own consultations, provided that recording does not compromise the privacy, dignity, safety or care of the patient, other patients, visitors or staff.

At the same time, the organisation recognises that clinical staff, including nurses, doctors, allied health professionals and other healthcare workers, have legitimate rights to privacy, dignity and a safe and respectful working environment.

The organisation will therefore not tolerate unauthorised recording, photographing or filming of staff where this is intrusive, threatening, intimidating, harassing or otherwise inappropriate, or where it compromises the privacy of other patients or the delivery of safe care.

This policy applies to both patient rights and staff protection and should be applied proportionately and consistently.

Professional principles

Staff should apply the following principles:

Patient-centred care

Patients should be supported to participate in decisions about their care and to access information in ways that meet their individual needs.

Openness

Wherever possible, recording should be open rather than covert.

Privacy and dignity

The privacy and dignity of patients, staff and third parties must be respected.

Proportionality

Any restriction on recording should be proportionate to a specific and identifiable concern.

Clinical safety

Recording must not materially interfere with clinical assessment, examination, treatment, communication or emergency care.

Staff safety

Clinical staff should not be expected to tolerate recording that is intimidating, threatening, harassing or otherwise compromises their safety or wellbeing.

Equality and accessibility

Where recording is requested because of disability, communication difficulty, cognitive impairment or another accessibility need, the organisation should consider whether recording or an alternative arrangement may constitute a reasonable adjustment.

Patient requests to record their own consultation

General position

A patient may ask to audio or video record their own consultation.

Where the recording:

• relates to the patient's own care;
• is made openly;
• does not capture other patients;
• does not capture confidential information about third parties; and
• does not interfere with clinical care,

the request should normally be supported.

Staff should not automatically refuse a request because they are concerned that the recording might subsequently be used in a complaint, appeal, investigation or legal proceedings.

The BMA supports consensual recording of consultations, particularly where it helps patients understand and remember information.

Audio recording

Audio recording will generally be the least intrusive form of patient recording and should normally be accommodated where practical.

A patient may use their own device to record the consultation provided that:

• the recording is open;
• the consultation concerns that patient;
• other patients are not captured;
• confidential third-party information is not captured;
• recording does not interfere with clinical care.

Staff should not routinely require the patient to complete a formal consent form simply to make a personal recording of their own consultation.

Video recording

Video recording requires additional consideration because it is more likely to capture:

• staff;
• other patients;
• visitors;
• confidential documents;
• computer screens;
• clinical equipment;
• restricted areas;
• sensitive examinations or procedures.

Where video recording is permitted, the patient should be asked to position the device so that, as far as reasonably practicable, only the patient and consultation are captured.

Where the patient's purpose can be met through audio recording, staff may reasonably suggest audio as a less intrusive alternative.

Video recording should not be permitted where it would expose another patient's identity or confidential information and that risk cannot reasonably be controlled.

Other patients and third parties

A patient must not record other patients without appropriate permission.

Recording should not take place in a manner that captures:

• other patients;
• visitors;
• relatives of other patients;
• confidential conversations between staff;
• computer screens or records belonging to other patients;
• staff conversations unrelated to the patient's care.

Recording clinical staff

Permission to record a patient's consultation does not constitute unrestricted permission to record clinical staff.

The organisation recognises that staff have legitimate interests in privacy, dignity and psychological safety.

Patients, relatives and visitors should not:

• deliberately record staff conversations unrelated to the patient's care;
• film staff in staff-only areas;
• follow staff while filming them;
• deliberately record staff outside the consultation;
• photograph staff without appropriate agreement;
• livestream staff without prior agreement;
• use recording equipment to intimidate or threaten staff;
• repeatedly film staff after a reasonable request to stop where the behaviour is intrusive or harassing.

Covert recording

The organisation does not encourage covert recording of clinical staff.

However, staff should recognise that a patient may make a personal recording without openly announcing it.

If a member of staff believes that a patient is recording the consultation covertly, they should remain calm and professional.

Where clinically appropriate, the staff member should:

1. inform the patient that they are aware recording may be taking place;
2. explain that the organisation supports open recording of consultations;
3. ask the patient to make the recording openly;
4. establish whether the recording is for personal use;
5. explain the need to protect other patients and staff;
6. continue the consultation where safe and appropriate.

A suspected covert recording should not automatically result in termination of the consultation or refusal to provide care.

Where the recording becomes threatening, intimidating, disruptive or otherwise inappropriate, staff should seek assistance.

When recording may be restricted or refused

Recording may be restricted or refused where there is a specific and reasonable concern that:

• another patient may be recorded;
• confidential information about another person may be captured;
• recording would materially interfere with clinical care;
• a sensitive examination or procedure cannot safely be conducted while recording;
• staff safety is compromised;
• the recording is being used to intimidate, threaten or harass staff;
• the patient intends to livestream or publicly broadcast the consultation without appropriate agreement;
• recording would compromise safeguarding;
• recording would create a significant security risk;
• the clinical environment makes safe recording impracticable.

Any refusal should be:

• proportionate;
• explained clearly;
• based on a specific concern;
• documented where appropriate;
• accompanied by an alternative wherever reasonably possible.

Recording must not prevent safe care

The presence of a recording device must not prevent staff from carrying out clinically necessary care.

If recording is interfering with assessment, examination, treatment or communication, the clinician should explain the concern.

Recordings made in community and patients' homes

The same principles apply when staff provide care in a patient's home.

However, additional consideration should be given to staff safety and lone working.

Staff should seek support where:

• recording is being used to intimidate them;
• the patient or another person is behaving aggressively;
• the staff member feels unsafe;
• recording forms part of a wider pattern of threatening behaviour;
• the staff member is being followed or filmed outside the immediate consultation;
• recordings are being made from CCTV, doorbell cameras or other devices in a manner that raises safety concerns.

Existing lone-worker, violence and aggression and staff safety procedures should be followed.

Livestreaming and public broadcasting

A patient's agreement to record their own consultation does not constitute agreement to livestream or publicly broadcast the consultation.

Livestreaming should therefore not be permitted without prior agreement from the organisation and the relevant identifiable participants.

Staff should escalate requests to livestream to the appropriate manager.

Social media and publication

Patients should be informed that a personal recording is different from publication or public sharing.  

Where a recording identifying staff or other patients is subsequently published without appropriate agreement, the incident should be referred to the Practice/Deputy Practice Manager.

The organisation should assess each case individually rather than assuming that every publication is unlawful.

Harassment, intimidation and unacceptable behaviour

Recording must not be used as a mechanism for harassment, intimidation or threatening behaviour.

Examples include:

• repeatedly filming a member of staff after they have asked for the behaviour to stop;
• placing a camera deliberately close to a staff member;
• following staff while recording;
• threatening to publish footage in order to intimidate staff;
• making threatening comments while recording;
• recording staff outside the consultation;
• deliberately recording private staff conversations;
• targeting an individual staff member through repeated recording;
• using recordings alongside abusive or discriminatory behaviour.

Such behaviour should be managed under Kearsley Medical Centre’s violence and aggression/unacceptable behaviour policy.

Staff should not feel required to manage difficult situations alone

Where a recording situation becomes difficult, staff should seek support from the Practice Manager/Deputy Practice Manager/Duty GP.

Staff should be supported where they have acted reasonably and in accordance with this policy.

Incident reporting

Incidents should be reported through the Kearsley Medical Centre Internal Learning Events Policy.

The organisation should monitor incidents to identify patterns, locations, services or individuals requiring additional support.

Recordings made by patients and the clinical record

A recording made by a patient on their own device for personal use does not automatically form part of the organisation's clinical record.

The GMC specifically states that recordings made by patients are owned by them and do not have to be stored with their medical records.

Staff should therefore not routinely request copies of personal patient recordings.

Equality and reasonable adjustments

A request to record may be associated with a disability or communication need.

Examples include:

• hearing impairment;
• learning disability;
• cognitive impairment;
• memory difficulties;
• neurodivergence;
• anxiety;
• communication difficulties;
• language barriers.

Staff should consider whether recording may be a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010.

Where recording cannot reasonably be accommodated, alternative adjustments should be explored.

The patient's underlying need should be addressed rather than simply refusing the recording request.

Children and young people

Requests involving children and young people require additional consideration.

Staff should establish:

• who is requesting the recording;
• whether the child or young person understands the implications;
• whether parental responsibility is relevant;
• whether another child or young person may be captured;
• whether there are safeguarding concerns.

Where there is uncertainty regarding capacity, parental responsibility or safeguarding, advice should be sought from the appropriate senior clinician or safeguarding lead.

Patients who lack capacity

Capacity to consent to recording should be considered separately from capacity to make other decisions.

A patient who lacks capacity for one decision may still have capacity to decide whether to be recorded.

Where a patient lacks capacity to make the relevant decision, staff should follow the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Kearsley Medical Centre local procedures.

Any decision should be made in accordance with the relevant legal framework and in the patient's best interests where required.

Remote consultations

The same principles apply to telephone and video consultations.

Where reasonably practicable, clinicians should establish:

• whether the patient is recording;
• whether anyone else is present with the patient;
• whether anyone else is present with the clinician;
• whether recording is audio or video;
• whether the platform has a recording function.

Patients should be asked not to record other participants without appropriate agreement.

Where organisational recording is undertaken, the organisation's approved recording and information governance arrangements must be followed.

Recording telephone calls

Where the organisation records telephone calls, patients should be informed that recording may take place.

Organisational recordings must have an appropriate purpose and be managed in accordance with applicable information governance requirements.

The GMC states that healthcare organisations should take reasonable steps to inform callers when calls are recorded and should not make secret recordings of calls from patients. 

Can I record my consultation?

We understand that some people find it helpful to record consultations so that they can listen again later or share information with a family member or carer.

You can ask your clinician if you would like to make an audio or video recording of your own consultation.

We will normally support reasonable requests to record, provided that:

• the recording relates to your own care;
• other patients are not recorded;
• confidential information about other people is not captured; and
• recording does not interfere with your care or the work of clinical staff.

Video recording may need additional arrangements because it can capture other people, documents or confidential information.

Please do not record staff outside your consultation, other patients or private conversations between staff.

Recordings are intended for your personal use. If you want to livestream, publish or otherwise share a recording publicly, please discuss this with us first.

If you need to record because of a disability or communication difficulty, please let us know. We can consider what reasonable adjustments may help you.

Our aim is to support your involvement in your care while protecting the privacy, dignity and safety of everyone in our healthcare environment.

Staff wellbeing and support

Kearsley Medical Centre recognises that being filmed or recorded unexpectedly can cause distress and anxiety.

Where staff have been subjected to inappropriate recording, particularly where material has been published online, they should be offered appropriate support through:

• line management;
• staff wellbeing services;
• safeguarding (where appropriate)