At 168 Medical Group, we understand that parents and carers often need help managing a child's healthcare. Proxy access allows a parent, guardian, or carer to access online GP services on behalf of a child or young person when appropriate.
Proxy access allows someone to manage aspects of another person's GP account, such as:
The level of access available will depend on the child's age, circumstances, and any safeguarding considerations.
If your child is under 16, you may be able to request proxy access if you have parental responsibility for them.
At 168 Medical, you will be asked to provide:
We may also need to consider safeguarding arrangements and whether anyone else shares parental responsibility.
Please note: Access will not be granted until the required documentation has been received, verified, and reviewed.
As children get older, they gain increasing rights over their own health information.
Children aged 11 and above are often considered capable of making decisions about who can access their medical information. Where appropriate, we may need to speak with the child and obtain their consent before granting or continuing proxy access.
Each request is considered individually, taking into account the young person's understanding, wishes, and best interests.
Once a young person reaches 16, they are generally regarded as being able to manage their own healthcare.
Parent or guardian proxy access will usually end at this point. If the young person would like someone else to continue helping manage their GP services, they can give their consent for proxy access to be set up again.
Where a young person lacks capacity to make decisions about their healthcare, proxy access may still be considered in their best interests.
If your child is unable to understand what it means to give consent for online access due to a learning disability, medical condition, or other circumstance, please let us know.
We will carefully consider the request and make a decision based on the child's best interests, ensuring appropriate support is in place for their healthcare needs.
To help protect confidentiality, GP practices often review or remove parental online access as children become older. This commonly happens between the ages of 11 and 16.
If your access has been removed and you believe it should continue, please contact us. We will review the situation and discuss the available options with you.
To request proxy access for a child or young person, please contact our reception team.
We will explain the process, provide any required forms, and advise what identification or documentation you may need to bring.