Case Books, 1840 - 1932

Series

Identifier: LHB7/51

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The first two volumes contain case notes for the inmates of East and West House: thereafter, unless otherwise stated, the volumes relate to West House. The case books contain each patient’s clinical record: some volumes in the late 1890s contain photographs of the patient. All volumes are indexed.

All volumes (excepting numbers 2, 115 and 120) had a quantity of loose material interleaved. Where there was an enclosure with a page the letters ‘Encl’ have been pencilled in the relevant top corner. These have been stored separately as enclosures.

Dates

Creation: 1840 - 1932

Conditions Governing Access

Public access to these records is governed by UK data protection legislation, the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, and the latest version of the Scottish Government Records Management: Health and Social Care Code of Practice (Scotland). Whilst some records may be accessed freely by researchers, the aforementioned legislation and guidelines mean that records conveying sensitive information on named individuals may be closed to the public for a set time.

Where health records relate to named deceased adults, they will be open 75 years after the latest date referenced, on the next 1 January. Case records of individuals below 18 years of age or adults not proven to be deceased will be open 100 years after the latest date recorded, on the next 1 January. Further information on legislation and guidelines covering medical records can be found here: https://bit.ly/2CXB4V8.

LHSA encourages the use of these records for legitimate clinical, historical and genealogical research purposes, and records that are designated as closed can be consulted by legitimate researchers if certain conditions are met. Please contact the LHSA Archivist for more details regarding procedures on how you can apply for permission to view closed records. Telephone us on: 0131 650 3392 or email us at lhsa@ed.ac.uk.