Asylum Records

[abro49]

Hi,

Does anyone know how long asylum patient records are protected for?  I'm looking for an ancestor who I believe could have been in Hanwell and Colney Hatch between 1898 and 1935.

Any ideas???

Thanks
Ann

[Valda]

Hi

Asylum patients case histories are covered by the 100 year ruling. Record offices might bend that by a few years where a patient died a few years inside the 100 years. Case books contain a range of years and have other patients' case histories within them. Consequently it might not be possible to actually view the case book. If that is the case the record office will transcribe or scan the actual case histroy concerned. If the patient died well under the 100 year ruling you can request release of the records but you would have to prove you are the nearest direct descendant or have the permission of the nearest descendant. Prove might mean supplying the relevant certificates. It would be up to the discretion of the record office whether all the patient information is released, some or none for patient records into the 1930s.

To access case books you need a patient record number which would be given the patient on their arrival into the asylum. That means searching the asylum admission registers (open access if they stop before 1911). Or you could search the very heavy yearly alphabetical indexes at The National Archives in MH94 to get the date the patient entered the asylum and left (and if it was for another asylum which one).

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATLN=3&CATID=9713&SearchInit=4&SearchType=6&CATREF=mh94

Hanwell and Colney Hatch patients' records are held at the London Metropolitan Archives

http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cgi-bin/vcdf/detail?coll_id=11805&inst_id=118&nv1=search&nv2=basic
http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cgi-bin/vcdf/detail?coll_id=11807&inst_id=118&nv1=search&nv2=basic


Regards

Valda