Medical photography at North Mid

Medical photography is used to visually record patients’ medical conditions to form part of their medical records.

Medical photographs help doctors and other health professionals monitor and treat clinical conditions. Often, they are also used as part of the planning process in conjunction with other tests such as ultrasound or MRI scans, x-rays, and blood tests.

Photographs taken by medical photographers may also be used for research and teaching doctors, nurses and other health professionals. Sometimes, with your permission, photographs will be published in scientific journals or medical books.

Who are medical photographers?

Medical photographers are photographers who are specifically trained and qualified to record a variety of medical conditions.

We can assure you that our staff will respect your privacy, dignity and confidentiality at all times. If you require a chaperone or an interpreter, please contact us prior to your appointment so we can arrange this for you.

What to expect during your medical photography session

On arrival you will be booked in and your personal details will be checked. You will then be seen by the medical photographer, who will explain which photographs need to be taken and how you will need to position yourself.

Depending on which part of the body is going to be photographed, you may be asked to remove jewellery, make-up and/or clothing, and hair grips and bands may be used the tie the hair back from the face.

Please note: The flash lighting used for photography will be bright.

Your consent

The consultant, doctor or senior nurse who referred you to have medical photographs taken will explain why they require these photographs, and the request for photography is documented in your medical records. At this stage, you will also be asked to give consent for photography.

We have 3 levels of consent:

  • Medical records only
  • Teaching
  • Publication

If you change your mind about the level of consent you originally gave, please contact the medical photography department in writing. On receipt of your letter the department will amend your records where possible, according to your wishes.

Please note that we cannot destroy the photographs from your records as we have a legal requirement to keep them but we can limit access to them. In addition, please be aware that once a photograph has been published, especially in a journal, they will be accessible on the internet and it will be difficult to limit external access to these photographs.

Who owns the photographs?

North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust owns the copyright and it is illegal for any unauthorised person to make copies of your photographs.