Royal North Shore Hospital
The Medical Records from the Royal North Shore Hospital used a new system from 1963. Previously, separate Obstetric Medical Records were kept. From 1963, the centralised unit record was used for information about obstetric and general admissions. It is difficult to determine the exact number of obstetric records in this series, or which records relate to adoptions carried out from the Hospital. According to Connecting Kin (1998), all obstetric medical records are retained indefinitely.
Access to information relating to adoption cases is restricted to the adoptee and the birth parents. Requests for information relating to adoption cases are handled in accordance with the Adoption Act 2000. Requests must be made in writing, and the applicant must include certain information with their application before it can be processed. Details of what information is required can be obtained from the Medical Records Manager at the Hospital. Other requests for information will be treated in accordance with principles of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPAA). Information will only be released to the person to whom it relates.
Sources used to compile this entry: Thinee, Kristy and Bradford, Tracy, Connecting Kin: Guide to Records, A guide to help people separated from their families search for their records [completed in 1998], New South Wales Department of Community Services, Sydney, New South Wales, 1998, https://clan.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/connectkin_guide.pdf.
Prepared by: Melissa Downing
Created: 10 August 2011, Last modified: 17 November 2014