About:

The Hospital Archives contains the records of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, and of the organisations which preceded it. It is kept for the purposes of use and reference by the Trust itself, which like all other NHS Trusts and Health Authorities has a duty to manage its records. While many of the records created in the course of the Trust’s business are eventually destroyed, some records are worthy of permanent preservation as the ‘memory’ of the NHS.

NHS records are defined as ‘Public Records’ under the terms of the Public Records Act 1958. Therefore, the Hospital Archives is a ‘Place of Deposit’ as defined by The National Archives under the Public Records Acts of 1954 & 1967, and as such, unless access is restricted, records of the Hospitals are open to public access and viewing. The Trust has its own archivist who holds material and artefacts worthy of permanent preservation that relate to the history and work of the Hospital and its other related organisations.

If you have a specific interest in Addenbrooke’s Hospital, or its constituent hospitals, please contact the Archivist for a general discussion about the contents of the archives. The Archivist can carry out short enquiries on your behalf, but for more lengthy research or if you would like to view documents in person, access to the records can be arranged by appointment.

The Data Protection and Freedom of Information Acts apply to archived hospital records. However, patient and staff records have closure periods and may not be available until they are 100 years old. These records are defined in the Public Records Act 1958. Information from such records may be released to the person concerned, or to the next of kin, but the individual requesting the information will be required to produce proof of identity, and the release of any information from closed health records remains at the discretion of the Archivist.

Access arrangements: The Archivist works part-time Mon-Friday, so please make contact before a visit.