Bradford Council Apologizes After Adoptee's Medical History Fight

Bradford Council has apologized to a 26-year-old adoptee after she spent years trying to obtain her biological family's medical history, saying it "did not offer the support or signposting she needed" when sensitive records finally arrived, according to the BBC. The council says it is now changing how it hands over records to adults who were placed in care as children.

The case traces a familiar path for adoptees trying to piece together health information that could affect their own care.

What happened before Aaliyah was adopted?

Aaliyah, now a trainee solicitor living in Birmingham, was removed from her biological parents at seven months old and later adopted, the BBC reports. Under UK practice, her NHS number was changed to protect her anonymity when the adoption was finalized. Her existing medical records were merged into her new file, but that merger does not automatically carry over her biological family's wider health history, according to the BBC.

When did the gap in her medical history become urgent?

Aaliyah found a lump in her breast and wanted to know whether she had inherited an elevated cancer risk. She says she could not answer the question. "Every time you go to the GP when they ask for family history, you have to say you don't know," she told the BBC. The lump turned out to be non-cancerous, but she says the uncertainty was severe: "Not knowing anything about yourself genetically is terrifying."

How did she request her records, and what arrived?

Aaliyah filed an official data access request with Bradford Council, the authority that had removed her from her biological family. She describes the process as a "bureaucratic hellscape." Days before her 25th birthday, a large unmarked envelope arrived at her home containing court records, a letter from her social worker, and medical details she had tried for years to track down — including that her biological mother struggled with eating disorders throughout her life, information Aaliyah says would have helped explain her own severe anorexia as a teenager. She told the BBC the documents also contained "earth-shattering information, of which I don't think I have ever recovered from."

What has Bradford Council said about the case?

In a statement to the BBC on 10 October 2026, Bradford Council said: "We are genuinely sorry that when Aaliyah received sensitive and personal information through her subject access request, we did not offer the support or signposting she needed. We recognise that we should have done more." The council said it is "strengthening our approach so that adults accessing their records are given clear information about the support available," and Bradford Children and Families Trust has offered Aaliyah a meeting to discuss her experience further, per the BBC.

Is support for adoptees consistent across the UK?

The BBC reports that some local authorities offer specialist support for adoptees up to age 21 or 25, but access and ease of that support vary by council. Separately, a grief-paperwork platform launched this month underscores how bureaucratic processes tied to family records and loss remain a recurring source of strain, according to HTT News.