Lost medical records?

[sugarybibs]

Talking about medical records i cant believe mine have gone missing in my hospital.I went for my usual check up last year and the clinic could not find my notes.I was fuming because its nearly 38 years of my diabetes information.I have wrote to everyone at the hospital and they have still not been found after almost a year.I have only been to two departments in the hospital and my notes have simply disappeared.I am more upset because in all the years ive had diabetes (38)i have never missed an appoinment or been late.They only have information about me from the doctors and temporary notes.I really dont know what i can do next.I have phoned and written to the ombudsman,medical records department and all other departments but they still cannot trace them.I wonder if this has happened to anyone else.

 

[hanadr]

I think you need to find who has the "big Guns " on this and start threatening. Have you written to the hospital's chief executive?

 

[Katharine]

Your GP may be able to give you copies of say the last five years letters and a summary of your past illnesses and medications and allergies. This could be used to start off a new set of records. It could help in the event of you needing admission to hospital.

 

[Jenny]

Does it really matter?

 

[lionrampant]

Does it really matter?

Given how useless the NHS is at keeping private information private, yes I'd say it matters.

 

[wiflib]

...I can tell you where they are. Some doctor somewhere will have borrowed them for some such perpose and left them in the coffee room on top of the massive pile already there.

wiflib

 

[sugarybibs]

Does it really matter?

Yes Jenny it really does matter to me anyway.It is not just 38 years of my diabetes history but also when i had my children and what happened when i was having them and all history of my allergies and all the different types of insulin i have had over the years.One doctor even said at diabetic clinic "i dont really know much about you because i only have temporary notes" well that made me feel angry like what was the point of me attending then.

 

[Jem]

oh that is just awful ... go and stamp your feet - brim up with tears and threaten a hypo or something ... good luck getting them back hun xxx

 

[sugarybibs]

oh that is just awful ... go and stamp your feet - brim up with tears and threaten a hypo or something ... good luck getting them back hun xxx

Thanks Jem and everyone i cant believe that i got a phone call (after nearly a year and half) from records department in my hospital to say my notes have been found!I am made up because it meant a lot to me.

 

[hanadr]

Did they say where they found them?

 

[sugarybibs]

Did they say where they found them?

I havnt asked them yet i was too made up to think,but i am going to call them back later to find out if they know where they have been

 

[iHs]

Your hospital records were probably stored somewhere down in the archives :roll:

 

[Katharine]

It may not be feasible to photocopy the whole lot. If you want this done it can be done but will be expensive.

Perhaps you could ask to see the notes and to photocopy key pages. You could then keep these.

Make sure you have them handy if you are admitted to hospital. (Just in case!)

 

[Jem]

ahhhhh I am so glad you've got them back!! wooooh

copying them might be a pain in the backside, what about asking to borrow them and scanning the lot (don't forget to back up to external hard drive or permanent media, dvd or something) and then you have it all to hand??

best, J/x