To be worried about these notes on DS's Medical notes

[dashoflime]

During my pregnancy, I moved house and, despite me updating the midwifes and registering with a new GP, three appointment letters for scans got sent to my old address. My "failiure to attend" those three times triggered a whole load of intervention including an investigation by social services, which was thankfully concluded very quickly. The social worker found that the mix up had been the fault of the NHS and has no further concerns about me. She also Encouraged me to make a complaint to the NHS and promised to write to all agencies and ask them to remove any notes on my file about not engaging with services.
The issue is refusing to go away however as today at my 6 week check up the GP asked me why I missed appointments.I explained the situation and said that I was disappointed that the information was still on file. The GP told me she couldn't remove the note but could add something amending it. When she showed me what she had added it said: "patient is extremely distressed by involvement of social services"
So now my records not only say I don't engage but also that social services were involved and that I am distressed about it. If I read those notes I would assume "extremely distressed" was a euphamism for shouty and irrational.
Am I being unreasonable to be concerned about this? I feel like I have been stereotyped as a bad parent already and I'm worried this will be held against me in future, for example if DS ever needs treatment for an injury or something.

[auntpetunia]

I would write to local nhs pct giving all details you've given here and the name of the social worker who was on your side and insist they delete all comments from your notes within 1 month. And I would contact the social workers direct and tell her its still not gone away. Good luck.

[catwoo]

i don't understand.were the scans and appointments for you or uour dc?

[dashoflime]

Thanks Aunt Petunia. I think I will do that

[carabos]

Why do SS get involved if someone misses an ante-natal appointment? When did attendance become compulsory? I moved from one end of the country to the other when pregnant with DS2. I didn't book in at my original address because I knew I was moving. I didn't book in initially in the new area because we stayed with friends for a couple of months while, so when I eventually booked in I was 30 weeks. No one batted an eyelid.

[lisaro]

You miss appointments and it's on your son's medical notes and there's a wholr Social Services enquiry launched? I feel there's more back story you're not telling.

[lisaro]

whoir = whole

[dashoflime]

Sorry Catwoo, the scans were of unborn DS in the womb. As it turned out (when they finally got me in for a scan) he was actually too small and had a dodgy heart beat and needed to be delivered immidiately by C Section. Up to that point I was blissfully unaware. Sending me appointment letters to the wrong address could have been life threatening for him. I am very upset that their response to their own fuck up has been to put a lot of stressful scrutiny on me, rather than apologising for nearly killing my child. Melodramatic I know but that's how I feel today. I think I definately will write that complaint letter

[ToothbrushThief]

She is correct - if someone misses appointments concerning a child, it's deemed a child protection issue. Miss your own appts and that's your choice but a child has no choice.

I'm sure this does seem big brother to some but.. it's a big but ..... the people who have killed and battered children avoid their routine appointments. It is a red flag.

OP PALS can be useful

This sounds like a data protection issue to me (not an expert). The notes retained must be accurate. I agree that recording a DNA as a DNA is wrong BUT the whole story should be retained. The GP is correct that she should amend the record. PALS may help you bring this to a better conclusion. I would want a clear record showing their mistake

[hopkinette]

Sending your scan letters to the wrong address isn't the same as nearly killing your child. Get a fucking grip.

[ToothbrushThief]

Sounds like you've lost your grip hop...

[ToothbrushThief]

OP I would share your disgust that the poor record keeping could have led to poor consequences for your baby.

The whole 'policy' for missed appointments is for child protection ironically. To then be accused must have really compounded things

[booflebean]

Wouldnt you know you were due a scan????

[hobnobsaremyfavourite]

Hop stop being so rude. What is with people wound here recently.

[booflebean]

Putting that aside, yes I would be livid at those notes given the circumstances and write to all the people necessary to get them removed.

[PinsAndNoodles]

They won't be able to delete anything that's already in your file, that would be against the medical code of conduct, so there's no point putting your foot down and insisting about that bit. What you need to ask for is to add your version of events to the file.

I agree you should make a complaint though about the original error and the continued misreading of the situation by your doctor.

[dashoflime]

Lisaro: I was surprised as well. To be fair it was a very short investigation. Just a phone call from the social worker really. I sent in photocopies of my pregnancy record showing all the appointments I had been to, she double checked with my new midwife. I visited the social services office at the hospital a few days after the birth just to double check it was all resolved. That was it.

"I feel there's more back story you're not telling."

This ^ is exactly why i'm concerned about the mention on my sons file. People are going to make that assumption aren't they?

Hopkinette: The hospital was concerned my baby wasn't developing properly in the womb and wanted a scan to check. They sent appointments for scans to the wrong address three times and as a result I didnt get a scan for several months after they first became concerned. When they finally did the scan, he was very small, had not enough fluids round him and seemed in distress> They were worried enough to do a C-Section there and then. So yes, he could have died as a result of that error. I was being a dramatic, which I acknowledged in the post. But honestly, not very.

Toothbrushtheif: thank you for your reply. That was very useful

[StrawberryMojito]

I don't understand, didn't you know you were supposed to be having a 12/20 week scan? Why didn't you chase up your appointment.

Other than that YANBU, the comment that GP made about being distressed would have pissed me off too.

[StrawberryMojito]

Sorry x-post

[goodygumdrops]

But surely you knew to expect a scan appointment. When you didn't receive one, why didn't you call the hospital?

[BarbarianMum]

[dashoflime]

Booflebean and StrawberryMohito:

It was an additional scan not a regular one. I had been told something verbally by a nurse along the lines of "your baby seems a bit small, we might want to monitor it, there may be an appointment in the post" This was in the hospital when I was being seen for a bleed (which thankfully turned out to be nothing). I should have chased it up but i didn't. I wont be making that mistake again.

[dashoflime]

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