Aibu complain? Dd medical notes (poss triggering)

[padwalk]

I’ll try and cut a long story short, but I’m feeling really emotional over this so Im not sure if my judgement is clouded.

Dd (15) has applied for the army, but there was a mix up with her medical records and somebody else’s, and her medical fitness was failed. So to prepare for the appeal we’re doing, we needed to request all of dds medical notes from our GP. I was told because dd is over the age of 12, she had to request and sign for them herself and physically hand them over to her, they couldn’t even speak to me on the phone for confidentiality, fair enough I thought.

Dd has been off all day, really upset, then she completely broke down tonight and it turns out it’s because of something she saw in her records.
She had been reffered to camhs many years ago, because I asked them to look at her because of my own mental health issues and I was worried about the affect on her. She knows about this, I’ve always been as honest as I can about it. She went twice and they weren’t concerned enough to take it any further.
The referral letter was from my psychologist at the time (one who i horribly clashed with and wished I’d put in a complaint about at the time for a different reason) and there in black and white was a complete list of all my issues, from severe trauma in my own childhood, to being sectioned when I was pregnant with my second child and all about me being suicidal, including the psychologists own opinion on why I was that way. There was much more but I don’t want to derail the thread too much. I’m so angry that all of this was literally handed to my 15 year old to read, and she now knows that her mother tried to kill herself.

Is this even legal for them to do? Do I complain to the gp, the psychology service? Aibu to take it further, or we’re they completely in their rights to do this?

I didn’t think I’d be sitting tonight comforting my dd, who’s petrified about what she read.

[SongToTheSiren1]

Complain to the GP practice. Third party information should be redacted.

[Cheby]

Jesus wept. Please complain to the GP. This is horrendous.

[Marnimajor]

This is a massive redaction fail, completely and utterly unacceptable. Give them hell.

[WheelchairWoes]

Definitely complain to the GP and if they don't listen go over them! That is horrible and not something a 15 year old DD should be reading!

[padwalk]

I’m glad I’m not overreacting, but by god I’m shaking and it’s brought so much stuff back, poor dd is so worried about me now I didn’t ever want her to know some of this stuff
Im actually still in psychology, with a fantastic woman right now but it’s really making me question any trust I’ve had with mental health services.
So I just call gp practise then and say I want to complain?

[Poloshot]

Is she ready for the army if this has upset her like that?

[GinandGingerBeer]

It's her mother ffs @Poloshot
What a completely stupid thing to say.

[AtSea1979]

Yes call the GP and they should put you in touch with the practice manager. It’s them you need to make the complaint to. They should be taking this very seriously

[SongToTheSiren1]

Complain in writing as they'll need you to anyway. Drop letter in first thing tomorrow, they should write to confirm reciept and explain their complaints procedure. I am appalled that this has happened! Absolutely give them hell as PP said. Legal requirement to redact third party info. They will be up shit creek for this.

[Poloshot]

Thought it was a valid point myself. I don't understand why there is so much about her mother on her records though it seems to breach patient confidentiality imo.

[CrabbyPatty]

Just to reiterate what other's have said - its the GP practice who is at fault. They can write whatever they feel is relevant in a child's notes regarding parental history, but it doesn't mean your daughter should see it. You could contact the local CCG.

[Joinourclub]

That’s helpful Polo.

[OscarWildesGreenCarnation]

Make sure you are putting the complaint in writing OP, this is a massive breach for the surgery to make. If their response is inadequate then go straight to the ICO. I feel for you both .

[LadyGregorysToothbrush]

That’s awful and I’m not surprised you’re upset. You should definitely complain.

Slightly off topic - how on earth can a 15 year old apply for the army? I find that really disturbing.

[SneakyGremlins]

I think you can apply at 15 if you'll be 16 when you join.

Raise fucking hell OP.

[whatsnewchoochoo]

If it makes you worry about your current psychologist and you trust her talk to her about it. She may be able to provide reassurances

[padwalk]

Its a 6th form defence college she’s applied to, but as it’s through the army they need to do the full application process, such as fitness plus exam results etc. I didn’t want to put too much info down though so I was being vague.

I can understand why she’s upset, I am too.

I will call to speak to the practise manager tomorrow, and good point about writing the letter too, thanks.

[LaBelleSauvage]

You should definitely make a complaint to the practice so they can address it and it doesn't happen again. It's a terrible mistake they made but mistakes happen.

I don't think you should consider legal action- I think overall it will impact on the time the practice has to care for its patients which is most important.

[bbcessex]

poloshot

On the off chance that you are genuinely oblivious, rather than deliberately goading, let me help you rephrase your post into a form civil people use...

“That seems like a harsh message to receive OP, and definitely one the GP should not have shared without your permission. I guess receiving difficult information will be expected in the forces... have you discussed this aspect with your DD?”

[Leobynature]

bbcessex You are a legend 🔋

[Mintychoc1]

This is an error on the part of the GP surgery, as 3rd party information shouldn’t be available and should be withheld in this situation.

Having said that, it is a total nightmare for GPs. Going through a set of notes to check nothing has been said about anyone else can take hours, and with the huge time constraints on GPs these days, things can get missed.

I think you should still complain to the proactive manager though. Given the original mix up, it seems they’re not really on top of things

[Mintychoc1]

Practice manager

[Poloshot]

@bbcessex aww thank you

[MarcieBluebell]

Seems illegal. Absolutely terrible.