Wrongly diagnosed with a serious mental health condition years ago, still on records!

[Mayormumbles]

After a recent hospitalisation I've realised that there is a huge error on my medical records. I'm very upset by it and don't know what to do as I thought it had already been fixed.

To cut a very long story short after my middle child was born I had a horrendous bout of post natal depression that led into what I now realise was post natal psychosis. I recovered and never suffered from psychosis again, however my medical records say I have a very serious psychiatric condition that I do not have (in the schizophrenia family of conditions). Now I know there is no shame in suffering from these things but it is not a condition I have and surely this will seriously affect medical treatment I am given. Wtf do I do?? I had emailed about this years ago and was told that the diagnosis was amended and that it wouldn't be mentioned in further correspondence/on my records but I was discharged last week and it's still there. My middle DC is 13 now! I am hoping to do teacher training in the future and surely this will stop me pursuing it?

I've been massively upset by this and feel like no one will believe me if that is on my records in the first place. I only have anxiety and am on no meds for anything.

Have you spoken to your GP about this? As an aside, are you really sure you want to go into teaching? It’s bloody hard work!!!

I'm hoping to teach A level. But yes I spoke to the GP about it years ago and thought it had been sorted

It’s a major failing in the system, and almost nothing you can do other than request for them to put a note on file.

There are errors in my record. I know for a fact that my record was mixed up with someone else’s because at one point the address was changed and then changed back, in addition to there being references to treatment I haven’t had for conditions I don’t have (none in f which were mental health related in my case). But I am not allowed to access the full record “for my own good”.

There have been other similar threads on here in the past from others, particularly relating to mental health treatment. One in particular which I remember where someone’s flatmate had given the OPs details when accessing mental health crisis treatment at hospital. From what I remember this affected the OPs insurance or job.

Perhaps now is the time to speak to your GP again.

I've also experienced this. I have a label on me after getting help [as I thought] for being a victim of abusive behaviours. Basically PTSD. After observing certain GP's attitudes to me when having appointments for totally unrelatedl health issues I asked to read my notes. I read them in disbelief. Things I had said had been written down incorrectly, distorted, the records/reports were full of errors as if the notes had been written a fortnight later and gaps filled in by the 'health professional'. No one had even listened properly to me at all. It is appalling that this can happen and it is beyond your control to correct.

All I could do was to write a letter to be included in my records stating and correcting all the errors in the reports. I was so unhappy about the whole situation but could do no more.

A psychologist I saw at length and asked to assess me after this also denied that the diagnosis was correct, but he could only send his report to join the other records. It's wrong that medical records are incorrect and so very misleading as it could lead to the wrong care in the future.

My wife also had the same illness (post-partum psychosis), also with the middle child, by the wording of your post it looks like you went on to have more, we had a third and that pregnancy was fine.
We thought that might be reckless at the time but actually it really gave her closure over the psychosis, which as I'm sure you are aware is pretty terrifying.

Anyway under GDPR, data controllers i.e. the NHS - have to rectify your record if you ask them to, without undue delay. This is called the right of rectification and the information commissioners office guidance is that this should take no longer than a calendar month. You also have the right of erasure, but I would go down this route, ask to speak to / get contact of the relevant data protection officer and get them to do it. They will be well versed in the process.

https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/individual-rights/individual-rights/right-to-rectification/

Thanks @NormalDistributon that is really helpful. Yes interestingly I too went on to have a third (surprise!) DC with zero issues during or after.

There is more info here https://transform.england.nhs.uk/information-governance/guidance/amending-patient-and-service-user-records/

Usually what will happen is that a note is put on the record to correct it, the actual record will not be changed (in the absence of a court order)

Good luck with the teacher training