Black mark against name on medical records?

[Shittenshite]

My partner and I believe we have some kind of 'black mark' against us on our medical records, and possibly others as well.

We have a solicitor involved with a case for what we believe is medical negligence, against the NHS Trust local to us. It's an extremely big, complex and serious case which is likely to go on for some time.

Over the last few months, so many strange things have happened. It seems people are acting very strange around us. Doctors, consultants, every professional we have contact with seems to keep us at arms length.

We've done nothing wrong but they're acting strange, like we have, although nobody has said anything directly. We don't say anything to anyone about the case or solicitors, but it feels like we've got some kind of black mark against us.

Can this be true or are we just being paranoid?

I doubt there is an actual black mark but the NHS cam be quite insular, people know one another, trained in the same places, are married, are friends etc. Word gets about, they might want to warn their colleagues they're at risk or likely to be under scrutiny. Nothing will be written down, just a quiet chat.

I'm so sorry for the loss of your son

Yes they will have marked your file.
I am so sorry for the death of your son and the issues caused to your daughter.

I am going through similar at the moment regarding birth injury to my son.

In my case there are a lot of similar complaints regarding this particular Dr who has since been taken off the medical register.

My solicitor who is dealing with a lot of his cases has informed us that the Trust will 'red flag' your file once a legal team ask for access. In our case we know that some notes have mysteriously gone missing.

I am yet to see any of my sons consultants since we have put in our legal case. But we are going next week. They are aware that I was considering legal action and in fact had backed me up.

As with you it's a difficult situation to explain on line without being too revealing and it is, as with all these things extraordinarily complex.

For all those who may think we are in the wrong to sue the sainted NHS I would invite you to come and live our live for a week and see how you can cope with something that could and should have been prevented. And in our case was and still is being covered up by the Trust.

In some areas SS are linked to the Trust so they may well have access to the knowledge you are seeking legal action.

OP, you have made the decision to fight this battle because you know you and your children did not receive the care they should have been entitled to. Your son died and your daughter has significant health issues.
You know you are correct. You know you are doing this for your children and also for other children so this type of thing won't happen again.
Don't let the Trust who let you down so badly get into your mind and make you feel that this is too hard to fight. You are doing the right thing.
I wish you all the luck xx

I'm sorry for your loss. The professional involved in child's care may or may not know about the details of what previously happened. It is not unusual to litigate in those circumstances. I personally wouldn't be worried in those circumstances unless I was involved in the case. I think is very unlikely you would have a black mark against your name.

That being said, if your child is being treated by the same trust, I think it is sensible to to transfer their care to another trust. I hate to say this but the trust legal team will do their best to defend their claim and not admit liability. The do this with staff at employment tribunals. The NHS is notorious for treating whistleblowers terribly. The management and Human Resources are terrible.

Your non-judgemental reply, honesty, integrity, level of understanding and support and solidarity in a situation where we know we've been wronged, resulting in a dire situation where our children have paid the ultimate price, has made me cry (for several reasons which I know you understandand don't need me to explain). Thank you, and thank you for your condolences too. I am also truly sorry for the pain you and your child have endured and continue to endure.I so wish things were different for all of us and those like us and our children who've suffered similar situations through no fault of our own.

I think you might be being paranoid. Mostly because if there's a complaint there would usually be a culture of bending over backwards to be nice/interested/helpful, even better than usual.

Whatever the case, it sounds like it's been and will be very very stressful for you. Take good care of yourself!

The consultant will never be any other way in the future, because a complaint has been made.

Icedlatte I don’t work for the NHS.
Imagine you work at the local swimming baths. A customer approached you and asks how much they will get fined for not taking their library book back. You explain that you don’t know but direct them to where they can find out ie the library. They don’t go to the library ( even though it’s basically next door) instead they ring the switchboard if the local council and tell them they want to speak to customer services. They tell the customer service assistant that they want to give into the swimming baths to enquire as to how much they will get fined for not taking their library book back. Get the picture?
Not all members of the public are rational.

100% they are being different due to the complaint. It’s normal and they are being professional incase they are next. I also made a complaint and my consultant and nurses were completely different. If you know you’re right don’t let it bother you.

My question was is it possible there's a 'black mark' on our medical records, alerting these professionals to the fact that we have a legal case against the Trust? If so, what kind of 'black mark' would that be? We haven't told any of the professionals there's a legal case - but they probably know because of the legal investigation.

In the trust where I work it doesn’t automatically flag up on the notes if a legal case is pending. If the consultant you feel was acting differently has been involved from the beginning (although not part of who is being sued) there is a good chance he/she will have been asked to write statements or will have been interviewed as part of the investigation so will know about it that way. Not sure how the social worker would know unless again they have been involved since the beginning and have needed to provide evidence/statement, etc.

Do you know the OP and her case personally? How do you know her complaints are "laughably daft"?

Hey @cultureplanet did you read this? I believe was an act of negligence by one department which lead to other failings, resulting in the death of our son and injuries to our daughter.
Do you still think the OP's complaints are "laughably daft"?

OP I'm so sorry about your son and what has happened to your daughter.

There's no black mark. And tbh in many trusts a file is a pretty vague concept. Also it's not your child who's made the complaint so would it be on their file anyway?

Consultants know each other and word travels. They may have been asked to contribute in some way. Or maybe they were just having an off day

Seriously? Do you take pleasure in making nasty and unhelpful comments.

Yeap. A friend of mine suffered medical negligence in Ireland and had a lawsuit underway. All the doctors clammed up and refused to help her.

It might help to not think of it as a black mark.

It is likely, and good practice, to make sure that doctors treating your family are aware of your loss and ongoing legal case.

Individual doctors will interpret this as they may...they might feel sad for you, wary, unable to talk. They will have a conflict of interests if you have an ongoing legal case against their employer. They've probably had no training on this.

But it isn't a black mark in the sense of saying your family deserve less treatment or worse communication.

Focus on building relationships with health care professionals and being straightforward, despite your awful loss. They may not know how to handle this situation.

IT consultant here. When I consulted with the NHS I was made aware of several system flags that went up if a solicitor requested case notes. They are for documentary and audit purposes only. They aren’t meant to impact your care and if you feel it is then let your solicitor and trust know asap.

Sometimes I can tell I need to be more careful about what I say to a patient just by scrolling the list of which doctors they have seen. Or the number of phone calls or messages from patient. I have also seen locked notes which I cannot access or referrals to risk management or ombudsman. I follow a close script when interacting with these patients and often will have a colleague in room with me. I would encourage you to anticipate and expect patient focused care and not be looking for chat or a warmer interaction. Be focused on getting proper, best practice care for your child and seek the best carers in the areas your child needs help in. Be professional and expect professionalism and carry thru with your complaint if legally advised. I do feel really skilled clinicians will not be threatened by the complaint and will want to help your daughter irregardless of the legal situation.

Thank you for the additional replies, and thank you to those who were quick to put a clueless individual back in their place. Hopefully under the rock is where they will stay.

I don't ever expect preferential treatment for myself or my family. I don't even expect pleasantries or chit chat, and fully understand that doctors and consultants (and nursing staff of course) are extremely stretched, pressured and under huge amounts of stress etc.

If I feel in the future that a professional is acting differently, I might very gently mention, if it's appropriate during the appointment, that we do have a legal case pending and that they as individuals and their departments have nothing to be concerned about. I fully understand and respect that they may have a conflict of interest since we are taking legal action against their employer and I appreciate this could put them in an awkward situation.

I am also going to seriously explore the possibility of moving our family's care to a different Trust, however it is likely to be very difficult and time-consuming plus there will be am awful lot of travelling involved. It's possible though.

Longer-term we're looking at moving house, well away from this area, and don't know yet when that's likely to be as we have some obstacles to cross first.

Thanks again for your comments, advice and shared experiences.