NHS won't show me my notes

[SnowWhiteAndTheTwoKids]

I've had day surgery today, just a local anaesthetic, nothing major, it was done in 15 minutes. After the operation they said there were no doctors around to do my discharge paperwork so they would post it to me. They asked if I was okay with that or did I want to wait an unknown amount of hours for the paperwork. I said I was happy to get the paperwork in the post but please could I just have a quick look at my file? Nurse said "No, the notes are confidential." I said I just wanted to have a quick look at the info the consultant had added to my file and would give it right back to her. She went off and checked with a senior nurse then came back and said I would need to make a formal information request to see my file.
Why on earth would they be so cagey about this? When I gave birth I was given my notes to look through and it was all very transparent.
YABU - you should trust the NHS and not ask to see your notes.
YANBU - you should be able to read notes about yourself after an operation with wasting more NHS resources on a freedom of information request.

I had to ring up my gp & put in a request to see my medical record/notes. He then phoned me back and went through the notes with me. I’m glad he did - there was a random entry from 12 years prior saying I was allergic to something I definitely wasn’t allergic to, it said I had ‘a severe reaction’
It didn’t say who entered it either. Apparently, when changing gp practices, they used to copy notes over by hand, so doc put it down to human error and it was removed from my file.

Because any data that references other people needs to be redacted first. Any comments, for example, made by an adult child about their parent if concerned about dementia etc would be redacted.

@caerdydd12 but technically you could argue that's their data if it both identifies and relates to the patient themselves. Opinions can be personal data

Did you see the previous post from the therapist, and how her clients could be retraumatised by reading their notes?

Thanks Upsizer...these examples absolutely make sense.
In my case I just wanted to know how the hell I was meant to look after my wound as no one was there to discharge me!
Yes, I'll get the discharge notes in the post in about 2 weeks, or I could contact my GP who will have have availability to speak to me in 4 weeks time by then my hand might have fallen off but as long as my data is secure I'll be very happy! 🤣 I get the rules but given the circumstances you would think a little common sense would be helpful.

Because that's what the law says. You just verbally asking, and the notes being handed over would be breaking the law. And as I've already posted it doesn't just apply to the NHS, nor is it just a UK thing.

Absolutely not, not a single thing I've said is ableist. Being competent is subjective and it is not something any random HCA or nurse is qualified to make a snap judgement on based on potentially short meeting. Many people with dementia, for example, can come across extremely "competent" until a trigger changes things. An elderly patient may seem absolutely fine but end up in hysterics reading the words "benign tumour" thinking they have cancer. The fact is you don't own your patient data and there are processes in place to protect the vulnerable and those mentioned within notes, other than the patent, as they're entitled to confidentiality too.

It's been a minute when I've worked in patient care but we kept 2 sets of notes. One was the official notes that the patients were entitled to and then the other one was gor generic thoughts about the patients day that was only for the hospital staff when you were unable to inform your Colleagues due to shift change etc.

You can try and argue it but you'd be wrong in the eyes of the law. Patient data isn't even owned by the patient, you have a right to view it upon request but you don't own the data. Someone else's opinion of you isn't your personal data, it's just their opinion.

OP if all you needed to know was how to look after your wound, could one of the nurses not have advised you on that?

I think the nurse could have asked the senior nurse to summarise / read out what was written. I think it would have been better to wait for the discharge note or say you'll call back for it tomorrow? Were they giving you any meds?

Anyway I hope you u are feeling well tonight x

@caerdydd12 have you actually read the ICO guidance on personal data? It's not about owning it, it's about right of access and the ICO specifically say opinions can be personal data l

The nurse was very sweet and made a lovely cup of tea but didn't fill me with confidence. She gave me a useless piece of paper (which she read out loud to me - struggling with the word 'convenient') with typed information, some of this contradicted what the surgeon had said. I wanted to read my notes to double check the consultant's follow up advice.
Number 2 on the sheet says: Treat as you would a cut. I wanted some more detailed info!
Also, see previous post about no painkillers or dressings.

You do have right of access, I've explained this, you just have to follow the process of formally requesting them. You don't have right of immediate access. By pointing out that you don't own the data I haven't said otherwise, but many posters have complained that they have a right to "my data" and I'm highlighting it isn't actually their data.

Opinions can be personal data, but in terms of medical data, a non medical opinion isn't usually included because they would be failing to provide confidentiality to the opinion holder.

Doctor said I would be given meds but nurse said I hadn't been prescribed any so tough luck. DH was downstairs waiting for me with 2 DC so I wasn't prepared to wait an unknown amount of time for discharge doctor to appear. She said it could be 2+ hours...

The notes aren't for you. They are for the hospital so they have a record of your care. You can view that if you apply to do so. Wound care should be in the discharge letter. The nurse was right and you're wrong I'm afraid.

And the reason the wait for the discharge doctor is so long is because they have too many patients and not enough time.

It's none of their business whether we understand what we're reading or not. Their job is not to protect us from reading things we may not understand. Some of us are also not completely stupid and perfectly capable of understanding it.

If it makes any better sense or reduced that feeling of being excluded, we are not allowed to access our own blood results or information. We would be disciplined.

Of course they can. Just like you have to submit a written request or pay to see the records a bank or company hold about you. The information is about you and relating to you but it is not yours. Therefore there are standard protocols in place.