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.

Something you've decided could be psychologically harmful to me? No, you shouldn't get to decide that on my behalf. And if the law entitles you to do it then the law is wrong and needs to be changed.

I agree! Surely under GDPR I have the right to all data on myself...?!

as far as i understood this thread you do have the right to data on yourself, but that is it, and since your data might intersect with other people's data you have to do it via SAR rather than "give me my notes now".

That seems sensible.

It's not withholding information as some of the file is about medical formulation - that doesn't really belong to the individual as such it belongs to those who wrote it and it is a legal document.

“They” are healthcare practitioners. They decide what’s good and bad for you all the time, it’s what they’re paid to do, and you trust them to do it or else you would be prepared to receive treatment in the first place.

(but they sometimes contradict themselves or each other, so it is worth wanting to check. Sometimes they make mistakes. Sometimes they treat patients as inconvenient disruptions to their working day....)

IME SAR's are a total PITA. I prepare them (not for NHS) and they require lots and lots of work. It's not a simple case of handing over a file. I've had to train a lot of people into ensuring that records can be requested on demand. If you write "X is a fucking pain in the hole" that is going into an SAR even if it's totally accurate

In the digital age GDPR is a good thing, it demands organisations observe information privacy protocols. The converse is the person who perceives incorrectly that they "own" their data is wrong legally.

Can you seriously imagine every patient on a ward asking for their notes to sit and read through! It would be a nightmare! Some of them are massive thick sets of notes full of years of information. I understand wanting to know exactly what’s in your notes, trust me I want to know everything in mine as have lots of medical stuff done but you must be able to see why it isn’t exactly possible in that situation!

@Vitriolinsanity when requesting the notes do you have to be specific about what you would like to see?
I don't need to see my whole 29 years but if that's what they gave me I would accept them. If I just wanted to read about 1 childhood injury/treatment and about the birth of ds could I ask for this?

One blue set of notes can have loads in it! Not sure why everyone has such an issue with someone being told they couldn’t see their notes!

I don't have the NHS app @becksbeer123
I did have an app called 'Patient Access' for my gp where I could book appointments and order repeat prescriptions

I'm in Scotland, is this just an NHS England app maybe?

I will likely be off to hospital for a operation pretty soon, I'm going to take a good look through any of my notes if they are hanging around my bed.

Some questions if anyone is still on this thread to answer them
Private hospitals? Do they abide by this cant see your own notes? My thinking if the NHS notes belong to the NHS, is it the same in a private hospital?

That issue a while ago about any mothers behaviours like drinking in pregnancy etc on the babies notes? Cant remember if it actually is a thing or was going to become a thing. Assuming it happens, would it be redacted?

My original paper notes were lost by the NHS many years ago ( I'm old) so the first 5 or so years of my medical life are missing, is that likely to be true or is it possibly a lie so I cant access something that might upset me?

I think it’s worth checking your records are accurate in case of wanting to claim on life or travel insurance or critical illness cover. My DD had problems when going to university because she needed proof that she’d had relevant vaccinations. The Gp printout they gave her was completely wrong, missing out several vaccinations, and I could prove it by the records in her red book.

@twoandcooplease as I said, I don't do this for the NHS but I encourage SAR to be focussed in scope using key words eg back, operation, incision in addition to DD's details and the date of the operation.

@twoandcooplease Medical records aren't kept forever, so if you are now an adult, it's likely that hospital records of a childhood incident will now have been destroyed. There may be a summary with your GP however, as GP records are kept for your lifetime, I think?

Oh @ElizabethBest that's a good point actually, I hadn't thought of how long they keep them.

The accident I had treatment for was in 2001 so possible it is gone now

@twoandcooplease was this hospital treatment? If you don't mind me asking, how old are you now? Paeds records are kept until the patient is 25, so if you were very young they might still exist? Your GP won't have the full notes, but they will have a copy of your discharge summary, if that is any help?

@ElizabethBest I am 29 now so I might have just missed the window.
I did contract pseudomonas from the injury which had lots of hospital stay and a few operations with special treatment. My immune system is compromised too
I was admitted to hosp in 2019 (when I was few months past 25) and the drs brought up the 2001 infection and injury. It was a break in the same foot as '01 of that makes a difference

@twoandcooplease was it a hospital acquired infection? If so, they may still have your notes. You can always try!

Thanks @ElizabethBest! X