To think this is inaccurate (medical discharge letter)

[Itsdare]

I was admitted to hospital in March after an episode of mild chest discomfort and sweating. EKG on arrival and A and E was normal but troponin very slightly elevated so was admitted. 2 seperate doctors, a consultant and a cardiologist told me they couldn't rule out a very mild heart attack so would be doing further testing. I had an ecg, chest xray and 48 hour ekg monitoring.

I seen the letter that was coming with me when I moved to the cardiology ward and it said suspected diagnosis nstemi. I also seen my echo report and it said something about minimal and left side.

The consultant asked me twice in 2 days what had happened and I described it again but he kept saying palpitations. I didn't have any palpitations at any point.

Luckily I was told I could go home as the consultant "didn't think " I had experienced a Heart attack. Full of relief and grateful for the good care.

However the discharge letter is incorrect. Why?

They have put the diagnosis as palpitations even though I never mentioned or experienced them. It says my echo was normal even though the consultant himself said there one very small thing but nothing of real concern. And nowhere does it mention suspected heart attack. It also says a few.other things that are inaccurate like I am at risk of falls.

I know its a very small thing but now I am over the shock I am just wondering why its so inaccurate and missing big bits of information? I am so grateful for my care so please don't misunderstand I feel it was important for my gp to have a proper overview going forward.

You need to contact them an ask for the letter to be corrected. I don't know why it happens but it does sometimes happen and will cause issues down the line so it is very important to get them to correct the letter.
I once saw a patient who was referred to us for a particular symptom and her medical letters from two years previously said she suffered a stroke. Her symptoms could have been attributed to stroke so I questioned her whether she is still under neurology and she told me she was never followed up. I asked her what care she received after the stroke and she told me she never had one. She ended up going back to her GP and, on investigation, it turned out that incorrect code was put into the system following A&E admission.
She nearly missed out on being accepted into our service due to this mistake.

almost every discharge or reporting letter I or a family member has had has been riddled with errors. Some minor, some significant (eg I said I had had one glass of wine during my whole pregnancy - it was reported by the dr investigating my DDs deafness that I had had a glass of wine daily during pregnancy).

the reporting of palpitations when you haven’t had any seems significant, unless there is technical turn of phrase that’s been used that you’re not familiar with. But you’re spot on that your medical records need to be accurate as future decisions about your care will be based on how this episode is recorded. Do follow up.

I’ve just been sitting writing a letter to correct a shockingly inaccurate discharge report about me that was written after a neurological referral.
I don’t understand how these things can be so wrong, but I expect it’s just that people are under pressure and trying to work at speed.