Medical records

[PerkyOchrePeer]

I've just received my medical records going back almost 50 years. I dont agree with some of the things in it. I no longer want this information kept by the NHS whilst it was interesting to read, some aspects of my medical history is not accurate . For clarity I had a bad childhood and had a very bad relationship with my mother I was at the mercy of her emotional bullying and became very upset and angry. I was sent for counselling but my records only reveal that I was upset and not why and it's got recorded that I was angry. It did not once state that I was very wary of my mothers behaviour verbally abusi g me at the slightest opportunity. Is there some way I can gave these records removed

My mothers behaviour was so bad that I had no contact with her gor 7 years and changed my phone number but she tracked me down by contacting someone who gave her my new phone number and she promised to behave beþer but she never did. She died aged 93 and was continuing to try and manipulate. I did her funeral but I never grieved. My only response was I dont have to put up with her anymore

I'm sorry what you went through but I don't think the records will be amended. They state you were angry - which you were. And that you had counselling - which you did. The reasons for that were not stated but that doesn't mean the rest of it is incorrect?

I think you would benefit from some more counselling to process all of this if it;s still affecting you after 50 years.

I dont want the records amended, I wanted them removed because the reason for the anger was not stated and it gives the impression that I had mental health issues such as bi polar which I didn't. I was just dealing with an emotionally abusive mother and when I stopped living with her I was a happier person. I an going to get more counselling because reading the records some of which have been totally wiped from my .memory. it said that I self harmed by cutting my wrists. I do not remember any of this. I was 14 and very scared of my mum

I get that - but the records are factually true. You were angry, and had counselling.

I don’t imagine any doctor treating you today will be looking back at comments made when you were a teenager. I can’t see the benefit of trying to get details removed.

I believe it is possible to get records amended where they are factually inaccurate.

eg your record says you were born in Nigeria but actually you were born in Ghana.

or your blood results are recorded incorrectly.

beyond that I believe it can be complicated.

That’s not how it works.

I an going to look for a psychiatrist not just a counsellor because although I am now an adult, I have never addressed my childhood simply because it's in the past, but reading my records my childhood has come back to haunt me.i wish I had never got the records but then again I wouldn't have found out about the self harming. I still have one or two issues as an adult that stem from those days. I blow up easily when things dont go right. Also although I have some good friends and like socialising, I ten̈d to like my own company a bit too much

Im so sorry you had a difficult, toxic relationship with your mother. I know this may be upsetting for you but it would be quite difficult to get anything changed unless it is factually incorrect. If the records note you were upset or angry, thats not actually inaccurate, just information is not there to explain why you were upset and angry.
This link explains the law around medical records and what you might be able to achieve.

https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/your-right-to-get-your-data-corrected/

I have attempted to get a medical record changed (not mine), to help a friend. I managed to get a supplementary statement added to the record, but it took around 18 months. The barriers put up...... To be frank, the drain on energy and the fight, well, i dont think it is worth the aggravation. It was a disillusioning experience and I wasnt even the person directly affected. I contacted the ICO several times to complain. A change is supposed to be done in one month, or at most three, but if there was a chance the Trust would do it, albeit 6 or 14 months late, the ICO preferred to give the Trust the opportunity to correct themselves, rather than give them an enforcement notice or penalty. So there was no accountability or consequence for failure to comply with the timeframe.....

Remember that you know the truth of the situation between you and your mum and how you felt and why you felt that way. Your feelings were and still are real and valid.

If you can, i think it would be really helpful for you to speak to a therapist about what youve been through to help you process the suffering and allow you to heal and have more peace. It honestly really helps.

Yes

Could it be that the context behind why has been redacted from your records before thryve been sent to you? This would look like blacked out text. I loosely work with nedical records and i know that usually before they are supplied they need to be reviewed by a doctor and informatipn considered sensitive or harmful can be removed if it may cause you significant distress to read it. Or it could be that your records are incorrect which i believe from my dealings with the team that manages this in my Trust is quite a common occurance!

It is entirely possible for computerised medical records to be incorrect because of the old GIGO effect. My father’s medical record showed he’d had a hernia repair. On the opposite side to where they operated.

Counsellors often don’t keep detailed notes in order to maintain a client’s confidentiality should they ever be subpoenaed

Yes some of the information has been blacked out with a marker pen so I dont knowwhat was said. However sone of what was left in was pretty shocking. I wonder if I should just forget it and move on because I'm not the same person anymore and have outgrown my shyness
I have a decent social life and job abd chose who to have in my life, rather than being stuck with someone unsuitable. As a child you are not given that option you have to go along with things and unfortunately I had a narcissist mother who would never admit to her behaviour. Her own sister washed her hands of her abd refused to have anything to do with her my mothers attitude was its them not me because I am perfect.

One of the last thi gs my mother said to me was if we dont get on and you keep arguing g with me you will regret it and then it will be too late because I will be deaf. We never reconciled abd she died and I have no regrets. O used to visit her and she was in a home and she would ve very nice and I would enjoy the visit. Then suddenly at the end of my time with her she would become very nasty and tell me I should not visit again because I wasn't wearing g the right clothes and she was embarrassed. I said but I look nice and others have said so and she said they are lying to you you look awful so please dont come again unless you meet my standards of dress and make sure your hair is short. I started crying because it was a shock. She said dont cry you are not a baby.

She's dead now and all I can say is good ridddance

I want theur opinion as it said i cut my wrist with a co b and made them bleed and left scars. It would have to be a metal comb and i have ni wrist acars and dou t i ever did this wuth any conb as i have no memory of it. I renember getting frystrated and stamping my feet on the floir but not harming my wrusts with a comb so they bled. No way. I think they are getting ne mixed up with someone else. My parents would gave told them i did thus and i dont think they did. Also there is no record of stopping the epilepsy medication. I was not in it for long abd the records state i was epileptic. If they tested ne again and discovered i was ni longer epileptic and took me off the medication then that should be noted. I was a child and my parents would have made sure i took the medication

Im more upset about the comb self harming and family issues back then. I was rowing non stop with my mum and my dad was a drinking alcoholic. I eventually lived with him on his own but he was hrdly around because he was in the pub but at least it was better because we didnt argue and he never tried to control me which my mum did which i hated. She told me what to wear etc. My parents divirced and when they got back together i lived at home and the rows berween me and my mum continued until i was 23 and she told me to leave home. I left home and never went back and it was the best thing i ever did

Honestly sounds like you need to have some form of counselling to move on from what happened then rather than obsessing over medical records that are so old.

Your medical records are a snapshot of what was believed to be observed - by professionals at the time - that you experienced in the past. I am not sure what seeking to remove them from the system would achieve. I'm 46 and couldn't really care what my past medical records say, it's my current ones that matter. You're missing redactions and they could provide more context.

Why do they matter now? Because honesty, if you are getting emotional about them now (whatever that emotion is - anger included) then isn't that something more to concentrate on? Not what was recorded in the past, but how you respond to things now? You sound like you've had a rough old time of it - and I am so sorry for that - but how does ploughing through these records actually help you? If it were me and I had moved on, I would distance myself from them.

I am surprised you have records going back that far. Mine only start at 1999 and are patchy at best

They do not mention anything beyond a couple of antibiotics I was prescribed for cold

Given I have had operations, 2 children and had allergy testing, I have no idea what is going on

I was doing fine until i got the old records. I am going to destroy them i dont have seizures anymore and dont self harm. I should be concentrating on my life now. The only thing that is not right is the fact that i dont like intimacy. Ive never had sex with a man and have never wanted to. I am not a lesbian but i just have no interest in sex