Has anyone requested to see all hospital notes following stillbirth/neonatal death of dc?

[sh77]

Dd died in 2009 a day after birth. I feel ready to see the file of notes prior to the inquest. Is it straightforward to request these throug PALS? Can they withold anything?

To the best of my knowledge, you get a form from PALS. They will arrange for you to see the notes, with doctor present to explain anything you have a question about.

Thanks for responding.

So very sorry to hear about your DD It must have been unbearably difficult going through an inquest...

Our DD died aged two days in June. We requested a copy of all her notes a little while ago; it was a standard charge of £50 and took about a month. It's a small stack of papers, and we've flipped through them all, including PM etc - but mostly just wanted to have them on hand, to read in more detail later.
I saw your thread title and thought I'd mention it, in case getting a copy of everything appealed to you more than going in to see the file just once. I suspect you could always make an appointment afterwards, if you wanted to talk anything through.
I don't think they can withhold anything, but am not 100% sure on that. I'm sure PALS could tell you, or the Medical Records Department. xx

I didn't do it after our baby died, I assume her notes are part of mine as she was 3 hours and they didn't do anything to her as we knew she would die. I did ask to see my notes after my first LC was born as I suffered Birth Trauma. They were really good about it and got someone to come and explain things to me - unfortunately she was obviously scared I was looking for fault and wouldn't let me read the notes, she held them and told me everything was normal!

The only thing they can keep from you is if it relates to someone else. There's two things you can do, either go in and read (and take pictures/ make notes for free) or you can pay to have all your notes copied so you can keep them. Speak to PALS or the bereavement team and they should be good with you.

Thank you both. So sorry for the loss of your DCs. Thoughts of it never go away. I remember tge coroner mentioning there was a big file after the internal hospital review. It is this that I want to see. I have all the notes from when we were on the labour ward. There have been a number of cases reported in the papers of babies dying due to negligence. I am not interested in going down the legal route. It won't bring her back. I often wonder what the midwife who delivered dd made of it all. Would love to speak to her but I dont remember her name. Sorry, I am rambling.

Be honest with them, explain that you need to fill in the blanks in your own mind and not interested in assigning blame, just want to get it all. PALS shouldn't mind either way, but if they bring someone in then they could be a little more difficult if they think it's a blame finding exercise.

I have thought about doing this but haven't been able to bring myself to ask for them. A neonatologist at another hospital answered most of my questions at her PM results. I asked her "Would you have discharged her?" and she said "Absolutely!"
But a part of me feels that she should have been kept in a bit longer.

Hi, sorry to hear of your loss.
When my son passed away in May, I requested to see his notes from all 3 hospitals he was in, be wary though, having this information to your disposal may help fill in blanks but may also flag up other concerns you hadn't previously considered, and are unable to do something about. I asked if the fee be wavered in light of the fact my son had died, which all 3 hospitals requested. Good luck xxx

And in addition to this, you don't need to explain why you want the notes, it's your right, that is what my doctor advised x

Chez - s

Chez-sorry for the loss of your son. I hope you got the answers you needed. Thanks to you and others for your advice x