No notes from last birth!!

[tonton]

I had my last baby 5.5 years ago at a different hospital. here have been 2 attempts to get copies of my notes but with no luck. Now my obstettrician says they may well not get them. I had an em cs last time and am hazy about why and exactly what happened. It sacres me. She doesn't seem all that bothered.
Anyone else been in that situation?

Yep! I had first baby emergency c-section in Opsom in March of 2003. When I was pregnant with baby 2 (born May 2005), I asked for a copy of my records from Epsom and St. Hellier trust. They wrote me back asking why I wanted the notes and that there would be a fee. But, they didn't know exactly how much the fee would be so to start by sending them a £50 cheque.

Errr... Do what?! I don't think so. So, I just gave Queen Charlotte the version of the story that I wanted them to hear. However, I think it is absolutely appalling that patients don't have an automatic right to their full medical records upon request. I also find it shocking that the NHS can't talk to each other on the patients behalf.

£50 cheque!!

And that was just for starters.

Disgusting. I always thought everyone has a legal right to see their medical records.

you h ave a right to see your notes. but there is a fee if you want a copy of them

Never knew that. Disgusting.

well... someone has to pay to copy them! and that person has wages to pay etc etc

it's no different to paying for a copy of birth certificate etc etc etc

but you are fully entitled to go and look at your birth notes with someone from the hospital free of charge afaik

Nowhere did they bother to tell me I could come read for free. And, it doesn't cost them £50. If they are going to charge, perhaps they should advise patients of this before they keep the records in the first place.

I now open all brown envelopes and copy whatever I'd like. It's my medical history and I'm not going to pay them for the priviledge of having a copy.

It doesnt cost £50 to copy some notes...Maybe Im in the wrong job.

I think they were just doing a bit of CYA in case I was going to say something went wrong that shouldn't have... I wasn't going to say this at all. But I suspect that a woman asking for her records regarding an emergency caesarean might have triggered them into defensive mode. But still, that is no excuse!

no, and i don't agree with them saying they don't know how much it is but to send £50. point is it may not actually cost you that... because they don't know!

I'd agree that this is v upsetting but the physical records are legally their property - the history is the patient's of course.

£50 is the BMA maximum figure that can be charged for copies of records so however long the record is they can't charge more than that (usually .30p a sheet or similar). I think it's completely ridiculous that they're asking you to pay £50 upfront but it is probably their policy for solicitors (medical lawsuits etc) - if you don't get the money from them upfront it often never comes. Press a bit more and they should fold. They should at least tell you how much it will be!

Of course you should be able to see them whenever you like - I do hate the 'you must have a professional available while you read them' but it is really common - i must say i found the fact that I had a diagnosis of mild PND in my notes, which had never been mentioned to me, a bit upsetting and it was nice to talk to someone then. And lost records are a scandal and too darn common.

Have you rung the previous hospital and talked to the medical records department there? I'd bypass as many stages as you can in trying to get this to work. I'm happy to help if you would like me to, e.g. to find the number, or i'll ring them for you if you like! Are you subscribed? if so you can contact my email free via CAT. HTH

Thanks acnebride. I'll ring Queen Charlotte's direct (haven't tried that) & se eif I have any luck.

I requested my notes and sent them the requested payment of £22 and recieved a receipt for this money- still no notes though!!!
the whole process has now been 7 months! its unbeliveable.

I've sent off a form requesting my notes. It should cost £15-20 depending on how many pages there are apparently. The woman at the hospital said it normally takes 40 days but that she'd try & speed things up for me! Wish I'd contacted them direclty earlier.

That's preposterous. 40 days to do a job that should take ten minutes tops. And £20? I'd expect each page to be nicely laminated for that. And maybe a nice 8x10 glossy of the then new baby too.

Just thought i would add to this. My daughter was stillborn because of mistakes/bad decisions made at her birth last March. About two days after getting out of hospital i decided that I wanted to see my notes and when I phoned and asked my consultant (the one who made all the decisions that day), he said that it would cost £20, so I had to pay up!

OMG, Jangus. How terrible. I remember your story. It broke my heart. Canonly imagine what it did to you. How are you?

Oh Jangus that's awful. What a mess.

prior to us leaving the UK - I applied to the local trust and got both my birth records and dd1s records. It cost 25 quid for each set BUT it was very helpful for me to remember what went on - emergency c-section and then dd1's stay in SCBU.

It took a couple of weeks at the most - not 7 months.