Okay long story.
My aunt died in 1982 following cervical cancer. Her cancer was detected during her third pregnancy but the pregnancy was so advanced that she decided to wait until about 34 weeks and have a ceasarian section.
Unfortunately she died 9 months later, leaving children aged 8, 6 and 9 months.
My aunt was a nurse at our local hospital, as was my mother. In the years that followed her death, several of the nursing staff who had nursed my aunt suggested to my mother that a mistake had been made in her treatment. On a few occasions whle she was still alive, her medical notes were virtually shoved under my mum's nose with the suggestion that she ought to see what had really happened, but she never did.
I've thought about this for years and wonder what really happened and whether she could still have been alive.
Today I was reading about gaining access to medical records. Apparently you cannot see them even after a relative has died unless you are a dependent.
My cousins, however, were her dependents at the time she died. They have all suffered as a result of losing their mother as children; their father wasn't much use at taking care of them on his own and they really had no guidance in their upbringing, which has resulted in their lives all being a bit of a mess. I feel confident this would not have happened had she not died.
Could they gain access to her medical records? Should I help them to?