Thread: Problems with hospital

Sorry for this quite complicated post but the only way I can convey whats been happening is to go in to detail.

I have been under the care of 4 heamotologist's for about 10years, however the second heamotologist who was in charge of my care, seemed to not be bothered about a vitamin b12 and iron deficiency.
At the time I was diagnosed with auto-immune haemolytic anaemia although this was diagnosed by my first heamotologist.
He has now left, and my care has been past on to a new heamotologist I am now finding that the previous heamotologist made what I think are some serious errors in my care.
I have now been told that I may have lupus and that my treatment may have been inadequate when under the care of my previous heamotologist.

As a result of the confusion and waiting for appointments for over 4 hours at a time, being told various things by various doctors none of which helped clear up the situation, I decided to contact the P.A.L.S at my local hospital back in May.
A month later my medical records went missing.

What can I do, I am left in pain due to joint inflammation, I am tired due to my B12 and iron deficiency, the heamotolgist wants to remove my spleen despite having no definite idea of what really is wrong with me and now my records have gone missing.

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Yes I contacted P.A.L.S a week last Tuesday about it, and phoned them yesterday, they told me to wait another week for them to find them.

I will look into the commissioners office, and no I have not contacted my GP about this, should I?
Thanks in advance by the way.

I have already rung them, they're advice was to complain in writing and ask that an adequate solution to this problem is found, (such as finding the missing notes).
If they don't answer or offer no solution I need to report them to the ICO along with a CC of my complaint to the hospital and any consequent replies from the hospital.

I presume judging by your link this would mean that they should provide an answer within 14 days?

Many thanks to both of you, I will speak to them again on Tuesday mentioning the Information Commissioners Office and if the notes have not turned up I will take my complaint in person to the hospital straight afterwards.

I will inform them in the letter that they have 14 days to reply, under the applicable regulations and if my letter gets no reply or they still say they can't find them after 14 days, I will get back to the Information Commissioners Office .

I hope they do get fined then perhaps they will take my clinical care a bit more seriously, which has been pretty lackadaisical so far to say the least.

I think they may have lost these records to cover up the second heamotogists mistakes and any possible legal battles that may follow from this, but in doing so they have enraged me.

I didn't want to sue them, but now as a result of this, I am considering it.

Why all the need for subterfuge and mystery when it comes to my care?

If they find my notes I will now want a full copy of them, I have been visiting the heamotologist every 4 weeks for the last few years.
If there are any gaps in these notes I will want to know why.
I might ask my GP who is pretty good to help me with all of this he might even give me copies for nothing as he seems a little annoyed about my care at the hospital.

I have received this response to my complaint what should I do now?
25 working days seems way to long to deal with this.
The response is as follows


Dear Mr *********


Thank you for your email. I am sorry to learn of your concerns in relation to your treatment and also your missing notes.

I will write to you with a formal acknowledgement and begin an investigation into the issues you have raised. However, I should just point out that under the NHS Complaints Procedure we have 25 working days to investigate complaints, not 14. I will enclose a copy of our complaints leaflet with my mailed reponse.

In the meantime, if I can be of any further assistance before you hear from us again, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely

I have been considering this, indeed I contacted them again after this reply was sent and they told me that seeing as they have already taken the best part of six months trying to find my notes, I am eligible to make a complaint now.
You wont believe this but they also seem to have lost my temporary notes now, seems that once you start making waves hospital records go missing on a regular basis.

Would it be an idea to get on to the hospital Ombudsman as I already get the feeling I will get fobbed off in 25 days time?

Ok I will send the complaint to the Information Commissioners Office in a weeks time only fair to give them a week to sort IMHO.

Thanks for your help on the matter.

I suspect that the hospital haven't lost your notes but misplaced them. When notes are moved from place to place (main filing to clinic to consultants office to coding etc) they have to be tracked electronically, all it takes is for one individual to forget to track them and they cannot be located. When that individual has finished with them and they are returned to filing they are then tracked and 'found'. Our hospital take forgetting to track seriously but it still occasionally happens. I'm sure they will turn up, I doubt there's an ulterior motive here.

Whoops missed that bit - they may still surface though.........all hell breaks loose at our place if they go missing, no way would 6 months be tolerated.