Medical Records - Lost for a Reason?

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Medical Records - Lost for a Reason?

7/2/18

So yesterday I received this reply from Giggs Hill / Glenlyn Medical Centre…

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry?! Although I have actually done both… with a little added sarcasm…

OK so I got the Freedom of Information and Data Protection Acts wrong- although it is not clear on the FOI .gov page that this is not used for applying for your personal health records- as it says you can apply for health information with FOI. I am not a legal expert, but I do know that when I asked for my health records last year and for Glenlyn to include the ‘Significant Events Analysis Meeting’ (SEAM) about my case, I got my records back but the SEAM part was ignored. Several phone calls and months later and still we were ignored- so I decided the only way I could get this information would be to request it formally. I chose the wrong one, but I have a, sort of, reply…

Deep breath…

So… one part is- Glenlyn have taken ‘advice’. I assume this means legal advice as to what and how they can provide information. But I don’t know. Glad to know they can afford it when they cannot even afford to refund me back the private fees I incurred when their staff messed up…

Next- they say the letter I had last year was an outline of this meeting… yeah right, the letter was about as useful as saying the outline of a brief has the full information on it! The only Doctor this letter said anything specific about was the first Dr, who I agree did what was “appropriate”- I totally understand ENT issues are far more likely cause of dizziness than a brain tumour! Plus she did also say to come back (which I did) once I had all the test results if the dizziness continued and they would pursue the next step.

On this supposed SEAM letter it says:

“A Significant Event Analysis Meeting like this is a standard medical way to learn from events where there have been negative outcomes or a patient has concerns regarding their care. Involved parties are encouraged to consider both things that went well and those that could have been done better. We have looked back through both your complaint letters at your clinical records, investigation results and the specialist letters. The doctors have openly reflected on their notes and decision making in the light of your subsequent diagnosis.

Unanimously we are very sorry that you and your family are having to endure this condition and the treatment associated with it. We acknowledge that you most likely already had the Hemangioblastoma to some degree when you first presented. We would have liked to have reached the diagnosis sooner in the hope that this might have limited the impact on you and we are sorry this did not happen”

Neither of the comments about Dr Vo or Dr Milne say anything specific as to what Glenlyn’s findings were about them… do they really think I believe this was the ONLY thing they recorded about this Significant Events Analysis Meeting? Really? Even though my letter was written 19 days after the meeting, they remembered it all? Wow! I want some of those memory pills…

Also when I have been re reading these letters again, I have now seen some contradictions and comments that ‘incriminate’ the doctors far more that I realised or wrote about in my first letters to either the GP surgery or the health ombudsman. Brain surgery definitely takes its time to heal from, and it seems no one cares one bit about supporting me in my complaint.

Plus they apparently failed to complete a report into what they said… how very convenient! The most they can probably now get is fined a few £ for not following the correct procedure- but who will care? Will the General Medical Council (GMC) be interested? The Health ombudsman? Probably not…

But a fine for not doing paperwork correctly is possibly better that having to pay out for admitting they messed up if I see the report of the meeting. Well unless they can put you in jail as they can for not doing your council tax right…

I am going to add my comments to this bullshit:

A Significant Event Analysis Meeting like this is a standard medical way to learn from events where there have been negative outcomes or a patient has concerns regarding their care. where they fucked up and they know it, but have been subject to an official complaint from a patient who has nothing better to do, when their health is already suffering, than try and get their head together and write to complain . And hey there is nothing better than a patient who has just had brain surgery- after all their brain is not working the best for a while and you can probably convince them far easier than many…

Involved parties are encouraged to consider both things that went well they didn’t have to pay for an MRI out of their budget, or even a prescription … And well they didn’t kill me, and I didn't have a stroke- so they don't have to pay out compensation for that… win, win eh?

and those that could have been done better. well you did finally write a referral letter…only 3 appointments late and non urgent, when the very same issue was deemed urgent by a different doctor a few months earlier. So you did ‘do your job’ to the best of your (somewhat limited) knowledge …

We have looked back through both your complaint letters, and replied ignoring or twisting the comments written in your clinical records of me, as well as lied about things where you know you will be found guilty

investigation results and the specialist letters. where the doctors failed to follow the advice of the specialist and thought it appropriate to do nothing, even when the causes of my symptoms hadn’t been found…oh and I almost forgot- you then wanted to drug me with diazepam or ‘elastoplast’ the issue with painkillers…

The doctors have openly reflected on their notes and decision making in the light of your subsequent diagnosis. I bet… and they thought ‘oh shit!’… I hope it gives them many sleepless nights- so they NEVER do this again…

Unanimously we are very sorry that you and your family are having to endure this condition I am not stupid - I know I would have had to endure ‘this condition’ anyway, well apart from the few extra months stuck on my sofa thinking I was dying while your doctors said I was ok… what does upset me is you idiots calling it ‘a condition’ rather than actually apologising for ignoring me for 3 months, admitting you made a mistake and giving me some compensation for what I paid out for -when it should have been you doing so…

and the treatment associated with it. funny that you didn’t even manage to take my staples out after surgery then?… even with 5 days notice… and even after the day I sent the private scan results in showing a fuck off great lump in my head and Dr Strickland called me saying ‘let me know if there is anything we can do..’ … actions …um …speak louder than what?? … oh words…that's it…

We acknowledge that you most likely already had the Hemangioblastoma to some degree when you first presented. Some fucking degree?? What like 359 fucking degrees of it you fucking morons… Hemangioblastoma’s on any medical literature are SLOW growing, I had this bloody (sic) thing years… what was also showing when I presented was the hydrocephalus where the tumour was causing fluid on my brain, yet you failed to note that my dizziness and head pains got worse each time I sneezed, coughed or strained- which are classic signs of increased pressure within the skull… red flags on any medical literature…

We would have liked to have reached the diagnosis sooner …liked. I’d like it if you would have the decency to admit you are sorry and fucked up by paying me back the private costs of an MRI and a contribution to the extra pain you put me through. The only reason you’d have liked it too is so that you couldn’t be found guilty of this.

in the hope that this might have limited the impact on you I guess a couple of months less sitting on the sofa feeling dizzy 24/7 might have helped many things…

and we are sorry this did not happen” …yes I bet. Well I don’t want to reduce your 100K or so income do I? … I have no idea how you manage to survive on it, especially considering it takes weeks to see you and I cant even get you to sign your own letters you have written to me, you must be so busy… maybe you would like to swap and manage on about 11K since we lost half our customers while I was ill for so long and my husband had to care for me. I am sure I could probably do just a good job as you anyway…after all what is NICE, NCBI, GP notebook and the NHS website for…

Next - “Anger, Anxiety and Judgement”

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