Obtaining Ante/Post Natal Records from Maternity Unit

ka7e

Both my cousin and her daughter have CP (moderate physical symptoms, no other impairment) and they were both MRI'ed to try to locate the precise location of the damage and the time the damage was likely to have occured. Unfortunately, "trauma at birth" covers just about every possibility from an awkward foetal position in the uterus to criminal negligence by hospitals. Two identical deliveries can result in one baby being unscathed and the other suffering a slight bleed in the brain.
Your daughter's birth notes should be very detailed with lots of info from midwives of all the readings/monitoring and her appearance at birth, but you will need a professional to decipher tham for you!

jma21

Like Becles, I recently had a hospital appointment and my maternity notes from both babies were in my folder. So it's probably just a case of them getting your own current file out just as they would do if you had an appointment for something. Good luck, I hope you get some information which can help you. Have you heard of cranial osteopathy? I think it's sometimes helpful in cases like your daughter's (not a cure-all but symptom-reducing). Not used it myself but often considered for minor difficulties with son. Might be worth googling.

kazzah

your medical notes should NEVER be destroyed the notes of your labour and delivery will ALWAYS be in your medical notes, your childs notes will contain notes about thier condition after delivery - your medical notes should stay together and in tact until you die when they are the destroyed ( after a period of time)
if anyone is considering litigation for an event which arose out of potential clinical negligence during delivery you should write to the relevent trust and ask for both YOUR notes and the notes of the child - together they form the whole story of events - the trust is entitled to charge you for photocopying these notes. however they should not charge more than £50
if you are considering litigation you should also apply for your GP notes as often letters are written to GP's and there may not be a copy in your hospital notes. You should then pass all your notes onto a solicitor for appraisal
I have been through this process and at the age of 39 my medical notes still contained notes of infant illnesses and innoculations etc- your notes should always contain ALL details of every illness/procedure you have been through
good luck

floss2

Check on the Hospital's website for their PALS contact (patient liaison) & speak to them - it should only be the £10 SAR charge.

ELLA

I printed off a template of a letter someone from MSE put on here to ask for your records, Ive recently wanted my daughters records but cant find the tread or template on here anymore. It was in an autism thread but no joy for me....... If anyone remember's this I would be gratful for the template of the letter again.

ginvzt

ELLA wrote: »

I printed off a template of a letter someone from MSE put on here to ask for your records, Ive recently wanted my daughters records but cant find the tread or template on here anymore. It was in an autism thread but no joy for me....... If anyone remember's this I would be gratful for the template of the letter again.

Do you mean this thread:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=687903

(Hint: if you click on the persons name, you can choose 'Find more posts by <...>')

Edit: Is this the template you mention, ELLA?:
http://www.pni-uk.com/maternity.pdf

Found it here, post #361:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=6888503&highlight=template#post6888503

clairec79

If you want copies of them and its been more than a year you may have to pay for the copies (you can see them for free just write and ask - normally they also provide a midwife/doctor to go through them with you to 'translate' - or attempt to decipher some of the doctors writings (seriously it always is the doctors with terrible scrawls).

Maternity notes are kept until 25 years after the birth of your last child, they may be kept longer but that is the earliest they can be destroyed

likabu_2

clairec79 wrote: »

Maternity notes are kept until 25 years after the birth of your last child, they may be kept longer but that is the earliest they can be destroyed

Notes, maternity or medical, are microfilmed after so many years. They are still available should they be needed but may take a little longer to obtain as they need to be put back on paper form.

madtrekker

You would need to contact the hospital where you gave birth and ask what their arrangements are for seeing your notes. As far as I know, you will need to make an appointment because a medical professional will need to be there to ensure that you understand the notes etc. Also, notes are likely to be archived and need to be found for you etc. But yes, you are entitled to read your medical notes (since the 1980s anyway).

princess

No medical person will need to be with you as you read your notes. Neither do you have to read them on the premises, you can request a complete copy of your file and take it away with you and keep it and read it at your leisure. It is not a case of asking your hospital what arrangements they have in place for people wanting to see notes. The law has perfectly compelling arrngements in place and they are that you can see your notes whenever you make a formal request in writing. There are a (very few) things that you are not allowed to see, mainly around the privacy of other patients eg if another patient had made a complaint about you that persons name would be withheld. Other than that you can see it all.
Lots of Trusts do try to imply that you cant take notes away, or that you have to have a Dr present to 'explain' the notes. You are quite at liberty to take the notes away and have them 'explained' to you by another medical professional or a lawyer. They should have been written in a style that is easy to understand and factual. If they are not and they come to Court the person who wrote them will be in serious doo doos. Trusts are oblidged to regularly audit notes for this very reason