GP Medical Records Wrong

[Deleted User]

I recently discovered on reading a hospital referral letter that I am down in the GP records as being diagnosed with Personality Disorder in 1983 and Antisocial Personality Disorder in 1993.

Now the thing is, while I have had 'talking' psychiatric care (had an abusive childhoold which took a lot of time to adjust to and this year have been diagnosed with Aspergers) I wasn't having any psychiatric care in 1983 or 1993 so how could these diagnoses have been made?

Why was I never told this was on my records (I now understand why my diabetic consultant thought I had a personality disorder, must have been on his referral from my GP as well).

I suspect it has caused a few misconceptions about who I am.

What can I do? I really really don't show any signs of antisocial personality disorder, no criminal past, no manipulation, if anything I care too much what people are feeling lol. Its quite a serious label to apply to someone! I am very confused as how this could ever have been put on my records. Yes I do have Aspergers but not quite the same thing as antisocial personality disorder.., quite different implications.

Toothsmith

First up, I would just write a polite letter to your GP pointing this out and asking how to go about getting it changed.

There might be some formal processes you will need to go through, but starting it off in an informal, friendly, personal way might well get things moving more quickly?

theoretica

Were you diagnosed with aspergers before or after 1993? If after, it might be easy to get the earlier diagnoses replaced with the later.

[Deleted User]

Yes. I am not planning on going on the offensive, just wondering if I can ask them if they know why this appeared on my records and how it can be removed. I just don't see how it can be a formal diagnosis as I wasn't seeing anyone so can't have been diagnosed by mental health professionals.

And lol, I don't have the signs of this condition. Now I know why my younger son's social worker was asking for a police history for me. Awful. I didn't have a clue this 'diagnosis' was on my records.

[Deleted User]

Was diagnosed with Aspergers this year. It was a very thorough assessment by the Royal Maudsley. If there had been any signs of something other than aspergers, they'd have found it.

I actually have been quite upset to know this incorrect diagnosis is on my records, being sent out to all and sundry (other agencies like a Judge when I was applying for a protection order against an ex - they did a 'soft search' on me - now I know why he asked the questions he did like I was a suspect/bad mother, there are other instances of bad reactions that now make sense) when I don't see how it could have been arrived at.

Its just occurred to me I could email MIND to see what suggestions they have as well. I'm a bit worried its just a tick box reference in my records with no indication as to where it comes from so I won't be able to demonstrate its wrong.

Ames

You have my sympathy, I'm going through something similar having changed GP and finding out the old practice didn't update my list of diagnoses in the ten years I was with them.

I suppose it depends whether it's an admin issue (which mine is) or a clinical one. Perhaps speak to the practice manager and ask the best way to go about it? If it's taking something off you might have to book a double appointment to go through your notes with a GP.

I'm not sure if having a personality disorder on your notes would cause the problems you're describing though. Would social workers have access to your medical records? I don't have kids so perhaps things are more thorough when they're involved (I was diagnosed with Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder when I was 17, but didn't find out about it for years).

Had you had talking therapy before 1983 or between then and 1993? Just because that's when it was updated onto your GP notes doesn't mean that's when the diagnosis happened. Mine was diagnosed when I was seeing a child psychologist supposedly for something completely different.

[Deleted User]

"Medical records are a record of your clinician’s opinion about your health and of their actions in relation to your healthcare at the time when they wrote them. This means that it is not possible for you have the original record completely removed."

Toothsmith wrote: »

First up, I would just write a polite letter to your GP pointing this out and asking how to go about getting it changed.

There might be some formal processes you will need to go through, but starting it off in an informal, friendly, personal way might well get things moving more quickly?

....and then come back and tell us if you get any further than Mary Kerswell did.

[Deleted User]

I suppose I am more concerned with the antisocial personality disorder diagnosis. Its fairly serious and describes someone who's fairly immoral etc.., which is the complete opposite to who I am.

I didn't have any talking therapy from 1983 -1993. I did in 1982 for about six months but that was around my diabetes (I wasn't dealing with it very well) I suppose it could have come out of that but I still don't see how.

But will ask my GP if there's any mention of how the diagnosis was arrived at. I have an appointment on Monday.

Just read Jack Potts post. That's not good. Really not good. I'm gonna have people thinking I am an immoral manipulative criminal forever.., for no reason I can discern. Deary me, thats quite scary that things like this can appear on your records and you have no idea why and no way of changing it.

Cyclizine

A social worker wouldn't be able to access your medical records without your agreement and a judge without making an order which you'd've known about, so I don't think you GP electronic record has anything to do with how you were treated. At some point you will have have had a review by a secondary care clinician who has made the diagnoses. Your GP record will have been updated with the PD diagnoses from there, I would imagine. I'd just write and query it. Be polite. They might not delete the record, but they can make a free text comment on it.

jenniewb

OP you could try making an official complaint. For the diagnosis being on your forms (actually it sounds like without an assessment which leads the question- who actually diagnosed and were they qualified) and secondry to that, a complaint due to the way you felt other services had interacted with you as a result of their seeing information about you which when it involves the fate of your children is potentially very serious.


You could try Reach who I know have a support system build to help facilitate people making complaints regarding their treatment -and so possibly things like a diagnosis. I think the idea of speaking to Mind is also a good one. But know that at any point you can make a complaint and push it as far as you are willing just by speaking with the person who is involved in your care or treatment and if that isn't there at the moment, then speaking with your GPs service should be able to point you in the right direction if not take the complaint themselves. If you are not getting anywhere, you can also contact PALS who should be able to help further.


Please know that if you are complaining across different mental health authorities or catchment areas you may need to make the complaint more than once. Some systems are linked, and they should all be linked within a specific authority but it's been my experience at least that some areas/localities are not at all linked to others and it might not be possible to link the complaints so easily.


It might be helpful to sit down by yourself or with a close friend and think about what it is you are hoping for by making a complaint if this is the way you want to go. If it's an apology, who should it come from. (I say that but at the same time, the authority in whatever department you are complaining about will take the rapt rather than some or any responsibility being given to the individuals concerned if they are still working, so be aware of this if this is important). If it's your notes to be amended or corrected then how, if it's to find out how the information ended up on your medical notes and so on. It's really your choice as to what you decide, if you decide to make an official complaint and how far you go with it.

[Deleted User]

Yes it will be multiple areas/agencies. I am presently in Kent, in 1982-1995 I was in Islington but did receive some medical care from The Middlesex Hospital in London (which does not exist anymore, they merged with another central London Hospital). Around 2000 I moved to Wolverhampton. In 1987-1993 I was studying very hard, FE then HE (got a degree). It wasn't one of my 'depressive' times.

I don't know at what point this 'diagnosis' appeared in my records. I do remember talking to a GP in Wolverhampton about my problems understanding people and she mentioned that I might have a personality disorder, but I don't know why this was mentioned (if the diagnosis already existed or came into being at that point, if some error was made). I did not follow this suggestion up, to be honest it frightened me. I was not assessed for a personality disorder as far as I am aware. i did not receive any psychiatric care. This was much later than 1993 anyway.

I never heard any mention of me having a personality disorder again, until referrals were sent out by my present surgery. Two or three years ago I saw it on a letter from my Diabetic Consultant. I thought at the time it was an arbitary tick box exercise or the wrong box was ticked because I was being assessed for autism. Only now do I realise this originated with my present GP service.

Whether I had ASD or not was something I have questioned for at least 10 years. My sons were diagnosed, and I recognised some of the signs of it in me. But I was consistently told 'we are all somewhere on the spectrum'. Its only in the last couple of years its had any attention and I now have been diagnosed as having ASD.

I do have a psychiatric history. I have not always made good choices, two long term abusive relationships, incidents of suicidal depression type problems but I did pull myself out of these. Sometimes with some psychiatric counselling, but nothing serious. However I have never had problems with outright aggression, criminal behaviour, addictions manipulation of people or anything like that. I don't know if an admin error has been made at some point.

I think the first thing is to ask for a copy of all my health care records and see at what point these two diagnoses appeared and from where. Then I might be able to see a way forward. I understand it looks like I can't get the references removed from my records, however wrong that is I will have to accept it.

It seems wrong that you can be vulnerable (it feels like I am being manipulative saying that) and these things can be put on your record and you don't know about them or where they have come from, and you can't get them corrected. Once its there, that's it.

I did give permission for the soft searches to be done by the Judge. I didn't have a problem with that. It was just the normal course of events when asking for a protective order. I have also signed forms allowing social services to do what investigations they wanted when they were involved in my son's care. I didn't, at the time, feel it would be anything but helpful. I've always had doubts about my parenting ability although I have worked very hard to give my sons the best chance I could (and my older son is now at university, my younger son is now 'star pupil at his secondary school). But it involved lots of 'work' with reluctant schools and my sons did go through phases of refusing school. So not only did I wonder if what I was doing wrong, social workers did as well. One feeds off the other a bit. Some social workers did come across as if I was a criminal. That never lasted long as they got to know me but it did happen in the beginning. It was quite difficult at times to deal with that, but I did.

Thank you very very much for your input. I didn't have a clue how things work with diagnoses and GP practices.