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Hosptial Records

TheGardener
TheGardener Posts: 3,303 Forumite
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edited 24 January 2019 at 9:16PM in Health & beauty MoneySaving
A family member has recently been discharged by her consultant. It has taken a couple of years of treatment for a complex condition and has involved significant amounts of contact/procedures/surgery and I suspect the medical notes are copious. The legacy of the condition is that it may come back and/or cause problems during a pregnancy or childbirth (no plans to start a family just yet though).
How long to do hospitals keep medical records ? I thought a quick google would provide the answer - but so far I'm not having much luck.
If the patient moves to another part of the country and doesn't choose to start a family for at least 10 years from now - will the records be available at that point to a different hospital?
Is it a bit OTT to do an SAR for the records so she has the info in years to come?

Comments

  • keithdc
    keithdc Posts: 459 Forumite
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    A family member has recently been discharged by her consultant. It has taken a couple of years of treatment for a complex condition and has involved significant amounts of contact/procedures/surgery and I suspect the medical notes are copious. The legacy of the condition is that it may come back and/or cause problems during a pregnancy or childbirth (no plans to start a family just yet though).
    How long to do hospitals keep medical records ? I thought a quick google would provide the answer - but so far I'm not having much luck.
    If the patient moves to another part of the country and doesn't choose to start a family for at least 10 years from now - will the records be available at that point to a different hospital?
    Is it a bit OTT to do an SAR for the records so she has the info in years to come?

    GP will have been sent a letter/ summary following each appointment/ admission, who will retain records.
  • suki1964
    suki1964 Posts: 14,313 Forumite
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    A family member has recently been discharged by her consultant. It has taken a couple of years of treatment for a complex condition and has involved significant amounts of contact/procedures/surgery and I suspect the medical notes are copious. The legacy of the condition is that it may come back and/or cause problems during a pregnancy or childbirth (no plans to start a family just yet though).
    How long to do hospitals keep medical records ? I thought a quick google would provide the answer - but so far I'm not having much luck.
    If the patient moves to another part of the country and doesn't choose to start a family for at least 10 years from now - will the records be available at that point to a different hospital?
    Is it a bit OTT to do an SAR for the records so she has the info in years to come?

    There are different time limits on Medical Records

    All maternity records were 25 years

    Paediatrics 25 years

    General surgery/Medical - 8 years after the last attendance

    But that was before medical records became digitalised so its possible that now none are ever destroyed

    The NHS trust I worked for stopped destroying records in 1999
  • I recently needed to enquire about injections for travelling abroad (specifically whooping cough for Australia). I was under the impression that I'd received a whooping cough injection as a child. I made the appointment with the nurse, and explained that I wasn't sure if I actually needed the injection - I thought the one I'd received as a child gave me lifetime cover.



    I was amazed to find that she had got ALL of my paper notes, dating all the way back to the 1960s, to check precisely which injections I'd been given. Particularly impressive as I've lived in 8 different areas, including abroad, since I had those injections!!
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  • TheGardener
    TheGardener Posts: 3,303 Forumite
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    Thanks for the responses :)
    It still seems there is no certainty about how long general records are kept. If its 8 years for surgical then maybe an SAR would be useful as a back up. It seems odd there is no clear answer to the question from the NHS themselves.
  • suki1964
    suki1964 Posts: 14,313 Forumite
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    Thanks for the responses :)
    It still seems there is no certainty about how long general records are kept. If its 8 years for surgical then maybe an SAR would be useful as a back up. It seems odd there is no clear answer to the question from the NHS themselves.


    Thats because each trust run their own rules out of the 25 year basic

    I worked in a trust which was world renowned for its pioneering research in plastic surgery/burns/limb fitting/thalidomide

    So where as most of those records fell under the 8 year rule, we kept them because of the historical value

    I don't know how old the "patient " is now and when was the last time she was seen. regardless it will be till the patient reaches 25 or 8 years after the last attendance , but as I have said previously, its up to the trust as to whether their records are digitalised after their, and when I left the NHS, they were working to this
  • silvercar
    silvercar Posts: 49,655 Ambassador
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    One of the largest hospitals in Wales told me they only keep records for 6 years.
    I'm a Forum Ambassador on the housing, mortgages & student money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.
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