Struggling to get medical records on deceased

Marcon

Fluffykittens2016 said:

My mum has a lot of questions as do I, but we are struggling to get her medical records. She never signed up to NHS online, she didn’t have a will she was in her 30’s, was single, and she still lived at home.
my mum asked the GP for access and they told her they no longer have her records. 

You and your mum are still in shock and grief. If your sister's records are couched in the usual medical shorthand, are you confident you could wade through these and follow exactly what happened? All professions have their own jargon, and medicine most certainly does. Wouldn't it perhaps make more sense to talk to someone, at least as a first step?

Has the GP explained why the practice no longer has her records, assuming she was still a current patient/registered with them at the time of her death?

Fluffykittens2016 said:

This is all very confusing and we just would like answers. We have had someone advise us to look at ‘no win no claim solicitors’. Is this something that people can recommend or is there a better path to take?

Gaining money from this isn’t the goal so I’m nervous about contacting a solicitor and they might not even want to take it on. We just really want to understand what on earth happened and want to understand one of the treatment paths they took which seemed to just make things worse. It’s more for our own understand and if there is negligence, we want it addressed as I’d hate someone else passing the way she had to and the family enduring the suffering we’ve been going through.

It's unclear why anyone would suggest contacting a no win/no fee solicitor unless you are seeking monetary compensation. If there's no cash settlement, there is no 'fee' to which the solicitor would become entitled.

Be aware that the medical profession meets any number of people who claim they don't want money, they just don't want anyone else etc etc. Sometimes those sentiments are absolutely true and from the heart, but in all too many cases it is, or becomes, a compensation issue, however genuine people are when they start down a road they find frustrating, baffling and protracted. The moment you bring a solicitor into the equation, or even mention one, that is the conclusion (however wrong) to which the medical authorities will leap - and often clam up as a result. So yes - talking to someone is a much better path to follow, at least initially, to see where it leads.

Sadly nothing will change what has happened, and there is unlikely to be any speedy change in practice if the hospital did do something untoward. For those reasons, maybe giving yourself a little longer before pursuing matters might be worth considering?