Hello,
I was wondering if you can ask for the hospital for your records? And what exactly do you ask for?
I had surgery about a month ago, and they gave me piece of paper with a copy of the findings, and some pictures. And last week i had an mri, which i have a consultation about next month. But when i was at the hospital, the doctor kept saying my file was very big.
So I am just curious though to see all the information they have.
Has anyone else done this?
Thank you.
You can ask to see your notes, but often they won't release them as they contain medical information, but you can view them as they're yours.
Could you ask to book an appointment with a consultant and mention that you'd like to go through your results / notes?
My consultant seems to be happy going through my records.
If it's just results of the scans / ops ect then usually they're forwarded to your GP too, so you could ask your GP for a copy of letters / book an appointment to go through them.
Hi,
I am currently going through this myself, it's not as complicated a process as I thought it would be. It might vary a little across health boards but I think there are new regulations about us having access to information anyone holds on us- from my understanding, unless the information could be harmful to us, we have a right to see it all.
What I had to do was fill in a form to request access. I got the form by googling my health board (NHS....) and "accessing medical notes". It took me to the page that I needed and a link to the form. I completed the form detailing all the notes I wanted, they asked for details such as the consultant's name if known and speciality. I also had to send proof of identity but you can get a professional (such as your GP) to sign it instead.
I actually got a response very quickly- maybe about a week. They have a policy to reply within 30 days. Unfortunately they only provided me with a small section of what I asked for (I think it was rushed through because the department is now closed for holiday) so I've had to contact them again to request the rest. I have also requested a CD of my scans. You can also ask to arrange a date to visit and look through your actual notes and not just get a copy of them. When you get a copy, it will just be all the reports and letters but if you see the file, it will be everything.
This is just the hospital medical records though- GP records are different. Again, I assume this will vary slightly across different practices but for mine, I had to put my request in writing and show them photographic ID. They will then print it all out and once ready to collect, I need to sign a disclaimer. I put in my request for this today and was told to check if it's ready on Monday- super quick and very straight forward.
I have a complex case apparently and I've wanted to get my notes to try make senses of the dribs and drabs of info that I've been told. From the notes I've seen already, it's been so helpful. I have only been told a fraction of what the doctors have known, it's like they've minimised and downplayed everything- as thought I'm a child. This has angered me as I have asked so many questions, made it clear I am a health care professional myself (or was until I had to stop working) and want to be very involved in my health but I've hardly been told anything.
Good luck with getting your notes. I think it's a really good thing to be informed, especially when it comes to endo. We need to be our own experts.
You can! My nearest specialist is outside of my local area so it’s handy to have. You need to google the records department of your hospital and see how they do it (I had to call then email). Specify that you want the surgery pictures in colour otherwise it will be in black and white which is useless for endo.
The records department is totally separate too so you won’t need to explain to your dr.
