‘More needs to be done’ to make it easier for families to obtain medical records, Nottingham maternity chair says

By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter

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The chair of Nottingham’s maternity services review says “more needs to be done” to make it easier for families to obtain their medical records held by Nottingham University Hospitals Trust.

Senior midwifery expert Donna Ockenden is leading a team of experienced doctors and midwives from across England to review cases of serious and potentially serious concern at the Trust, which runs Nottingham City Hospital and the Queen’s Medical Centre.

There are now 1,939 families involved, as well as 790 staff members. It is the largest review of its kind in NHS history.

Families involved previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service they have been forced to wait months to receive their medical records after submitting Subject Access Requests (SARs).

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service on Monday (September 2), Ms Ockenden says she has written to Trust chief executive, Anthony May, to raise the issue.

“One of the issues that’s been raised just this week and I have raised it with Anthony May is about the complexity of Trust processes when families need to request medical records,” she said.

“They need to be made more understandable and for families for whom English is not a first language, but also we’re hearing for those families – where English is their first language – that they are still struggling with some of the processes they have to go through in order to get their medical records.

“And so I’ve written to Anthony May just this week to say more needs to be done.

“Obviously there is a language issue, but it’s also about using every-day English for those families for whom English is their first language. They’ve already been brought up to speak English, but some of the gobbledygook around the Trust’s forms is making it really difficult.

“Families are having to seek support from other families to try and get over that hurdle.

“When something has happened to you, you’ve endured the death of a baby, the traumatic loss of a pregnancy, or you’ve been left with severe harm, you don’t want that extra stress, you’ve been through enough.”

The subject access system allows people to request copies of their personal data and other information about them held by an organisation.

Organisations must comply with a request within one month of receiving it, and can extend the time to three months if the request is deemed complex.

Poor bereavement care is also a persisting problem, Ms Ockenden said.

Some bereaved families have been left in unsuitable and unclean rooms, including having to wait in busy waiting rooms with other happy pregnant women.

“That is not a new theme,” she said. “It is a theme that seems to be perennial, it keeps raising its head.

“I think we are getting back on track, but I would stress that I’m absolutely clear of the commitment towards maternity improvement from the Trust board, but there does still remain a lot to do.”