Thursday 17 July 2008

BLPT complaints process

I've been awaiting a response to the missing items in my file since the beginning of June. These concern some "rough notes" which the then complaints officer, JE, told the Director of Information he had not copied in response to my request for a copy of my clinical notes. She then told him that they needed to be copied and sent to me. I was unaware of the existence of the notes until I received the emails I had requested which revealed this exchange.
Today I have had a formal response. I ws pleased to see identification of changes which needed to be made as a result of this matter. However, what does not please me is that there is no explanation of the matter, even after all this time of enquiry (over a month). Apparently JE asserts that he did copy the notes. I know (as does the Director of Information) that they were not in my folder. What is not addressed in the letter - or even referred to - is the very major question of where these notes are, if they were indeed copied. It would have been better if JE had said he had made a mistake and not, after all, copied the notes. I would have been annoyed, but it would have been solely BLPT's problem. As it is, there may be a set of notes with very personal and detailed information about me (including my name and the names of my family, and my mental health details) floating around somewhere. Given the laxity of BLPT with clinical notes (see previous entries about the number of things missing from my clinical file) this is a major issue for me. I don't want my personal information to be unaccounted for.
And, of course, there is very little that can now be done to reassure me - because if BLPT do come back and say that JE did not, after all, photocopy the notes as instructed, how can I believe that story?
Additionally, how could this response be sent and no consideration given to the fact that their "explanation" suggested that personal information from my clinical notes file was missing? Yet again, they have treated me as if I were stupid. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised - for the most part, that is their way.
This is not helpful.

1 comment:

Fiona Marcella said...

It's them who are stupid - if they'd given you a sensible apology for wrongs done in the first place then they wouldn't be in such a hole.