Almost a quarter of patients have reported finding errors in their NHS records, with the RCGP suggesting that these may be down to inadequate IT and workload pressures in general practice.
A survey of 1,800 adults, published by Healthwatch England today, found that 23% of respondents noticed inaccuracies or missing details in their records.
When asked about inaccuracies they had discovered, many patients said that ‘incorrect information’ had been recorded, such as inaccurate personal details, medications, conditions or medical treatments.
The survey, conducted by BMG Research, also found that 29% of patients who had noticed inaccuracies said that one or more diagnosed health conditions were completely missing from their medical record.
The report stated that the NHS is investing funding and resources into digitalising patient records and improving information sharing between different services – integrating a patient’s NHS GP record with individual records held by hospitals, dentists and pharmacies.
Coroners have previously warned about the dangers of inadequate information sharing, with some patients dying as a result of clinicians being unable to access details from other healthcare professionals.
RCGP chair Professor Kamila Hawthorne said that many GPs will be ‘deeply concerned by this report’ and that GPs ‘take the management of patient records very seriously’ in ensuring the best patient care.
She suggested that there may be reasons for administrative errors in records, citing inadequate technology, workload pressures, and poor communication between different areas of the NHS.
She said: ‘There may be many reasons for administrative errors occurring but inadequate IT infrastructure, intense workload and workforce pressures in general practice, high levels of unnecessary bureaucracy, and poor communication between different parts of the health service could all contribute to mistakes being made.
‘GPs and our teams work hard to ensure records are secure and accurate and care is joined up, but if GPs and their teams are overworked and our basic IT systems are slow, inefficient and can’t communicate with one another effectively, then issues such as this are inadvertently and unfortunately going to happen.
‘The forthcoming new 10-year Health Plan must be used as an opportunity to resolve this, allocating a greater portion of the NHS budget to primary care and also providing additional ringfenced funding – of at least £2 billion – to address the substantial shortcomings in both our physical and digital infrastructure.’
The report did highlight that records seen on the NHS App are not ‘full records’, but a summary of one’s GP record which often dates back to November 2023 – when the technology changed.
In October, Pulse reported that under new legislation all NHS IT suppliers will need to meet ‘common standards’ which enable patient data sharing across GP practices and trusts.
This came after the health secretary revealed his plans to create a ‘single patient record’ or ‘patient passport’.
The errors patients complain about are utterly trivial – the wrong date for their operation ten years ago, that sort of thing.
Meanwhile, a recent search turned up an embarrassing number of people with raised Hba1c but without a diabetes diagnosis.