§ Mr. Cyril Smithasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she is satisfied that adequate safeguards exist to ensure that case notes and drug sheets represent a true and accurate record of the patient concerned.
§ Dr. OwenCase notes and drug sheets are the responsibility of the clinician in charge of the patient and it is his duty, as it is that of any other professional staff concerned with the compilation of the records, to ensure that they represent a true and accurate account of the patient's health care. The Department has recently commended a new range of standard forms to health authorities, designed to encourage a more uniform approach to the completion of hospital medical records.
§ Mr. Cyril Smithasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will tighten up the procedure governing the communication of case information between general practitioners and NHS hospitals and vice-versa.
§ Dr. OwenThe extent of information about a particular patient passing between the general practitioner and the hospital clinician is decided by the doctor in accordance with his judgment of the requirements of the individual case. The Department has tried to help this passage of information by recommending for general use new and improved model forms of written communication. These models, including a notification intended to be sent by the hospital to the general practitioner immediately in advance of the patient's discharge, provide for the insertion of comprehensive information about the patient's diagnosis and treatment and other matters relevant to his condition and future care.