HC Deb 29 March 1982 vol 21 cc31-2W
Mr. Haynes

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many medical records have been lost by the Nottinghamshire family practitioner committee during the last 12 months;

(2) whether the Nottinghamshire family practitioner committee has managed to identify how the medical records of Mrs. J. Burns, 29 Evans Avenue, Sutton-in-Ashfield, and her two children were lost;

(3) what is the usual procedure for the transfer of medical records when a patient changes doctors.

Mr. Newton

The latest information available relates to December 1980 and is as follows:

Mr. Geoffrey Finsberg

Where the patient changes doctor within the same family practitioner committee area, the committee obtains the records from the previous doctor and sends them to the new doctor. Where different family practitioner committees are involved, the previous committee obtains the records and passes them to the new committee for transmission to the new doctor.

In Mrs. Burns, case, despite intensive inquiries and searches, Nottinghamshire family practitioner committee was unable to trace records despatched to it in June 1980 from Mrs. Burns' previous doctor. There is no evidence that these records were lost by the family practitioner committee, nor that any other records have been lost in the last 12 months.