Photo credit: www.theguardian.com
Warnings Raised on NHS Patient Information Sharing in England and Wales
In 2023, coroners in England and Wales have issued 35 alerts regarding the failures in sharing patient information within the National Health Service (NHS), with some patients tragically dying due to clinicians’ inability to obtain crucial medical details.
The challenges stem from incompatible IT systems, restricted access to medical records, and barriers to exchanging information outside the NHS framework. As a result, healthcare professionals frequently encounter difficulties when trying to gather essential information about the patients they are treating.
One striking case involved a three-year-old boy who succumbed to a streptococcal infection after previously contracting chickenpox. The NHS 111 adviser handling the inquiry was not aware of the child’s Down syndrome, which made him significantly more vulnerable. Consequently, vital advice to seek immediate medical care was not communicated to the boy’s mother. tragically, he became unresponsive and died the following day.
A coroner’s Prevention of Future Deaths report stressed that had the health adviser known about the child’s condition, he would have received clinical evaluation the evening of May 30, 2023, potentially preventing his death.
In another incident, an 11-year-old boy died following a miscommunication during his transfer from the ambulance service to the accident and emergency department. The IT systems employed by both services were not compatible, leading to a reliance on verbal communication that resulted in critical information being overlooked.
A third case highlighted a failure in mental health care when staff were unaware of the circumstances surrounding a patient’s visit to A&E due to the inaccessibility of her digital medical records. This lapse led to her discharge instead of appropriate psychiatric detention, resulting in her tragic suicide the following day.
These incidents underscore the urgent need for improved information-sharing protocols within the NHS. In response, the Labour Party has put forth proposals to centralize NHS patient health data and implement standardized information-access systems across the organization. These changes are intended to improve health services primarily in England, while health care governance is largely devolved in other regions of the UK.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting emphasized the importance of modernizing the NHS, stating, “No patient should lose their life in 2024 because different parts of the NHS can’t share information. This is why we desperately need to modernize our health service.”
Streeting announced plans for allocating an additional £2 billion to equip NHS professionals with modern technologies, including comprehensive digital patient records. He expressed his commitment to transitioning the NHS to digital infrastructure, aiming for greater efficiency and enhanced patient care.
A spokesperson for the Welsh government remarked, “We have provided over £300 million to support digital change in NHS Wales over the last five years.”
Despite these advancements, concerns have been raised regarding patient confidentiality amidst Labour’s proposed measures. Privacy advocates like Sam Smith from medConfidential have warned that the centralization of care records could lead to serious breaches of privacy. “The new central care record will have all the written notes from your GP accessible wherever the NHS logo is seen,” he noted. While this is essential for emergency care, it could pose serious risks, likening it to “a stalkers’ paradise.”
Smith also pointed out instances where medical professionals accessed the records of their ex-partners, highlighting the need for transparency and patient control over their data. He urged for systems allowing patients to view when and where their records were accessed via the NHS app.
In addition to the fatalities linked to inadequate information sharing, coroners have identified 38 cases this year where incomplete or incorrect data entered into patient record systems raised significant concerns.
Source
www.theguardian.com