A patients son was apologising today for being rude to one of the Coop
doctors over the weekend. He was surprised that this doctor did not have
access to our medical records and had no means of getting access at the
weekend.
He is a QC and felt that we were not fulfilling our legal (not medical)
obligation if we were dealing with patients without access to the records.
The implication was that if something went wrong that could be attributed to
this lack of knowledge then we could be sued (not applicable in this case I
hasten to add). I asked him if there had been a test case, but he said he
hoped it would never have to come to this, i.e. the problem (if there is
one) should not arise in the first place.
I am curious as to whether this is just legal bluster or whether there would
be a case. It means that if you present to A+E or to another doctor out of
your area then they would have some legal obligation to know what was in the
full records or run the risk of being sued. What it did demonstrate to me
was how detached from reality our legal profession is and once again the
medical profession are being asked to carry the can for all our patients
forgetfulness, e.g.. sending smear reminders
Douglas Soutter
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~dsoutt
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