Legal Experts Say More Must be Done To Protect Patient Safety

Medical negligence experts at law firm Irwin Mitchell say more must be done to protect patient safety after it was revealed that two of North Cumbria’s main hospitals lost the medical records of patients, over 730 times in four years.

The figures, gained through a Freedom of Information request by local media, showed that Cumberland Infirmary, in Carlisle, and West Cumberland Hospital, in Whitehaven, had lost the records, potentially endangering patients’ lives.

North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust, responsible for running the two hospitals, said that since 2013, records disappeared 736 times causing 53 patients to have their procedures delayed as a result.

In 2014 medical records were mislaid 312 times and in 2015 it happened 174 times, while so far this year, it has happened 138 times.

In 2016, nine patients at the West Cumberland Hospital and six at The Cumberland Infirmary had their treatments delayed after 15 sets of records were lost.

In its Freedom of Information response, the Trust said “missing” notes were within its premises but not at their recorded location at the time of the patient's clinic appointment or admission. Their statement added that in all cases, the notes were later located. 

A spokesperson for the Trust apologised for any inconvenience caused and said that the on-going modernisation of the hospitals’ medical records system would limit the potential for similar disorganisation in the future.