Unbelievable

A week or so ago I wrote this letter to my NHS Primary Care Trust. Reproduced below is the reply I received on why my notes were not at my surgery and why I had been de-registered from the practice.

Note the reason quoted “Patient works on ships”.

That would mean that if I had chosen to start my career in 2004, by my simple maths, and allowing for 40 years of service. I would have to have registered with the practice 80 times.

Unbelievable.

UPDATE:

I received this.

Dear Mr Filthy Engineer

Thank you for your e mail regarding the removal of your name from your doctor’s list.

As you will appreciate, our Agency has no option but to comply with the NHS Regulations in the case of patients who are not resident in the UK. 

However, you may wish to contact the NHS West Kent Primary Care Trust’s Customer Service department on 0800 0 850 850 if you wish to discuss your concerns with a member of the helpline staff.  If you prefer you can e mail them at customerservices@wkpct.nhs.uk

Kind regards

Sylvia May

My reply.

Dear Sylvia,

I thank you for your reply. On that basis I should be able to reclaim my NIC's from 2004 onwards if I was deemed to be non resident in the UK by yourselves.

Regards
The Filthy Engineer

Those notes.

Yesterday as you may recall I sent a FOI request to my local PCT. I received a reply today (That’s quick), stating that they are treating it under the data Protection Act instead. I suppose it is relevant under the circumstances, It’s reproduced here for your edification.

Hello xxxx

I can confim that we have received your request. 

This request is a request under the DPA 1998 not a Freedom of information act as you are asking for personal information about which you are the subject of.

We will begin processing your request and will be in touch for the relevant Identity required.  

kind regards

Pam

What I find irksome is that I took the trouble to write a formal letter and received an informal letter back. Notwithstanding that she addressed me by my Christian name which she spelt wrongly, she could have at least run the spellchecker through the E mail (Confim?).

Maybe it’s just me being pedantic, but a reply should be in the same vein, in my opinion. Not a very professional stance for a public servant.

I’m sure as well that they could have replied under the FOIA, however that only gives them 20 days, where as the DPA gives them 40 days.

I really must take off my tinfoil hat.

Where are my notes?

A couple of weeks ago I rang my surgery to obtain an appointment with my Doctor. Only to be informed that I had moved away and my notes had been requested by another practice. Which I had not

So today I've just E mailed this to my local primary care trust:

Dear Sir/Madam,

Two weeks ago I rang my practice to arrange a medical appointment. However to my amazement I was informed that I was no longer registered with the practice. The practice manager intimated to me that I had moved out of the area, and therefore my medical notes had been asked for by WKPCT, to be forwarded on to the practice that had requested them. This was as long ago as late 2006.

This came as some surprise to me as I have lived in the West Kent area for some 55 years, and been registered with the practice for at least 25 years. I have never moved out of the area in this time.

Please supply me with the following information under a Freedom Of Information request.

1.  Which practice requested my medical notes in the latter part of 2006?

2.  Were any checks carried out to ascertain that this was a legitimate request for this sensitive information?

3.  Where have the documents been held since 2006?

4.  Where are these important documents now?
Yours faithfully

The Filthy Engineer

I wonder what the reply will be?