Patient knows best.com

Maybe it was someone else.
Surely you'd either remember the hospital admission or at least some reference to it in family conversation growing up.
Inaccuracies are not unknown.

My NHS record is up to date, and goes back to my having a broken femur as a small child - something of which I was totally unaware and cannot verify with any living relative, all of whom, with one exception, are younger than I am. I clearly have a very IT literate GP practice.

My DH’s record, through the NHS app with GP, shows No Conditions. He has stage 4 cancer.

Sorry forgot to attach e mail

I’ve had this e mail from PALS today. I’ll see when I get any response from the relevant department.

As for the comment regarding some aspects of PKB not being activated yet you couldn’t make it up 🤦‍♂️

Dickens

We've been going through the same thing recently with MrA - and there is absolutely nothing on his records despite all the blood tests other than the initial appointment being set up. Fortunately neither of us is on any medication so we don't have that added complication.

My NHS records have nothing on them at all - I've only been to the doctor's once in about 20 years other than vaccinations but they aren't even on there. Even so there were a few visits many years ago.

Its email is a useful prod that a message of some sort has been sent, but rather than wrestle with it I go straight to my or DW's NHS app.

AreWeThereYet

^The problem with digital technology which is supposed to transform our lives for the better^

... is that it requires skilled IT staff to set it up, and to understand how it will be used and link it all together.

Then it requires trained nursing/admin staff to understand it and use it properly. I think that's the bit where it all falls down - lack of time for training and promoting it's use.

There used to be a saying 'The job isn't finished till the paperwork is done'. I don't think a lot of people realise that putting data in the IT system so that it can be accessed by others is the equivalent of getting the paperwork done.

Sadly I think NHS computerised systems fall under the heading of 'good enough for Government work' as in 'well we've delivered a system, it's not our fault if you didn't provide a good specification and if you want it to work you'll have to pay us more'.

... is that it requires skilled IT staff to set it up, and to understand how it will be used and link it all together.

Then it requires trained nursing/admin staff to understand it and use it properly. I think that's the bit where it all falls down - lack of time for training and promoting it's use.

- and if those two requirements were fulfilled, the glitches / anomalies, etc, experienced by both staff and end-users could be ironed out.

My OH, with complex medical issues, has 6-monthly check-ups for them. Each appointment letter requests he brings an up-to date list of all his regular medications. I duly cut-and-paste from 'SystmOnline Patient Online Service' and print-off the copy.

On two occasions, the NHS lost the list during the appointment - lost as in one person had it but hadn't passed it on to the other medic involved. Both times, the department involved called me and asked me to log-in to my OH's account to reel off the meds he was currently taking (I have POA). For one medic, I had to spell the name of a drug which he'd not heard of - and he asked me why it'd been prescribed.

Wouldn't it waste less time if the patient's GP records were available for the various hospital departments? Or is this a data-protection issue?

On another occasion, a hospital-prescribed drug needed to be taken over by the GP to prescribe. The hospital duly informed the GP, but the GP couldn't locate the request. He called me and asked me to ask the hospital department how they had sent this request - by post, email or some other electronic system. So for a week I was acting as a go-between - between the GP surgery and the hospital department. One would ask a question which I then had to relay to the other, and do the same with the reply.

Then, finally when the GP found the request, I had to ask for the drug specifically from him, and give my rationale for asking for it, via ANIMA. I pointed out that it was a consultant who had prescribed the drug for a specific reason which he had, presumably, explained to the GP. In desperation I called the consultant's secretary and asked her to ask him why he'd prescribed the drug. She told me that he would have already done that and, sensing my (by this time) despair told me not to worry she would get the consultant to call the GP.

I heard nothing. Me, piggy-in-the-middle, was left out of the loop, until the drug just appeared a week later via the local pharmacy delivery system.

Utterly absurd!

This is what I have done and still awaiting a reply Redridinghood I agree no joined up writing.

The problem with digital technology which is supposed to transform our lives for the better

... is that it requires skilled IT staff to set it up, and to understand how it will be used and link it all together.

Then it requires trained nursing/admin staff to understand it and use it properly. I think that's the bit where it all falls down - lack of time for training and promoting it's use.

There used to be a saying 'The job isn't finished till the paperwork is done'. I don't think a lot of people realise that putting data in the IT system so that it can be accessed by others is the equivalent of getting the paperwork done.

Sadly I think NHS computerised systems fall under the heading of 'good enough for Government work' as in 'well we've delivered a system, it's not our fault if you didn't provide a good specification and if you want it to work you'll have to pay us more'.

Grandmadinosaur

Has anyone else used or been referred to use this through the NHS app? Having finally registered with them and trying to use it to contact them regarding hospital treatment I’ve been having I seem to go round in circles. It keeps telling me I can’t contact them because I haven’t registered to do so. Aaagh oh for the days when it was just a phone call or a letter.

The problem with digital technology which is supposed to transform our lives for the better - make communication easier, streamline the services offered, etc, is that they become so complicated for the user... requiring this or that criteria before they can be utilised (one piece of missing data that you don't have to hand can mean no access to the system) - that in the end, we are serving the systems instead of them serving us.

In other words, the computer says "No".

That's apart from the fact that within the NHS - computer systems don't 'talk' to each other.

I've used PKB for a few years. In my experience it's not used consistently by hospitals. Potentially a good system but like everything in the NHS it's not joined up. They seem to use it to send some letters but it's not used for patients to contact them. Letters are duplicated on Patient Portal.
It used to show all my blood results but they don't put them on now. I contacted PALs about it over a year ago. No reply.

Thanks all. I have e mailed Pals but there was also a telephone number. I might ring them too.

I'd juts ring and speak to the Manager of whatever department you have concerns about and be clear you want a call back. If its for test results we get our on the NHS app.

We have to contact PALS by … email!

I use it and found it confusing knowing where to look for test results etc at first but I do find it quickly displays any hospital or GP test results you just have to figure out where to look. I don’t know why it’s saying you’re not registered though.

I was thinking of going in to the reception desk of the department or leaving a letter there but I hadn’t thought of that option.
Thank you.

Call the hospital and speak to PALS maybe?

That way you will get a person