Inadequate sharing of patient information within the NHS has prompted coroners in England and Wales to issue 36 warnings this year, highlighting how restricted access to medical records can lead to tragic outcomes. Some patients, including vulnerable children, have died because clinicians lacked crucial details about their needs due to conflicting IT systems and data-sharing obstacles.
One heartbreaking case involved a three-year-old boy who succumbed to a streptococcal infection after contracting chicken pox. An NHS 111 adviser, unaware of the child’s Down’s Syndrome, did not instruct his mother to rush him to the hospital. The boy became unresponsive and passed away the following day. The coroner’s report on the incident noted, “Had the health adviser been aware of the diagnosis, [the child] would have been assessed by a clinician during the evening of 30 May 2023. This assessment could have prevented [his] death.”
Another case spotlighted the death of an 11-year-old due to missing information during the transition from ambulance staff to A&E personnel. The incompatible IT systems between the ambulance and hospital trusts meant that crucial clinical details were relayed verbally, resulting in omissions. Additionally, in a separate incident, mental health staff discharged a patient from A&E, unaware of her critical condition due to unavailable digital records. Tragically, she took her own life the following day.
These cases underline the urgent need for improved data-sharing capabilities across the NHS. In response, Labour has proposed a comprehensive strategy to consolidate NHS patient health data into a single system, making it readily accessible through standardized platforms across England’s health services. While health governance remains devolved for other parts of the UK, these reforms target England’s NHS framework.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting emphasized the critical nature of this overhaul: “No patient should lose their life in 2024 due to the NHS’s inability to share information. Our health service must modernize.” He further detailed plans to utilize an additional £2bn in budget funds to enhance digital patient record technology and establish a unified patient record available through the NHS app. “I am determined to bring our analogue health service into the digital age, benefiting both patients and healthcare efficiency,” Streeting asserted.
In Wales, a government spokesperson highlighted over £300m in funding dedicated to digital transformation within NHS Wales over the past five years.
However, privacy advocates express concerns regarding Labour’s proposed central patient records system. Sam Smith, coordinator at medConfidential, warned, “Centralized care records necessary for emergency response can also present risks, such as unauthorized access.” Smith referenced recent incidents where doctors viewed medical records of their ex-partners’ new partners, underscoring the need for patient visibility into access logs through the NHS app.
Beyond fatalities, coroners have raised additional concerns this year over 38 instances where incomplete or inaccurate data entries within patient record systems posed risks.
