CHC report inaccuracies

SKD

Registered User
Not posted for awhile but Mum has settled reasonably well into the new nursing home and the staff are much better at coping with with her - her physical condition has improved greatly since leaving hospital most importantly she is feeding herself and eating well. The CHC assessment was unsuccessful and given that the bar is so high I am not surprised. But I am concerned that much of the background information on the report was incorrect - wrong diagnosis, wrong reason for hospitalisation and giving an incorrect mental health history. i have challenged this once by phone and a new report was issued correcting the diagnosis but the other issues remain - the nurse responsible for the report has not spoken to me since I made the phone call and the new report simply arrived by post. Is it worth continuing to chase this? It seems to me that it is important to have the correct reason for hospitalisation on the report in case the situation arises again - particularly since it related to behavioural issues. I am thinking that I now need to do this in writing rather than over the phone. I suspect if I can't get it rectified after a second attempt I may have to look at making a complaint but I'd prefer to get it sorted more amicably.
 

Jaded'n'faded

Registered User
Jan 23, 2019
5,258
0
High Peak
It is - frankly - scary that they make these huge errors. I think SWs use a lot of copy/paste when compiling these documents. Mum's last DoLS document contained multiple errors. One paragraph said things like, 'John complies with medication'. Mum is not John and wasn't on any meds. In the diagnosis section it also said mum had CKD5. That's chronic kidney disease, stage 5. Except that she doesn't - there is nothing wrong with her kidneys and never has been.

Whilst I realise these things are 'slips' rather than intentional (as may be the case with a CHC application) it's pretty worrying. If stuff like this got copied (or was assumed to be correct) elsewhere I hate to think what the consequences might be.

So if I were you I would pursue the complaint. But I'm bl**dy-minded and feel very strongly about this sort of thing.
 

northumbrian_k

Volunteer Host
Mar 2, 2017
4,415
0
Newcastle
It ranges from important issues - reporting about the wrong person or giving an incorrect diagnosis - to silly, but still irksome things. My wife's last adult needs assessment was full of errors and reported as fact some of the things that she said such as that she 'always' been a ballet dancer. Well she did do ballet classes when she was a child but that was more than 70 years ago. It also said that she was attending a facility that we had never even heard of. Grammar, spelling and sentence construction was appalling.

But the best bit, after listing all my wife's limitations and the effect that this had on our daily life, was the conclusion that with minimal additional support - which the council could neither provide nor source - she could quite easily go on living at home. Thankfully, because my wife is self-funding we could avoid this blatant money saving conclusion and find her a care home where her needs are being met.

I too would be a stickler for having important things put right @SKD but you may need to accept that some of the inaccuracies will never be changed no matter how many times you point them out. Best of luck.
 
Last edited:

Louise7

Volunteer Host
Mar 25, 2016
4,685
0
I am thinking that I now need to do this in writing rather than over the phone. I suspect if I can't get it rectified after a second attempt I may have to look at making a complaint but I'd prefer to get it sorted more amicably.

Definitely get it all in writing. When Mum was in hospital both the CHC checklist & DST were completed by a member of the discharge team. The checklist was already completed prior to our discussion and I was told that they 'don't really hold MDT meetings'. When I raised concerns with the individual's manager about the correct process not being followed the individual subsequently wrote in Mum's file that 'there was a question mark over whether daughter is acting in patients best interests'!! When I subsequently got a copy of the DST it stated that the family had been fully involved in the assessment, agreed with the domain scores but were unable to attend the MDT. Err no, not true, we only saw the DST after it had been completed. The form itself contained numerous errors and had clearly been 'copied & pasted' from someone else's assessment. When I suggested to the individual that she had copied & pasted the content she turned defensive/aggressive and denied this, stating that there were some 'typos', despite there being no way that some of the errors could possibly have been typos.

If you do go down the route of submitting a complaint be prepared for a lengthy wait and don't expect that the form will be corrected. An initial complaint made to the CCG was dragged out for months whilst they kept saying that they were intending to schedule a meeting but 'unfortunately various individuals were sick, on holiday etc'. They then ignored our emails for months. After almost a year we submitted a further complaint about their failure to investigate the initial complaint and received a response saying that their email monitoring process had now been updated as a result of our complaint and thanks for raising it (whilst still ignoring the initial complaint!). A separate complaint to the hospital resulted in a response stating that they 'acknowledged that the correct process had not been followed' and 'the crucial step that had been missed was the assessor failing to check if we had LPA'. No mention at all of the numerous errors in the form - some of which caused Mum harm - and ignoring the fact that the assessor had asked if we had LPA, we replied that we did and had a copy with us at the checklist meeting. It seems to be a common 'tactic' to drag things out for as long as possible and hope that the complainant goes away, and if they don't, then offer a 'partial apology' which doesn't actually address the key points of the complaint. Hope this doesn't put you off going down the formal complaint route if you have to - as others have said, it is important that errors are put right, particularly if they are medically wrong. Next up is the Dols form which contains a number of factual errors................
 

SKD

Registered User
Thanks everyone - I am about to gird my loins to put some thoughts on paper this week. Part of my work includes information governance compliance so I am committed to the idea that everyone - including our loved ones - deserves to be accurately recorded in the record.
 

Baz22

Registered User
Dec 30, 2017
46
0
South West
Definitely get it all in writing. When Mum was in hospital both the CHC checklist & DST were completed by a member of the discharge team. The checklist was already completed prior to our discussion and I was told that they 'don't really hold MDT meetings'. When I raised concerns with the individual's manager about the correct process not being followed the individual subsequently wrote in Mum's file that 'there was a question mark over whether daughter is acting in patients best interests'!! When I subsequently got a copy of the DST it stated that the family had been fully involved in the assessment, agreed with the domain scores but were unable to attend the MDT. Err no, not true, we only saw the DST after it had been completed. The form itself contained numerous errors and had clearly been 'copied & pasted' from someone else's assessment. When I suggested to the individual that she had copied & pasted the content she turned defensive/aggressive and denied this, stating that there were some 'typos', despite there being no way that some of the errors could possibly have been typos.

If you do go down the route of submitting a complaint be prepared for a lengthy wait and don't expect that the form will be corrected. An initial complaint made to the CCG was dragged out for months whilst they kept saying that they were intending to schedule a meeting but 'unfortunately various individuals were sick, on holiday etc'. They then ignored our emails for months. After almost a year we submitted a further complaint about their failure to investigate the initial complaint and received a response saying that their email monitoring process had now been updated as a result of our complaint and thanks for raising it (whilst still ignoring the initial complaint!). A separate complaint to the hospital resulted in a response stating that they 'acknowledged that the correct process had not been followed' and 'the crucial step that had been missed was the assessor failing to check if we had LPA'. No mention at all of the numerous errors in the form - some of which caused Mum harm - and ignoring the fact that the assessor had asked if we had LPA, we replied that we did and had a copy with us at the checklist meeting. It seems to be a common 'tactic' to drag things out for as long as possible and hope that the complainant goes away, and if they don't, then offer a 'partial apology' which doesn't actually address the key points of the complaint. Hope this doesn't put you off going down the formal complaint route if you have to - as others have said, it is important that errors are put right, particularly if they are medically wrong. Next up is the Dols form which contains a number of factual errors................
Hi Louise, have not posted for awhile but just seen your post and it is similar to my own experience in the SW England. Incorrect information, Lies on the DST, DST to Panel before I had seen it, Long delays, Claim I chose not to participate in an assessment which was another lie, claim to have done an assessment they had not actually done, etc. Two years in and now at NHS England Review. Agreed to a Local resolution meeting and nobody from their side turned up just the facilitator who had arranged the meeting. They do not follow their own guidelines or rules. Happy days and all while dealing with my mother as she deteriorates.
 

nitram

Registered User
Apr 6, 2011
30,075
0
Bury
Agreed to a Local resolution meeting and nobody from their side turned up just the facilitator who had arranged the meeting.

Logic says 'other side has no evidence to offer, you've won'.

I imagine this could have been the result if the facilitator was a judge.

Keep on fighting.
 

Rosie56

Registered User
Oct 5, 2013
75
0
Keep logging it all. I am Mum's attorney but have agreed with my brother that he can deal with the CHC stuff as I'm dealing with the rest. Just recently we were informed, more than once and a bit abruptly, that I hadn't sent certain documents they requested, including a form permitting my brother to act on my behalf. In fact I'd sent them first class, to be signed for, and I could see on the Post Office website that they'd been delivered days previously. I could also see the name of the person who signed for them. Now the CHC people have stopped asking for the documents and have started behaving as if they have them, but of course there has been no admission that they had the bloody things all the time.
 

Baz22

Registered User
Dec 30, 2017
46
0
South West
Keep logging it all. I am Mum's attorney but have agreed with my brother that he can deal with the CHC stuff as I'm dealing with the rest. Just recently we were informed, more than once and a bit abruptly, that I hadn't sent certain documents they requested, including a form permitting my brother to act on my behalf. In fact I'd sent them first class, to be signed for, and I could see on the Post Office website that they'd been delivered days previously. I could also see the name of the person who signed for them. Now the CHC people have stopped asking for the documents and have started behaving as if they have them, but of course there has been no admission that they had the bloody things all the time.
Rosie an all too familiar story. They have no shame these CHC administrators. It is a long hard slog in difficult circumstances. You start to doubt your own sanity.