Medical records

[Hex]

Hi,
I would be interested to know if anyone has had experience of this.
My mum recently moved to an Extra Care apartment within a complex that has care staff on site most of the day and warden patrolled twenty four hours a day. We are having the normal teething problems that go with dementia. She thinks she is at a respite home or she is living in my home with her furniture. For the most part she loves being there and Is getting into a routine where she is meeting other residents in the communal lounge. Even having lunch at the public cafe when I am not with her. Her Vascular Dementia came on after her third TIA. Before this she had heart problems and had throat cancer over twenty years ago. She has no voice box and talks with an electronic device held against her throat. She gets a lot of blockages in her airway, I suspect because of age and getting weaker she has trouble clearing them herself. She uses a nebuliser I suspect because she knows she has got to. She refuses any walking aids and furniture walks to get around. She recently had an infected finger and her GP was called. After his visit he sent a print out of her medical records to be displayed where any emergency services can see them. My concern is, these are personal records and are there for anyone to flick through. She has a steady stream of carers and visitors. I mentioned this to the head carer who expressed surprise. She had never heard of this before and thought the same as me. Mum is living independently just as she was in her little bungalow and it was never suggested before. The head carer suggested we file her records in the office where they will be available at all times. I agreed to this because the important points relevant to any of the emergency services should they have to attend are not even in the file. If she needs to be ressussetated she is a neck breather. I have had to point this out to paramedics in the past when they have placed a mask on her mouth.
My question is. Is this a normal process and am I being paranoid?
Syl



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[Pickles53]

I'd be more worried that in an emergency anyone who visits your mum might not know what to do in an emergency if she has such complicated health issues, to be honest. What if you were not able to be contacted quickly, for instance?

I would expect that professional carers are required as part of their terms and conditions of employment to keep confidential anything they know about a client. Typically revealing any personal information would be gross misconduct and result in instant dismissal. Inevitably they will have to know a lot of personal information in order to do their jobs properly and there has to be some degree of trust. Perhaps checking this with the agency might put your mind at rest.

Visiting friends would be different of course but maybe the records themselves could be put out of sight with a notice somewhere telling people what to do in an emergency and where the records are kept? The local Rotary Club where my mum lived had a scheme where you put the key information in a special plastic tube in the fridge, and there was a sticker for the front door to alert paramedics etc that the information was there if needed.

 

[Lawson58]

Perhaps it would be more appropriate for your mum to use an SOS bracelet or pendant than having her records freely available to everyone. They are quite attractive and you can either use a locket type that uses a strip to provide information or you can have relevant data lasered on the back.

Paramedics and ambulance officers are very familiar with them and considering your mum's particular needs, this could be a solution for you. They vary in price a lot as they range from stainless steel to sterling silver and gold and all your mum has to do is keep it on at all times.

 

[Hex]

Thanks for all your input in this. We came to a decision. The records will be kept with mums care plan so accessible to those who may need them but away from public display.


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