Health bodies warn that records may be changed by rogue doctors to hide their mistakes

NHS England and the Care Quality Commission have warned the General Medical Council that some doctors could be changing medical records to hide mistakes or procedures being carried out without patients’ consents.

This warning comes following allegations from the Health Service Journal that rogue doctors have been altering consent forms after procedures have been completed. Two cases were reported where it was alleged that forms were altered retrospectively, one case was reported that forms had been retained incorrectly by an NHS trust, and one allegation was made of a patient being treated without their consent.

When invasive procedures, such as surgery and some scans, are carried out without consent, this can be considered criminal assault by the Crown Prosecution Service.

A spokesperson from the Department of Health has said “It is essential that patients’ rights are respected and we expect robust action to be taken against any individual or organisation that does not follow fundamental guidance on consent.”

Chief executive of the General Medical Council, Niall Dickson, said “Our guidance could not be clearer – we would seek to take action against any doctor who tried to deceive by amending a consent form.”

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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), Medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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