The Student Room Group

removing false diagnosis from medical records

how to do it? when i previously tried to, they refused and threatened me with legal action, lol - which i had no issues with, they were in the wrong, but my boyfriend ruined things for me. im happy to go to court but is there an easier/quicker way if they refuse to cooperate? formal letters, calls, emails, and visits only resulted in the above. i know i've a legal right under gdpr to get that fake **** removed

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

Honest answer, I think you would need to ask this somewhere where you didn't already have a v public MH history.

Reply 2

Original post
by StriderHort
Honest answer, I think you would need to ask this somewhere where you didn't already have a v public MH history.

i am. anyway, they are literally breaking the ******* law, but obviously nobody gives a ****, since about me and not them
Original post
by Ciel.
how to do it? when i previously tried to, they refused and threatened me with legal action, lol - which i had no issues with, they were in the wrong, but my boyfriend ruined things for me. im happy to go to court but is there an easier/quicker way if they refuse to cooperate? formal letters, calls, emails, and visits only resulted in the above. i know i've a legal right under gdpr to get that fake **** removed


If it's with a GP surgery, you should have the right to correct any misinformation in your records, but I would assume there's more to this than you're sharing.
Probably better to bump your last thread about the topic rather than making a new one.
https://transform.england.nhs.uk/information-governance/guidance/amending-patient-and-service-user-records/

"Sometimes, you may disagree with information written in your record, but the information could still be factually correct. For example, you may disagree with a diagnosis you were given in the past. Whilst you can still ask the organisation to amend the entry that you feel is inaccurate, an organisation should not change it if the health and care professional believes it is factually correct. There are exceptions to this, for example, where there is a court order.

In cases where all parties agree that the information is inaccurate, it may still be necessary to retain the information. For example, health and care professionals may have taken the information into consideration when making decisions about treatment or care. This information would therefore be needed to justify and explain health and treatment decisions or to audit the quality of care received. You can, however, request for a comment or entry to be made in the record to show that you disagree with the content and what you think it should say."


Note while the above is taken from the NHS governance I would expect all healthcare organisations to have similar policies and processes. If you disagree with the diagnosis you can raise it, but if they deem in their clinical judgment it is correct then they aren't going to remove it. Also bear in mind if you did somehow take this to court, they may require an objective third party clinician to verify the information and diagnosis - this isn't going to be someone you choose, and you need to be prepared for the possibilty that they will agree with your original clinicians.

Given they've already rejected your request and in fact effectively offered to take it to court, they are evidently quite confident that they are not only clinically correct, but that this would be verified by any other clinician who might also review the same case. I don't think taking them to court is going to get you the outcome you want, and would likely be time consuming and very expensive.

Reply 6

Original post
by -Eirlys-
If it's with a GP surgery, you should have the right to correct any misinformation in your records, but I would assume there's more to this than you're sharing.

it's not with my gp, it's private clinic. i also want some records hospital records removed
more to this? like what? you're all acting like im some ort of a criminal just for making a simple request

Reply 7

Original post
by Admit-One
Probably better to bump your last thread about the topic rather than making a new one.

given that im still dealing with the same issue, what good would that do
anyway, why do you have an issue with everything?this place is dying

Reply 8

Original post
by artful_lounger
https://transform.england.nhs.uk/information-governance/guidance/amending-patient-and-service-user-records/
"Sometimes, you may disagree with information written in your record, but the information could still be factually correct. For example, you may disagree with a diagnosis you were given in the past. Whilst you can still ask the organisation to amend the entry that you feel is inaccurate, an organisation should not change it if the health and care professional believes it is factually correct. There are exceptions to this, for example, where there is a court order.
In cases where all parties agree that the information is inaccurate, it may still be necessary to retain the information. For example, health and care professionals may have taken the information into consideration when making decisions about treatment or care. This information would therefore be needed to justify and explain health and treatment decisions or to audit the quality of care received. You can, however, request for a comment or entry to be made in the record to show that you disagree with the content and what you think it should say."
Note while the above is taken from the NHS governance I would expect all healthcare organisations to have similar policies and processes. If you disagree with the diagnosis you can raise it, but if they deem in their clinical judgment it is correct then they aren't going to remove it. Also bear in mind if you did somehow take this to court, they may require an objective third party clinician to verify the information and diagnosis - this isn't going to be someone you choose, and you need to be prepared for the possibilty that they will agree with your original clinicians.
Given they've already rejected your request and in fact effectively offered to take it to court, they are evidently quite confident that they are not only clinically correct, but that this would be verified by any other clinician who might also review the same case. I don't think taking them to court is going to get you the outcome you want, and would likely be time consuming and very expensive.

its not factually correct, and it's ruining my life. but they'd rather let that happen, rather than own up to their mistakes. the moment you confront them they cry harassment, lol. i cant ******* do **** without my boyfriend throwing it all in the face and using it against me because he'd rathr believe them and not me. until thats fixed, theres no way for me to move on from this. i dont care how long it takes or how expensive it is.

Reply 9

its seriously so messed up, they way ive been treated by them, despite spending a **** ton of money on their 'services'. its driving me crazy. ic ant stop thinking about it especially knowing that it coud just improve my life so much, if i could get that clean slate again

Reply 10

i want to prove it was a mistake. to my boyfriend mostly. my mother, too
i just wnt to move past that part of my life and get a fresh start

Reply 11

Original post
by Ciel.
its seriously so messed up, they way ive been treated by them, despite spending a **** ton of money on their 'services'. its driving me crazy. ic ant stop thinking about it especially knowing that it coud just improve my life so much, if i could get that clean slate again

I think that is a fantasy.

You're telling us you've never never felt better, but you've taken yourself off your mood stabilisers, went out the other week on a binge and either cheated again or got seriously S assaulted and you appear to be having an episode now, complete with all the persecution and snapping dramatically at anyone who questions you.

This is why I'm saying this may not be the best place for this, as you have a long history and generally lash out when anyone points this out.

Reply 12

Original post
by StriderHort
I think that is a fantasy.
You're telling us you've never never felt better, but you've taken yourself off your mood stabilisers, went out the other week on a binge and either cheated again or got seriously S assaulted and you appear to be having an episode now, complete with all the persecution and snapping dramatically at anyone who questions you.
This is why I'm saying this may not be the best place for this, as you have a long history and generally lash out when anyone points this out.

because idont ******* need mood stabilisers, thats the whole point. lol, this post right here is what ****es me off the most, this kind of talk, you sound just like him. looking down on me, trivializing everything i say because of your false believes about me. if i do or plan something he doesnt like, or go out, actually want to do something fun or travel somewhere, he'll accuse me of the same ****. im not having an 'episode', this is literally my real personality when im not depressed, and im not snapping im just ******* frustrated, bc everything i ever say will always be in question bc of that tfakeass misdiagnosis, if it wasnt for that you wouldnt be saying any of tht **** to me, would you? what happened that night could've happened to anyone. yh, my fault for drinking too much, whatever, i dont care what happened anymore

Reply 13

Original post
by Ciel.
because idont ******* need mood stabilisers, thats the whole point. lol, this post right here is what ****es me off the most, this kind of talk, you sound just like him. looking down on me, trivializing everything i say because of your false believes about me. if i do or plan something he doesnt like, or go out, actually want to do something fun or travel somewhere, he'll accuse me of the same ****. im not having an 'episode', this is literally my real personality when im not depressed, and im not snapping im just ******* frustrated, bc everything i ever say will always be in question bc of that tfakeass misdiagnosis, if it wasnt for that you wouldnt be saying any of tht **** to me, would you? what happened that night could've happened to anyone. yh, my fault for drinking too much, whatever, i dont care what happened anymore

Exactly, you're getting mad and trying to make ME out as the bad guy here, when the total of everything I know about the situation is what YOU have told us and never like being reminded of it. You absolutely do not sound like you are are doing ok/good/whatever.

You cannot run from what you are, especially if what you are includes the legs you run with.


(BTW. Yes. I would be saying all this either way. I don't even know what your diagnosis is, for the umpteenth time im going by what you tell me)
(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 14

Original post
by StriderHort
Exactly, you're getting mad and trying to make ME out as the bad guy here, when the total of everything I know about the situation is what YOU have told us and never like being reminded of it. You absolutely do not sound like you are are doing ok/good/whatever.
You cannot run from what you are, especially if what you are includes the legs you run with.
(BTW. Yes. I would be saying all this either way. I don't even know what your diagnosis is, for the umpteenth time im going by what you tell me)

yeah well, pretty sure you'd be angry too. this whole country - the entire medical services system - is ****ed, once you're in it, it's over basically. you cant even dispute their bs because they're all backing each other up. but honestly, i'm done putting up with it, cant wait for them to actually take me to court but thats prob just empty threats too

Reply 15

Original post
by Ciel.
it's not with my gp, it's private clinic. i also want some records hospital records removed
more to this? like what? you're all acting like im some ort of a criminal just for making a simple request

I used to work for IT support for NHS Services (NHS Digital, as well as NHS Scotland, NHS Wales and HSCNI), and I can confirm that once a diagnosis has been made, it can NEVER be removed by anyone, unless it was genuinely added in error (e.g. if, say, the wrong patient record was updated). Gone are the days when people relied on paper records, and now All UK medical records are now electronically recorded and Audit-trailed, which means that it will always be possible to trace who has entered or amended the record... so even asking someone unscrupulous to do it "under the counter" (or even someone unauthorised looking at a medical record they shouldn't be) would result in serious consequences for that clinician; most likely they would be struck-off and may possibly face criminal charges. What's more, medical records are stored in several databases, and there are alerts set up for any mismatches or abnormalities.

Unfortunately (well unfortunately for you, anyway), there will always be a permanent record of any medical diagnosis, and it cannot be removed "just because it doesn't suit you"... in much the same way that a reformed criminal cannot have their past criminal record deleted, regardless of how much of a model-citizen they may be now (even though the conviction itself may be "spent", it will still be visible for certain purposes or checks). Same sort of thing here. As stated above, if you want the medical record completely removed, you'd have to either prove that it was added in error, or prove that the responsible clinician was negligent or incompetent. Given the length of time this has been going on for (and based on what you've written here), either task sounds almost impossible for you to successfully complete by yourself.

I don't know the full story here... but depending on what you've been diagnosed with, you'd stand a far better chance of having the diagnosis resolved, if (and only if) you can convince the relevant authorities that it's no longer an issue. I don't know how you would do this, as it would depend on what you've been diagnosed with and what the Quality Outcome Framework (QOF) guidelines / conditions are (if applicable). Furthermore, if you're taking certain medication such as Lithium (or a Lithium based product), that, on its own will put you on certain Mental Health registers, even if you're outwardly a normally functioning person. Generally speaking, some Medical conditions can be resolved, others cannot (i.e. once you're on that particular condition / disease register, you're on for life). If you can get the condition resolved, again using the criminal analogy, it's like a spent conviction... so for most purposes, it wouldn't effect you, although certain stringent background checks may pick it up, especially if you've been institutionalised.

If you want to do this, I would be very careful of what you write or how you come across on public forums. If anyone can trace any of your accounts back to you, they'd likely use the tone of your posts as evidence of your mental state for any necessary evaluation. For the record, I'm not commenting on you personally, I'm just making you aware that on the Internet, you may not be as anonymous or untraceable as you'd think or like to be.

Reply 16

Original post
by Old Skool Freak
I used to work for IT support for NHS Services (NHS Digital, as well as NHS Scotland, NHS Wales and HSCNI), and I can confirm that once a diagnosis has been made, it can NEVER be removed by anyone, unless it was genuinely added in error (e.g. if, say, the wrong patient record was updated). Gone are the days when people relied on paper records, and now All UK medical records are now electronically recorded and Audit-trailed, which means that it will always be possible to trace who has entered or amended the record... so even asking someone unscrupulous to do it "under the counter" (or even someone unauthorised looking at a medical record they shouldn't be) would result in serious consequences for that clinician; most likely they would be struck-off and may possibly face criminal charges. What's more, medical records are stored in several databases, and there are alerts set up for any mismatches or abnormalities.
Unfortunately (well unfortunately for you, anyway), there will always be a permanent record of any medical diagnosis, and it cannot be removed "just because it doesn't suit you"... in much the same way that a reformed criminal cannot have their past criminal record deleted, regardless of how much of a model-citizen they may be now (even though the conviction itself may be "spent", it will still be visible for certain purposes or checks). Same sort of thing here. As stated above, if you want the medical record completely removed, you'd have to either prove that it was added in error, or prove that the responsible clinician was negligent or incompetent. Given the length of time this has been going on for (and based on what you've written here), either task sounds almost impossible for you to successfully complete by yourself.
I don't know the full story here... but depending on what you've been diagnosed with, you'd stand a far better chance of having the diagnosis resolved, if (and only if) you can convince the relevant authorities that it's no longer an issue. I don't know how you would do this, as it would depend on what you've been diagnosed with and what the Quality Outcome Framework (QOF) guidelines / conditions are (if applicable). Furthermore, if you're taking certain medication such as Lithium (or a Lithium based product), that, on its own will put you on certain Mental Health registers, even if you're outwardly a normally functioning person. Generally speaking, some Medical conditions can be resolved, others cannot (i.e. once you're on that particular condition / disease register, you're on for life). If you can get the condition resolved, again using the criminal analogy, it's like a spent conviction... so for most purposes, it wouldn't effect you, although certain stringent background checks may pick it up, especially if you've been institutionalised.
If you want to do this, I would be very careful of what you write or how you come across on public forums. If anyone can trace any of your accounts back to you, they'd likely use the tone of your posts as evidence of your mental state for any necessary evaluation. For the record, I'm not commenting on you personally, I'm just making you aware that on the Internet, you may not be as anonymous or untraceable as you'd think or like to be.

are you for real? this is so ****ed up, im sorry but theres no way this **** cant be challenged in court, and i've never posted anything suggesting any severe mh issues, sure i talked about being depressed in the past but thats it

Reply 17

Original post
by Old Skool Freak
I used to work for IT support for NHS Services (NHS Digital, as well as NHS Scotland, NHS Wales and HSCNI), and I can confirm that once a diagnosis has been made, it can NEVER be removed by anyone, unless it was genuinely added in error (e.g. if, say, the wrong patient record was updated). Gone are the days when people relied on paper records, and now All UK medical records are now electronically recorded and Audit-trailed, which means that it will always be possible to trace who has entered or amended the record... so even asking someone unscrupulous to do it "under the counter" (or even someone unauthorised looking at a medical record they shouldn't be) would result in serious consequences for that clinician; most likely they would be struck-off and may possibly face criminal charges. What's more, medical records are stored in several databases, and there are alerts set up for any mismatches or abnormalities.
Unfortunately (well unfortunately for you, anyway), there will always be a permanent record of any medical diagnosis, and it cannot be removed "just because it doesn't suit you"... in much the same way that a reformed criminal cannot have their past criminal record deleted, regardless of how much of a model-citizen they may be now (even though the conviction itself may be "spent", it will still be visible for certain purposes or checks). Same sort of thing here. As stated above, if you want the medical record completely removed, you'd have to either prove that it was added in error, or prove that the responsible clinician was negligent or incompetent. Given the length of time this has been going on for (and based on what you've written here), either task sounds almost impossible for you to successfully complete by yourself.
I don't know the full story here... but depending on what you've been diagnosed with, you'd stand a far better chance of having the diagnosis resolved, if (and only if) you can convince the relevant authorities that it's no longer an issue. I don't know how you would do this, as it would depend on what you've been diagnosed with and what the Quality Outcome Framework (QOF) guidelines / conditions are (if applicable). Furthermore, if you're taking certain medication such as Lithium (or a Lithium based product), that, on its own will put you on certain Mental Health registers, even if you're outwardly a normally functioning person. Generally speaking, some Medical conditions can be resolved, others cannot (i.e. once you're on that particular condition / disease register, you're on for life). If you can get the condition resolved, again using the criminal analogy, it's like a spent conviction... so for most purposes, it wouldn't effect you, although certain stringent background checks may pick it up, especially if you've been institutionalised.
If you want to do this, I would be very careful of what you write or how you come across on public forums. If anyone can trace any of your accounts back to you, they'd likely use the tone of your posts as evidence of your mental state for any necessary evaluation. For the record, I'm not commenting on you personally, I'm just making you aware that on the Internet, you may not be as anonymous or untraceable as you'd think or like to be.

appreciate the detailed response and the insider info tho

Reply 18

Original post
by Ciel.
are you for real? this is so ****ed up, im sorry but theres no way this **** cant be challenged in court, and i've never posted anything suggesting any severe mh issues, sure i talked about being depressed in the past but thats it

They didn't say you couldn't challenge it, just that the bar is pretty high and requires proof.

"if you want the medical record completely removed, you'd have to either prove that it was added in error, or prove that the responsible clinician was negligent or incompetent. Given the length of time this has been going on for (and based on what you've written here), either task sounds almost impossible for you to successfully complete by yourself."

I do want to add, I know some of the replies I give you must sound nasty or bringing up history you'd rather I didn't, but I'm genuinely trying to help, crap as it may be. I've been through plenty myself and stood with others through more and I v much believe in speaking home truths when it's needed.

I don't think having this diagnosis, false or true as it may be, removed from your record would have much significant value in you moving forward, in terms of your current unhealthy living situation anyway :/

Reply 19

I do not and will not ever understand why people are so interested in their medical records. Some people go to extreme lengths to obtain every piece of medical data there is about them, even if it means submitting subject access requests to obtain actual scan images (which are completely useless to a layperson as they would be impossible to interpret), blood test results (again, often hard to interpret without medical training), a historical list of diagnoses etc etc etc.

I highly doubt any medical professional would ever make a knowingly false diagnosis as to do so could well open them to medicolegal consequences.

I just don't get the thinking. If I was ever unwell, surely it is in my own best interests that doctors have access to more information about me, not less of it? I might not be well enough able to answer their questions. Even my own family might not be there to answer questions about my health. But all potentially useful information would (and should) be held in my records, potentially greatly simplifying my treatment and improving my chances at an expedited recovery.

This kind of information is no joke. Meddling with it could end very badly for someone. This is doubly true in matters relating to mental health.

Quick Reply

How The Student Room is moderated

To keep The Student Room safe for everyone, we moderate posts that are added to the site.