In some cases involving children, a sessional GP will be faced with a scenario involving requests for a child’s medical records from separated parents. Dr Heidi Mounsey, Medicolegal Consultant at Medical Protection, sets out some underlying principles that are usually applicable to most cases.
The unique arrangement of GP locums means they are likely to be unfamiliar with underlying or ongoing family disagreements while treating children. There is also the risk of becoming aware of issues within a family for the first time, but not remaining at the practice long enough to address these, or failing to hand over adequate information when leaving the practice.
Problems that could arise from this include:
- Asking to see information that has already been provided such as the child’s birth certificate, resulting in a complaint against the GP locum.
- Providing information to a third party but where concerns have previously been raised (unbeknown to the locum) about the provision of information to that third party – this could lead to a complaint or possibly a safeguarding concern.
- Becoming caught in the middle between two warring parents because the locum is not aware the practice has already put a process in place to address this. This wastes time and resources but also runs the risk of either or both parents complaining.
