The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has issued a statement on patient-related documentation to state they “are working quickly to review documents from our electronic records” that may not have been sent to GPs.
In the statement it notes that following correspondence from the Care Quality Commission in mid-September, the trust “identified a number of documents in our electronic patient record which may not have been sent to GPs”.
The trust is currently reviewing 24,000 documents from their electronic records, inlcuding discharge summaries and clinic letters, with the statement adding that “this review is already underway and will be completed as quickly as possible over the next two months. If any concerns are identified, we will inform patients and their GPs directly.”
Newcastle Hospitals adds: “We have thoroughly investigated these matters and would like to reassure our patients that we are taking immediate steps to address the issue. We sincerely apologise for any anxiety or inconvenience this may cause.”
HTN last reported on Newcastle Hospitals in August, when the trust announced a new chief information officer to start in January 2024.
Last month, we explored Newcastle Hospitals’ digital initiatives outlined in the trust’s 2023-24 strategy, in which they state a commitment to “becoming a fully digitally enabled trust”.
