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| Worcestershire trust charges man £2,000 for medical records | Worcestershire trust charges man £2,000 for medical records |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A man has been asked to pay £2,000 by a hospital trust to access his medical records from eight years ago. | |
| Andrew Brown, 49, requested a copy of a cardiac ultrasound he had in 2004 at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital. | Andrew Brown, 49, requested a copy of a cardiac ultrasound he had in 2004 at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital. |
| Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said Mr Brown already has a written copy of the echo cardiogram report and generating an image of the visual data would be too expensive. | Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said Mr Brown already has a written copy of the echo cardiogram report and generating an image of the visual data would be too expensive. |
| Mr Brown, of Worcester, said the fee as "nothing short of extraordinary". | Mr Brown, of Worcester, said the fee as "nothing short of extraordinary". |
| A letter from the trust to Mr Brown explained the data of echo cardiograms carried out between 2004 and 2008 were stored on a format that would require buying a different system to be read. | A letter from the trust to Mr Brown explained the data of echo cardiograms carried out between 2004 and 2008 were stored on a format that would require buying a different system to be read. |
| 'Obsolete technology' | 'Obsolete technology' |
| Mr Brown said he had previously requested copies of scans from the trust for £10 and objects to being asked to buy hardware in order to maintain access to clinical information. | Mr Brown said he had previously requested copies of scans from the trust for £10 and objects to being asked to buy hardware in order to maintain access to clinical information. |
| He said: "I wanted a copy of this one for my own records and to compare it with one I had done in January last year, it's my right. | He said: "I wanted a copy of this one for my own records and to compare it with one I had done in January last year, it's my right. |
| "My other concern is there could be hundreds if not thousands of records between 2004 and 2008 that patients can't access on these discs." | "My other concern is there could be hundreds if not thousands of records between 2004 and 2008 that patients can't access on these discs." |
| When asked whether he thought it was unreasonable to ask the trust to pay for his request, My Brown said the money was a "drop in the ocean". | When asked whether he thought it was unreasonable to ask the trust to pay for his request, My Brown said the money was a "drop in the ocean". |
| He said: "You could always analyse various bits of expenditure and say 'why doesn't the chief executive take a pay cut of £10,000 to help pay for patient care?'" | He said: "You could always analyse various bits of expenditure and say 'why doesn't the chief executive take a pay cut of £10,000 to help pay for patient care?'" |
| A statement from the trust said: "The trust does have the visual data on file but the cost of generating an image from what is now obsolete technology is not a cost effective use of public money. | A statement from the trust said: "The trust does have the visual data on file but the cost of generating an image from what is now obsolete technology is not a cost effective use of public money. |
| "We have made enquiries with other trusts in the country to see if they have the facility to download and transfer the data we hold onto a CD but to no avail." | "We have made enquiries with other trusts in the country to see if they have the facility to download and transfer the data we hold onto a CD but to no avail." |
| Mr Brown said he would consider taking legal action if the matter could not be resolved. | Mr Brown said he would consider taking legal action if the matter could not be resolved. |