Maternity record confusion when Trust did not identify patient correctly

What happened

Mrs B gave birth to her son at the Trust. Staff did not correctly identify her and confused her records with those of a family member, who was also pregnant but not due to give birth for several months.

After the birth of Mrs B's son, staff realised the mistake. Mrs B thought that the Trust had then amended its records. However, the Trust sent a letter about Mrs B's care to her relative and sometime later, Mrs B realised that a blood test taken at the time of her labour, which showed some abnormalities, had been recorded in her relative's notes.

What we found

We partly upheld this complaint. Mrs B complained to the Trust each time a new issue arose as a result of the incorrect records. We found the Trust had not taken action to address the cause of the initial failing or make sure that the records were correct.

Putting it right

The Trust apologised for its failings and paid Mrs B compensation of £400. It prepared an action plan to make sure the error was corrected and that there was learning from the complaint.