How To Appeal A Doctor's Opinion

[kmajk]

Hi,

Last year I was arrested and evaluated by doctors and nurses at custody. Evaluation was no acute mental health symptoms, orientated, coherent etc... and this was consistent across two doctors and two nurses that came to visit in the end.

However, the very first doctor although she evaluated me and the bottom line was that I had no issues, she did write down "appears" to be very paranoid. Which i do not agree with. This evaluation was 20 minutes after I was booked into custody for crimes I did not commit and managed to apply and get them deleted off of the PNC. I was in shock at what I was being accused with and I don't agree with the evaluation 20 minutes after they booked me in. Throughout my time in custody there were no issues, and in the end I not only was found not guilty but then was able to get the records deleted by a chief police officer.

What options would be available to me with regards to appealing the notes that the very first doctor wrote down? Which is ("appears" to be very paranoid)... No symptoms listed other than "appears"...

Thanks in advance!

[kmajk]

@nailit

But surely there has to be some way to dispute an opinion when multiple other professionals have not said anything of the sort?

[kmajk]

@TonyV
I get that I cannot get them re-written, but can I not dispute them with the opinion of multiple other professionals present?

[TonyV]

If you have copies of other multiple professionals present reports, then of course you can.

[nailit]

//@nailit
But surely there has to be some way to dispute an opinion when multiple other professionals have not said anything of the sort? //

I really don't know. Some people always have this thing of no smoke without fire mentality.
I really didn't want to get into my personal past but a couple of examples....
1) Fell out with some neighbours who had a vendetta against me and reported me to Social services to say that they had seen bruising on my stepsons face. Social services came out next day to see that stepson was fine (and without any bruising) and obviously connected to me. Still on record though! Never got an apology from SS despite repeated attempts to do so (didn't even want an apology for them coming out...would have thought something was amiss if they didn't...wanted an apology for them bringing up my conviction for a previous assault charge...not connected with a child BTW...In front of my partner, which she knew about anyway but had NOTHING to do with them or why they were called out)

2) Having a pre sentence report that was wholly inaccurate, done by a probation officer, and not allowed to see it until AFTER I was sentenced. And obviously included her biases against me....but that's another story.

3) My first prison sentence was based on a pre-sentence report of a shrink that was later to be proved a liar and a criminal himself. He made the pages of our local rag.

Sadly, some people bow down to all these 'proffessionals''.

[nailit]

//But surely there has to be some way to dispute an opinion when multiple other professionals have not said anything of the sort?//
Nah, Ive tried. Trust me (or don't)
Suck it up and make the most of it.

[pixie374]

The best you can do now is to get another current assessment showing nothing.

[THECORBYLOON]

Without going into details about your line of work, is it enough for a suggestion of a mental health issue to affect your current or future employment?

Could you not argue that your demeanour was not unreasonable in the circumstances and there are several other medical reports and opinions within a relatively short period of the disputed report which do not show any mental health concerns?

[woofgang]

under your current user name there is only this question and yet


"@Peter Pedant
You actually provided a really negative answer when I asked a question a long time ago as to whether it was possible to get a certain PNC record deleted or if a certain thing (avoiding saying to remain anonymous) was attainable. The record was deleted and the "thing" was attainable, although you were certain that none of those things were possible."

so are you a returning leaver or do you have 2 user names which contravenes AB rules?

[Peter Pedant]

he is mhtu s well

https://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Law/Question1640658.html

it is not a big deal, is it - as far as I can see, the post he is referring to is...being a spook !

[douglas9401]

A 'spook' airing a grievance in a chatroom?

[pixie374]

I think the point is that everyone has mental health issues. The majority are transitory. You cannot change the observation of the doctor at the time, but also ot means nothing without a proper diagnosis. If you now have a "clear" bill of mental health, then that should be enough, no matter how strict your employers are.

[Peter Pedant]

// My first prison .....proved a liar and a criminal himself. He made the pages of our local rag. //

hey I love narty doctor stories
if he is in the local rag - can you put the URL here? - it is in the public domain - also the ensuing GMC case

I mean the chancellor of the exchequers brother was "kissing" one of his patients. One part of him clearly wasnt - - shrinking
and that caused pages of lurid and inaccurate comment .....

[Peter Pedant]

// If you now have a "clear" bill of mental health, then that should be enough, no matter how strict your employers are.//


Mystic Meg here - mind reader extraordinaire.
he had a temporary psychosis and one doctor sort of spotted it. Nailit and I have been arrested I dont suppose either of us were jumped on by health professionals. - so where did it come from?
Whereas if there were no psychosis nor paranoia then there is nothing to explain......
[situation paralleled in child protection]

[pixie374]

Yes PP, but as a diagnosis, paranoia needs to be diagnosed by a mental health professional, not a GP. Presumably that is what has happened, and can't be changed. If at future points nobody has rediagnosed it, it is no longer present.

[Peter Pedant]

hi pix
yeah but no but
one doctor has recorded it as a sign not diagnosis
( exactly like - arm looks broken - if it not, that is X ray taken and clear, the further notes clarify and not a red pen with " / no! ". thro the original paper entry)

// Kmajk You cannot re write the records that have been taken at the time by Police or Medical staff.// Tony V

you can rewrite and erase PNC entries ( for the record ) and there is a mechanism to do this - I will look out the cases as I did last time as these law cases should be recorded somewhere on this site. And it is as kmaj/ mthl says. A senior officer looks at the entry and asks himself the relevant question ( which I cant recollect what it is) and out goes the record if he thinks 'yes'. The legal case was whether no should have been yes.

this is to get over career destroying entries like 'stole a bike aged 12' when the applicant is 45.

and it is reasonable to say - after the PNC victory - now for the medical notes!

[woofgang]

I wonder if this will depend whether or not this is a police record or a medical record? Because subjective opinion in a medical record is acceptable provided its clear that it is subjective by using such words/phrases as appeared, seem to be and so on

[Peter Pedant]

well - in hospital if FF and woof are in beds and a junior writes about FF in woodie's notes then the correct action is to cross out the entry with a single stroke and note ( wrong patient) - that is write a further note that the entry is mistaken.
I would admit to shock if I learnt that that the worker had taken the notes to bits and inserted various other 'good' bits

but - - - it seems that the health professionals at a nick
are not there for the patients good
and their entries are not confidential
and so it is quite possible a different body of law grows up
(but it aint there at present)
but I am going to enter a clear ' I have no idea what the law is on this point'

[woofgang]

absolutely true PP but a clear error, such as that is different from an opinion. I was taught to write "SOAP" notes
S is for subjective stuff....either opinions like "wrist seems broken" or statements made by the patient about how they feel, or what they said happened always prefixed by "patient said" or similar.
O is for objective stuff..the cut head, dilated pupils and so on
A is the assessment...the summary of S and O
P is the plan....what to do next.... x rays, keep in overnight, prescribe xxx.

You don't have to write the S.O.A.P. in the notes but its a good clear framework.....as I said, polite professional subjective opinion is considered an acceptable part of the process....not as I once read in a consultants notes "this dull and unkempt mother and her rather stupid daughter......"

which is why I said it depends if the notes are medical or police. Its my understanding that police records should be strictly factual and objective?

[woofgang]

actually thinking on...I am not sure how you can appeal an opinion....a note might be added to say that in the event the person turned out not to have a broken wrist...but that wouldn't alter the opinion of the examining medic that the wrist appeared broken...