We need your consent to:
- contact you
- access your medical records.
Families can choose how involved they want to be in our investigation.
You can give us your consent to access the relevant medical records but then choose not to be involved any further.
When we have been given consent to access the relevant medical records, we can start our investigation and the family can then choose to remain involved, for example: taking part in an interview when we are further along in the investigation process.
We prefer our investigations to start as soon as possible after an event. We know that this is an incredibly difficult time for families, however, delaying the start of our investigation can reduce the quality of the evidence we gather.
Consent to contact
The NHS trust where you were treated will tell you about the Maternity and Newborn Safety Investigations (MNSI) programme.
They will ask for your agreement to share your contact details with us, so that we can get in touch with you.
After receiving confirmation that you have agreed to be contacted by us, we aim to contact you within five working days.
When we first contact you, we will explain more about our investigation process.
Consent to access medical records
In the event we are not given consent to access medical records, it is unlikely that we will be able to undertake an investigation.
Responsibility then returns to the NHS trust to respond to and investigate the patient safety incident.
Consent to use anonymised information
For the purposes of thematic learning aimed at improving patient safety, anonymised data may be used by MNSI and trusted partner organisations. Trusted partners are usually, but not limited to, NHS trusts and universities.