Is rugby now too dangerous for children?

There has been a recent rise of head injuries in children which occur as a result of injuries suffered during contact sport in school. The UK Government has selected rugby as a sport it will be focusing on to increase the prominence of competitive sport in schools.

More than 70 health experts around the country have written to the Government urging a ban on tackling in school rugby matches due to the high rate of injury. These injuries may include fractures, spinal injuries and head injuries which could have long term consequences for children.

Article by
Nazmin Chowdhury

Each year around 700,000 people are admitted into hospital with a head injury in England and Wales and many other head injuries go undetected. This has been a cause of worry as children are more likely to sustain head injuries due to their active nature, particularly those who play contact sport. 

What symptoms to look out for

Signs of a brain injury after a blow to the head include:

·         Brief loss of consciousness

·         Memory loss

·         Disturbance of vision

·         Confusion

If your child has suffered a head injury whilst playing sports at school, please do not hesitate to contact me on 01992 422128 or email nazmin@ghslaw.co.uk

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www.gardenhousesolicitors.co.uk

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Tel: 01992 422 128

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Email: info@gardenhousesolicitors.co.uk
The contents of this article are intended for general information purposes only and shall not be deemed to be, or constitute legal advice. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of this article.

Data Protection Act

Article by Patricia Ling

Do you know that under the Data Protection Act 1998 you have the right to ensure that all information held on you is factually accurate and if you can prove that is not the case you can make a formal request to the party holding the records for them to be rectified.  This includes your medical records.  You are entitled to ask your GP for a copy of your medical records and they are likely to make a small charge for provision of the same, the maximum that GP surgeries can currently charge is £50.  If you find anything in your medical records is inaccurate you are entitled to write to the NHS Trust that holds the records and request rectification.



If the Trust does not rectify your records, you can make a formal complaint under the NHS complaints system. If the Trust is unreasonable you also have the right to take the matter to court, although at present you have to show that the inaccuracy is harmful to you in some way. (The same applies if you want to challenge inaccuracies in social work records).



If the record is factually correct but you dispute a doctor's opinion, you have no legal right to get the record changed or deleted but you are entitled to have it noted on your records that you do not agree with the GP’s opinion and it will help your argument if you get a more recent medical report which agrees with you and disagrees with the doctor's opinion. Even if you do that the Trust concerned will not normally agree to delete the earlier reference but will insert a cross-reference to the later report.

For help and advice regarding data held about you please contact Patricia Ling on 01992 422128 or by email patricia@ghslaw.co.uk

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www.gardenhousesolicitors.co.uk

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Tel: 01992 422 128

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Email: info@gardenhousesolicitors.co.uk
The contents of this article are intended for general information purposes only and shall not be deemed to be, or constitute legal advice. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of this article.

Big Brother is Watching!

The Government is asking your GP to transfer your electronic medical records onto a national database called the NHS Spine without seeking your consent. If you want to keep your medical records secure you have to opt out of the scheme. For information on protecting your privacy follow the link http://www.thebigoptout.com/about-nhs-confidentiality/



Article by Patricia Ling



The problem as I see it is that your entire medical history, including details of any conversations you have with your GP, will not be secure.  This information will be uploaded to a central record system referred to as the NHS Spine which will be run by BT and Oracle and will cost an estimated £20 billion.  Those records will no longer be held at your GP’s surgery and can then be accessed by over a million NHS employees from hospital staff, your local pharmacist to thousands of NHS admin staff.  These records will also be accessed by central Government bureaucrats.  All of these people will have access to your name, address, telephone numbers (even if ex directory) and your NHS number and your GP’s details.  This sensitive information will be stored in hosting centres and will not be anonymised.  Even those who do opt out will have their medical data uploaded to the central system and the promise from the Government is that their names, addresses and dates of birth will be removed but there is no guarantee of that.  At least if you opt out your records will remain with your GP so will be safer as they will only be accessed by your own surgery.  Many GPs have seen the risks of the database failing and their patients’ medical history becoming public knowledge and they are encouraging their patients to opt out.  The General Medical Council conducted a survey and report that 9 out of 10 GPs believe that patients should be asked to give explicit consent before their medical records are uploaded to the NHS Spine and 8 out of 10 GPs polled said they were opting out and opting their own families out as well.