How to Report Medical Records Falsification in the UK

Introduction

When you visit a doctor or receive mental health treatment, you trust that your medical records are truthful and accurate. They are the written history of your care — vital for your safety, diagnosis, and future treatment.But across the UK, there are growing reports of medical records falsification, especially within psychiatric and NHS settings.

This article explains how to recognise falsified records, your rights under UK law, when falsification becomes a criminal matter, and how to report it — including to the police.

What Is Medical Records Falsification?

Medical records falsification happens when healthcare professionals intentionally alter, destroy, or create misleading entries in a patient’s file.

Common examples include:

• Changing or backdating entries

• Deleting references to patient complaints or injuries

• Writing fabricated observations (“patient calm” instead of “patient distressed”)

• Forging signatures or witness statements

• Adding untrue personal details to discredit the patient

These actions are not administrative errors — they represent a serious breach of professional ethics and may also be criminal offences.

Why It Happens

While most healthcare professionals are ethical, falsification can occur when individuals or organisations attempt to:

• Conceal malpractice or patient abuse

• Protect the reputation of an NHS Trust or clinician

• Avoid legal action or complaints

• Influence psychiatric evaluations or discharge decisions

• Cover up medication errors or restraint injuries

Such misconduct not only damages trust — it can also destroy evidence vital to patient safety and justice.

When Falsification Crosses the Line Into a Crime

Most falsified records are initially treated as a disciplinary or regulatory issue, but serious cases can breach UK criminal law.

⚖️ Legal Threshold for Criminality

Under UK law, falsification becomes criminal when there is clear evidence that:

• The person knew the information was false,

• They intended to mislead or gain an advantage, and

• Their actions caused or risked serious harm.

This conduct may fall under:

• Fraud Act 2006 (Section 2) – making a false representation to cause loss or gain.

• Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 – creating or using a false document intending it to be accepted as genuine.

• Perverting the Course of Justice – where altered records are used to mislead investigations or courts.

Example (Generic Scenario)

Imagine a mental-health clinician alters a patient’s file to erase notes about a reported assault, instead writing that the patient “self-harmed.”If investigators prove the clinician knew this was false and altered the document to avoid blame, it could constitute criminal fraud and forgery, alongside professional misconduct.In such cases, both police and regulatory bodies can pursue action.

How to Access and Review Your Medical Records

Step 1: Make a Subject Access Request (SAR)

You have the right under the Data Protection Act 2018 to see your medical notes.Write to your NHS Trust or GP Practice and request:

“All medical records, including mental-health notes, correspondence, and digital records, from [date range].”

Providers must respond within one month and provide the information free of charge (except for excessive requests).

Step 2: Review Your Records

Look for signs of falsification:

• Missing or edited entries

• Dates that don’t match other documents

• Language that misrepresents your statements

• Contradictions between reports or discharge summaries

• Unexplained alterations or handwriting inconsistencies

Keep copies of all versions of your records and correspondence.

How to Report Falsified Medical Records in the UK

If you suspect your records have been altered, follow these steps carefully:

1️⃣ Raise an Internal Complaint

Start by writing to the NHS Trust’s Complaints Department or Practice Manager. Include:

• A timeline of what happened

• Specific examples of altered entries

• Copies of any supporting documents or witness statements

Request an internal investigation under the NHS Complaints Procedure.

2️⃣ Escalate to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)

If your complaint isn’t resolved, contact the ICO, which enforces data accuracy and privacy under the Data Protection Act 2018.Website: https://ico.org.uk

3️⃣ Report to the Care Quality Commission (CQC)

The CQC oversees NHS care standards. They can investigate if the falsification relates to broader misconduct, abuse, or safeguarding failures.

4️⃣ File a Report with the General Medical Council (GMC)

If you believe a doctor was involved, you can report directly to the GMC, which can suspend or remove practitioners for falsification or unethical conduct.

👮‍♀️ Involving the Police

If you have strong evidence that your medical records were deliberately altered to mislead or conceal harm, you can report it as a criminal offence.

When to Contact the Police

• The falsification caused or covered up serious harm.

• You can demonstrate intent — not a clerical mistake.

• The altered record was used to obstruct justice, mislead investigators, or damage your reputation.

How to Report

Visit your local police station or call 101 (or 999 in emergencies).State that you want to report fraudulent alteration of medical records or forgery of medical documents.Bring evidence: copies of records, letters, metadata, or witness statements.Request a crime reference number and keep it for your records.The police may refer your case to a specialist economic-crime unit or public-protection team for investigation.Parallel reporting to the CQC and ICO helps build a stronger evidential case.

Case Example: Ms Bacon

It is exactly these kinds of situations that show why falsified medical records must never be dismissed as mere administrative errors.

In the case of Ms Bacon, she discovered that her medical notes had been altered. The original handwritten notes — which were already inaccurate — recorded three separate times that she was “unaware she was pregnant.” However, when these notes were later typed up, the wording was changed to “concealed pregnancy.”

This contradiction is fundamental — both cannot be true. The same doctor who had originally written that Ms Bacon was unaware of her pregnancy later chose to record that she had concealed it, and further wrote — not implied, but stated as objective fact — false information, including that she had no friends at university and was raped at a party. These statements were written as though factual, even though they were entirely untrue and a complete distortion of what had actually happened. The altered entries were signed and dated by the clinicians responsible, demonstrating that the falsification was not an innocent transcription error but an intentional act of record-keeping.

Such falsified records are not minor inaccuracies; they are proven falsifications that insert false, defamatory, and damaging information about a serious crime. They portray the victim as deceitful and irresponsible — when in truth, she was a victim of a violent sexual assault.

Cases like this clearly meet the threshold for referral to the police, as they involve deliberate falsification of medical documentation in connection with a serious criminal offence. When false statements are recorded as objective fact about a rape victim — reversing the truth and implying culpability or concealment — this ceases to be a matter of professional misconduct. It becomes a matter of criminal law.

If we are to restore integrity and protect patients, survivors, and the public, cases like Ms Bacon’s must be formally reported and investigated. Anything less allows falsified records to continue causing harm, obstructing justice, and silencing victims behind the authority of medical documentation.

Final Thoughts

Falsification of medical records is not just unethical — it is dangerous. It can distort justice, retraumatise victims, and undermine confidence in healthcare systems meant to protect us. Every patient has the right to truthful documentation and accountability when that trust is broken.

Until falsified records are treated as criminal acts rather than clerical errors, victims will continue to fight not only for their health but for their truth to be believed.