Recurring concern
Failure to retain safety-critical source records and evidence
- Reports that mention this concern
- 32
- Times this concern has been raised
- 36
- Stated actions linked to this concern
- 36
What this concern includes
Includes failures to retain, preserve or protect original or contemporaneous records and other safety-critical evidence whose later availability is needed for patient care, safeguarding, formal review, inquest, investigation or organisational learning, including patient or family registration forms, supervision records, engagement notes, primary-source data and material evidence relevant to deaths.
What is not included
- Excludes records that were never created or are merely incomplete, inaccurate or inaccessible when no failure to retain or preserve the source material is identified.
- Excludes ordinary record-transfer, filing, retrieval or information-sharing failures where the source record was reliably retained and the deficiency arose later.
- Excludes routine destruction under an adequate and applicable retention schedule where no safety-critical record or evidence is lost.
- Excludes non-safety-related administrative records and generic document-management failures without a material care, safeguarding, investigation or safety-learning consequence.
Trends
Reports over time
Reports mentioning this concern, over time
Reports about this concern issued each year.
* 2026 is projected from reports observed to 7 Sep 2026.
Most frequent recipients
Most frequent recipients
Reports about this concern sent to each recipient.
Reports and published responses 32 reports
See individual reports that have raised this concern, and the actions taken in response
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Concerns raised1
Loss or inaccessibility of records material to ongoing patient care
This report raised 9 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Linked response
- Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Stated actions An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.1
-
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Develop a revised Electronic Document Management System business case for Executive Director consideration.
Respondent positions A position is what a respondent says about the concern when they do not describe a specific action.1
-
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Cost pressures have prevented implementation of the Electronic Document Management System, although a revised business case is being developed.
-
Concerns raised1
Failure to retain and make clinical records available
This report raised 1 other concern. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
No linked response statementsNo respondent-stated action or position is linked to these concerns in the published data.
-
Concerns raised1
Deletion of immigration-detention records to prevent accurate death-in-detention statistics
This report raised 7 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
No linked response statementsNo respondent-stated action or position is linked to these concerns in the published data.
-
Concerns raised1
Destruction of handwritten patient or family registration forms instead of retaining them in the medical record
This report raised 3 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
No linked response statementsNo respondent-stated action or position is linked to these concerns in the published data.
-
Concerns raised1
Failure to retain contemporaneous engagement notes
This report raised 4 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Linked response
- Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust
Respondent positions A position is what a respondent says about the concern when they do not describe a specific action.1
-
Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust
The concerns about Lifeline/CGL’s records are not a Pennine Care issue, so no further action will be taken.
-
Concerns raised1
Failure to retain important documents or electronic material with specific prisoner records
This report raised 12 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
No linked response statementsNo respondent-stated action or position is linked to these concerns in the published data.
-
Concerns raised1
Failure to retain proper records of decisions on operational ammunition
This report raised 2 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Linked response
- Bedfordshire Police
Stated actions An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.2
-
Bedfordshire Police
Discuss national firearms circulars at quarterly Firearms Steering Group meetings, record discussions and decisions, and update the STRA action log where necessary.
-
Bedfordshire Police
Record ammunition-selection decisions and relevant circulars and correspondence in a central STRA electronic record.
-
Concerns raised1
Failure of the healthcare-record archiving system to retain and provide records
This report raised 8 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
No linked response statementsNo respondent-stated action or position is linked to these concerns in the published data.
-
Concerns raised1
Failure to retain shift hand-over sheets
This report raised 5 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Linked response
- Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust
Stated actions An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.1
-
Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust
Consider introducing electronic archiving of ward and departmental handover sheets.
Respondent positions A position is what a respondent says about the concern when they do not describe a specific action.1
-
Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust
Paper handover sheets are not archived because confidentiality and maintaining reliance on the current sheet create practical constraints, although electronic archiving may be introduced.
-
Concerns raised1
Lack of clear guidance on preserving original records after a patient’s death
This report raised 3 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Linked response
- Department of Health and Social Care
Stated actions An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.1
-
Department of Health and Social Care
Add clear guidance on retaining original paper records after a potentially reportable death to the revised NHS Records Management Code before publication.
Actions and positions describe what organisations say in published responses. Implementation is not independently verified.
Data last updated 7 September 2026