A BLUNDER with medical records because of a case of mistaken identity is proving to be a real pain for a Birchwood woman who has been forced to prove she hasn't left town.

Jennifer Mulcahy, aged 29, of Goldfinch Lane, contacted Birchwood Medical Centre to make an appointment with her GP but claims she was refused because her records had been transferred to a London practice near her new home.

But Jennifer has never moved from her Birchwood address. And this is the second time her medical records have been mixed up.

Five years earlier the same blunder occurred and Jennifer contacted the records office in Chester only to discover that her records had been mixed up with those of a Jennifer Armstrong, her maiden name, who lives in London.

The problem was thought to have been solved and a note was attached to the file pointing out the mistake.

Jennifer explains: "Parts of my file have been mixed up with this woman who shares my old name. Her birthday is in August and mine is in October so I keep having to correct it.

"I was told the problem had been rectified after it first happened but someone had obviously ignored the note and changed my name back to Armstrong from Mulcahy and sent it down to London again.

"Now I'm having to fill in a form detailing all my medical history which is a real headache and I'm sure Jennifer Armstrong in London is probably having to do the same.

She added: "I couldn't believe it when I rang to make an appointment and was told again that I'd moved to London, it's becoming a real pain. No-one there would believe me so I had to take time off work to go in personally and sort the situation out and prove that I still live in Birchwood and had never moved."

A spokesman for the NHS Central Register, based in Southport, said: "We apologise for this unfortunate incident. The records have been noted to ensure this doesn't happen again.

"We handle approximately 8 million records and mistakes like these are rare."