Patient notes in Scotland are to be audited for accuracy after complaint investigators repeatedly found mistakes and omissions in medical records.

Health boards have been told to double-check samples of notes to make sure they meet standards following a series of cases where the state of records raised questions about patient care.

The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO), which probes grievances against the NHS, said it is highlighting issues with medical records virtually every month when it publishes a summary of its findings. In February it reported problems with notes about Norma Forbes, a 76-year-old who was looked after at Perth Royal Infirmary. Details in her records were altered retrospectively and a leg injury was not logged.

Ms Forbes's daughter, Val Primrose, said she was shocked when she saw the files. The ombudsman fully upheld her complaint that the hospital failed to maintain accurate records and said in its report: "Poor record-keeping is an all-too-common feature of complaints to the ombudsman. (This) complaint amply illustrates the distress and confusion that this can cause."

Eric Drake, director of investigations for the ombudsman, told The Herald: "It is an issue that concerns us. It is one that we keep raising and it is one which the NHS is concerned about as well." It is understood Dr Kevin Woods, chief executive of NHS Scotland, has already raised the matter with health board managers because of the SPSO's warnings.

Anne Jarvie, clinical adviser to the SPSO and the country's former chief nursing officer, described what patient records should look like. She said: "What medical records should do is paint the picture of the patient journey through that particular healthcare experience. They allow you to follow all the events during the course of that episode of care in such a way that if another professional is called in on the job they can understand what needs to be done and why. When you see a record like that, it is magic."

Ms Primrose turned to the ombudsman amid concern her mother had received morphine unnecessarily while she was in hospital in 2005. She said her mother was lucid and not in pain when she was admitted to Perth Royal Infirmary. Boxes ticked on her admission notes reflect this, she said, but were later changed to tell a different story.

Ms Primrose praised staff for the way they treated her mother throughout her battle with cancer, but said this particular episode was "a nightmare".

She said: "I feel they treated her in a way that was convenient for them, rather than in her best interests."

Because of the confused medical notes, the SPSO was unable to determine if Ms Forbes did receive morphine appropriately - although it believes the records were altered with good intentions.

Ms Jarvie acknowledged hospital staff were sometimes under significant pressure and corners had to be cut. She said: "It is just possible that on particular days the corners that are cut are associated with putting pen to paper, because you think putting hands on patients is much more important. That is a real dilemma for the professional."

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "We are currently following up with boards to establish that audits of local record-keeping arrangements are carried out as a matter of course."

NHS Tayside did not wish to comment.