A Piece I Wrote - Please Read

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AlexCAlexC Frets: 2396
Some of you are aware that myself and my wife have been fighting a severe case of medical negligence for a decade. Not legally - but, just trying to ‘resolve’ the situation which has left us broke, broken, depressed and cost us our careers.
I’ve written this piece which I may well post to a website. It is not about party politics. It is is about a situation. Frankly, I’m at a loss right now. All time low.
Any comments or feedback most welcome.

For me, one of the most despicable truths I have learnt over the last few years is that so many organisations that supposedly deal with complaints procedures against the NHS reply with: “we do not deal with individual cases.” So what is the logical conclusion to this? That in order for the NHS to be held accountable for something they have to do it to ten, twenty, one hundred people? This is also true of Government. I have written to the Scottish Health Minister - the very individual who is (supposedly) the elected representative in ‘charge’ of the Scottish NHS. Aside from the fact that most Government officials rarely reply to any communications themselves (someone else’s name will appear on the letter) they just throw it back at you suggesting that you contact your local Health Board or have a word with your Doctor as they do not “deal with individual cases.” I also wrote to Nicola Sturgeon in her role as First Minister and got a reply from someone who isn’t Nicola Sturgeon stating that they are very sorry to hear I am not happy about my wife’s care and have I thought about contacting the relevant Health Board as they do not deal with, etc, etc.

So who does deal with individual cases?

Who is actually in charge of the NHS ? Who are they answerable to?

No-one, apparently. Only themselves. Occasionally you’ll see bad press about the NHS but - true enough - it will probably involve an entire care home or ward being mishandled, rarely an individual case. The press are particularly keen on NHS management doing wrong -some rogue individual making off with money or fiddling the accounts because that doesn’t directly imply that we - the patients -are suffering. At least not physically. It’s just some villain in a suit being naughty.

Through research I have discovered that in the U.K. there are three organisations which are ‘self policing’. The police themselves. The Armed Forces. And the NHS. 

It’s almost unheard of that one member of the NHS will say anything against another member. They will stick up for one another. Cover for one another. One huge closed network that take orders from ‘on high’ - which is their relevant Health Board. Oh, and for the record, the majority of any Health Board is not made up of people with any medical training - as they are quick to point out if you try and engage them in conversation. They’re management trained and financiers. 

We’re so lucky that we live in a democracy! We have the right to complain. If you are unhappy with any ‘answer’ the NHS gives you then you can contact the ombudsman who will investigate the case.

(Definition: An ombudsman is a person who has been appointed to look into complaints about companies and organisations. ... Using an ombudsman is a way of trying to resolve a complaint without going to court. In most cases, you must complain to the organisation first, before you make a complaint to the ombudsman.)

I am incredibly ‘unhappy’ with every fob off and self serving justification the NHS have given me for destroying my wife’s life so I contacted the ombudsman. I was assigned a case officer. After several weeks of nothing at all I called them back and asked what it actually was they could do. I was told that the ombudsman could advise the NHS on a course of action, but the NHS are under no obligation to follow it. Again - answerable to no-one. Oh yes - and the ombudsman could get an apology from the NHS if they felt they’d done anything wrong. An apology! Wow! I told the ombudsman not to bother.

I was reading a news report about our local hospital which had killed a  man through sheer inept negligence. Please read this article yourself and make up your own mind about how severely the NHS are dealt with if they clearly make a mistake. Note also that NHS Highland’s legal representative was a QC. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-33431944

Over the last decade I have watched my wife’s life become a living hell of pain, fear, addiction and absolute misery because of NHS Highland. We have lost our jobs. We have had to watch our children suffer. We have had to leave the family home and sleep on people’s sofas and throw ourselves on the mercy and kindness of strangers. And I have the right to complain about that. To whoever I want to complain to. It won’t make any difference. It won’t actually make anyone treat my wife or re-assess the situation. It just generates polite paper work which usually starts -“we are very sorry to hear that you are unhappy...”

Think about that next time you visit your Doctor. And hope that they don’t prescribe you the wrong tablet or give you a misdiagnosis. Because if they do, you’re on your own. No official will fight your corner. 

The NHS is answerable to no one. Remember that.

Thanks for reading.

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Comments

  • TeyeplayerTeyeplayer Frets: 3137
    edited May 2019
    Terribly sorry to hear of your struggles and I wish you both all the best. 

    I am always torn on this one.
    My father was misdiagnosed for years by a senior consultant and has suffered a number of awful repercussions as a result that I am often surprised he has survived (diabetes, forms of cancer, heart attack, etc). I even have an acquaintance who was misdiagnosed with Parkinson’s, the meds for the disease gave him the symptoms of Parkinson’s and almost killed him -then they realised they had muddled his results with someone else’s. 

    However, the nhs is also brilliant. The commitment of paramedics, nurses, of junior doctors, a and e staff and even gp’s (sometimes) is awesome. What they do day-in, day-out, for little or no thanks deserve our utmost respect. But yes they get it wrong sometimes and yes the folks in power try to cover it -however, find me an institution that doesn’t do that. 

    I fully understand your frustration regarding accountability and I get your anger.  Equally, I’d also rather be here than somewhere like the US where if you are too poor for insurance you die. It’s a tough one it truly is.
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  • joeyowenjoeyowen Frets: 4025
    I'm also torn it's not a story I've told before, but it shows I understand what you are saying in parts.  I'll keep it brief.

    When my first child was born, the delivery didn't quite to to plan, he got distressed and swallowed some things he shouldn't out of panic.  This meant he got quite poorly, and was taken to SCBU for a few days, it was very very serious.  He is now a healthy kid, all is fine so it was just one of those things.

    When we had our second child, other half explained she was worried due to the experience of first baby.  New midwife went and get her notes of the first birth to reassure her.

    We both sat and listened, horrified, as all the notes from the first delivery were incorrect.  They read about the great midwife and great care, all was well. Everything was fine, baby somehow got poorly.  Failed to mention some of the errors that were made (that we have pictures of) and denied all knowledge when we raised it.

    So I'm torn.  yes the care is great, and mistakes are only human we understand that.  But the documentation for the birth was factually and blatantly incorrect and it has clearly been done on purpose to protect the staff as it was their fault.  It really was shocking.

    I'm not trying to compare at all OP, but I know how they function at times to protect each other.

    I'm really sorry for what you have gone/going through.  I'm not sure how you win these things.  Even if you ever did 'win', it wouldn't be a sweet victory I'm afraid
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  • AlexCAlexC Frets: 2396
    Thanks both for relating your experiences.
    Like both of you - I still believe in the NHS as a service and I am not, or will ever, slate it for its own sake or tar the thousands that work for it every day with the same brush. My wife’s case is down to about 4 or 5 individuals who made serious mistakes.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    AlexC said:

    Like both of you - I still believe in the NHS as a service and I am not, or will ever, slate it for its own sake or tar the thousands that work for it every day with the same brush. My wife’s case is down to about 4 or 5 individuals who made serious mistakes.
    There are definitely bad apples. The Gosport hospital scandal proves that the culture of covering up mistakes and malpractice runs deep, and that it's difficult to hold those in positions of power responsible.

    https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/apr/30/gosport-hospital-deaths-key-facts-of-a-30-year-scandal

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • ToneControlToneControl Frets: 11791
    I think part of the reason for this kind of problem is that people venerate the NHS, as if it is a religion you should not criticise. Couple that with the constant rhetoric of  all nurses being "angels", and the old-school image of the consultants as god-like figures not to be questioned, and there is plenty of scope for people to wriggle out of responsibility.

    We've had various NHS errors resulting in long-term ill-health, losing jobs and nearly stopping us from having kids. So I can empathise.
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  • PolarityManPolarityMan Frets: 7273
    I think that the trouble is the high financial cost to a trust of an upheld lawsuit probably promotes a culture of blame. In a blameless culture individuals would probably be less inclined to "cover up" mistakes and isntead manula error  which is always bound to creep in would be factored into process improvements.

    I don't know the answer because clearly someone who suffers long term ill health due to a misdiagnosis should be entitled to some recompense but equally the highly individual nature of the work is unlikely to ever completely eliminate human error. I guess what it comes down to is having a very clear view on what is negligent and what isnt. 
    ဈǝᴉʇsɐoʇǝsǝǝɥɔဪቌ
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    I think part of the reason for this kind of problem is that people venerate the NHS, as if it is a religion you should not criticise. Couple that with the constant rhetoric of  all nurses being "angels", and the old-school image of the consultants as god-like figures not to be questioned, and there is plenty of scope for people to wriggle out of responsibility.
    I revere the NHS more than almost any other peacetime achievement in the history of this country, but it is absolutely not above fault or criticism - in fact, to do so when justified will make it better not harm it, so should be seen as beneficial by those who value it. If anything, the culture of covering up problems until they're too serious to be hidden any longer gives ammunition to those who want to see it dismantled and replaced by something far worse. To make mistakes is impossible to avoid completely - to deny it and cover it up is immoral and in some cases criminal.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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