Compensation for horrific treatment during a miscarriage NHS?

brunettegirl

I have no idea where to post this question really?!

I had a late miscarriage so had to deliver the baby via induced labour without going into too much gruesome detail the hospital did not give me drugs after agreeing that they would let me have whatever i wanted to reduce the pain - I got nothing till the end when the umbillican cord had got stuck and tools were needed to remove it.

I very much believe that if they had given me drugs at the begining of the labour like i asked I would of been much more relaxed and the cord would not of got stuck causing more problems and hemoraging.

Is this something I can claim compensation for? I have written a 4 paged letter complaint to the hospital and awaiting a response.

Opinions on this would be great please. My whole treatment was horrible and awful and very little compassion or support or niceness really.

We were made to wait longer for the inducing because they were too busy with labouring mums the night midwife told us!!!!!

plumpmouse

brunettegirl wrote: »

I have no idea where to post this question really?!

I had a late miscarriage so had to deliver the baby via induced labour without going into too much gruesome detail the hospital did not give me drugs after agreeing that they would let me have whatever i wanted to reduce the pain - I got nothing till the end when the umbillican cord had got stuck and tools were needed to remove it.

I very much believe that if they had given me drugs at the begining of the labour like i asked I would of been much more relaxed and the cord would not of got stuck causing more problems and hemoraging.

Is this something I can claim compensation for? I have written a 4 paged letter complaint to the hospital and awaiting a response.

Opinions on this would be great please. My whole treatment was horrible and awful and very little compassion or support or niceness really.

We were made to wait longer for the inducing because they were too busy with labouring mums the night midwife told us!!!!!

Firstly I'm am so sorry to hear that you had to go through something so horrific and with a lack of support/compassion.

I am by no means an expert in what you are asking but your hospital should have a PALS team connected who I believe deal with complaints/problems.

I would think about what "compensation" you want. Are you looking for an apology/to try to make sure nobody goes through something similiar again or financial compensation?

If it is the latter I would imagine it would be a long and stressful journey to try to achieve anything.

Just editing to add that from my experience of things going wrong your notes may not tell the same story you do. I didn't put in any formal complaint though, I just had a medical staff go through my notes and what they had documented.

marisco_2

I am so sorry for your loss and for all you have been through. I cant offer any advice but didn't want to read and run. Hopefully someone with more knowledge of your question will be along shortly. I hope you get a satisfactory response from the hospital, regarding your complaint of the treatment you recieved, during what was no doubt a very traumatic time.

lilymay1

Ok. Just so you know, if you decide to go down this road it will be long, painful, expensive and all in all a very difficult journey. No amount of money will change what has happened and you need to ask yourself why you are doing it. Is it for the money? Is it to stop it happening to other women? Or is it to get the hospital to admit liability?

Did this happen recently? I only ask as I can identy with a lot of the things you say, but with time they have faded.

claire16c

My friend went through the same experience as you, but I was talking to her yesterday and it sounded like she was given pretty much as many drugs as she wanted within reason, and given what you had to go through, that is the absolute least you could expect.

I think PALS is the first step. But I think Lily has some good advice.

motherofstudents

Your hosptital will have a complaints procedure which is where you could start. Write a letter to them and see what response you get. I would echo what others have said, there can be no compensation for losing your baby ie nothing can compensate for that. I don't think drugs or being relaxed would have any bearing on the cord problem you had but if you were told you could have pain relief and were not given any, then I would say you have a valid complaint.

Write the letter and hope that you get an apology but as others have said, it may be better in the long run to let it go and try to put it behind you.

sassyblue

Firstly, sending (((HUGS))) and sympathy for your loss, this is the last thing you needed at such a time.

To go through things one by one.... what you need to prove in order for a successful claim is that because you were denied drugs the cord became stuck. I would think this quite difficult but you need advice from a medical solicitor for that, and he would need the records from hospital. I'm pretty sure a claim can't go ahead until the hospitals complaint process is exhausted but may be wrong.

The trouble is with many maternity units is that they are stretched beyond belief, too many patients and not enough staff (true of many wards). So whilst your treatment in the circumstances was preventable, the nurses priority would have been those women already in labour - although it could have been worded better. It's not uncommon for women who are being induced to have to wait until there's time or space available l'm afraid.

princeofpounds

I very much believe that if they had given me drugs at the begining of the labour like i asked I would of been much more relaxed and the cord would not of got stuck causing more problems and hemoraging.

If this is just your belief then it probably isn't worth anything more than complaining to the hospital (which I think you would be right to do if you felt you needed to).

To claim compensation you would need to evidence this medically, and fight conflicting medical opinion. I have no clue how this situation could work, sounds awful, but you will require more than a belief.

dizziblonde

I found PALS useless when I contacted them regarding awful treatment I had - they were very much a "why are you contacting us - here's the complaint leaflet" attitude to it all. In the end I didn't make the formal complaint as there just seemed no point - the hospital were just going to close ranks and justify how they acted anyway - and I'd just have had to relive it all (not that I don't every night) for no gain.

Sounds daft but the one place you might get at least some understanding is the Birth Trauma Association? They might at least get the feelings about the "what ifs" over the complications with the delivery. The hospital might have something in place for subsequent deliveries too - although ours claims to have, but I'm having fun and games trying to tap into that support myself at the moment and being fobbed off a lot... that one's worth bearing in mind for the future.

make_me_wise

I am very sorry for your loss and traumatic delivery. It sounds as if far more compassion could have been shown and better care provided to you. You were entitled to the same level of proffessionalism from the midwives as every other woman in their care.

Could there have been any medical reason why pain relief was not administered? I am sorry to ask such a sensitive question and if this were the case then this should have been thoroughly explained to you at the time. It doesn't seem likely that those trusted to care for you would have bothered to be very informative.

What kind of compensation are you seeking? I have never been in the awful position you have. I am certain though that if this ever happened to me or a friend or family member, I would want to ensure that no other woman would suffer in the same way. I hope you will hear back from the hospital and that their response helps you.

ognum

I just wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of your baby. Grief for the child you should have had and didn't can manifest itself in many ways and one of those is anger.

I can understand your need to make a complaint. And fully support you in that, I think your only avenue is through the hospital complaints procedure.

I guess if you are looking for monetary compensation a no win no fee solicitor would be the way to go. Have you considered contacting one, names and phone numbers can be found on line.

Personally I am not a fan of the culture of obtaining money for all the ills of our life but can understand the need for others not to go through what you have.

I would suggest you get some grief counselling for the loss of your child and consider a well written letter to the consultant in charge if the unit you were on.