Compensation for horrific treatment during a miscarriage NHS?

Glitter_girl_2

brunettegirl wrote: »

Because they owe us for making a distressing situation a million times worse than it needed to be.

Hospitals don't like having to give money away, been made to do that would make them take more notice and look at their treatment.

The NHS don't have pots of money sitting about.

I had something a bit like this happen to me and I'm shocked you think money will help

brunettegirl

Glitter_girl wrote: »

The NHS don't have pots of money sitting about.

I had something a bit like this happen to me and I'm shocked you think money will help

I know that the money won't help and it won't bring the baby back, its not about that its the PRINCIPLE here.

Maybe this is reading like I expect thousands of pounds or something which I DON'T.

In all honesty £50 (would pay the parking fees!)

brunettegirl

Bravehearted wrote: »

I'm afraid you're wrong here and have to disagree.

They don't owe you anything - miscarriages are very painful experiences, but expecting the hospital to pay for your loss detracts from the many other causes that aim to raise hospital standards.

they do owe me respect and decent treatment that they promised to do and didn't deliver.

The bit in red comes across like you're trying to blackmail them into giving you money. You may want to be careful in expressing your motives.

Not sure how I am blackmailing them - if i had said give me money or i will go to the papers if you don't that would be blackmail....

Re the blood they took, again, this is your subjective opinion. Unless you are qualified to stipulate that they took too much blood, this doesn't have any bearing on the issue.

I was making a bad joke as I hate giving blood!

ognum

brunettegirl wrote: »

I know that the money won't help and it won't bring the baby back, its not about that its the PRINCIPLE here.

Maybe this is reading like I expect thousands of pounds or something which I DON'T.

In all honesty £50 (would pay the parking fees!)

The problem is they are not just going to say we are very sorry here's £50.

I have been peripherally involved in a law suit against an NHS hospital following a needless death of a relative and it is a very long drawn out proccess. You will need to prove how you have lost out in a monetary way. You also need to identify one person to sue rather than the hospital in general, for example one anaesthetist or one midwife.

You will need a solicitor who will agree to take on your case and the fees are very high unless you can get a no win no fee solicitor. The case in my family went on for 5 years and was settled out of court one day before the court was due to sit, they new they were wrong and a young fit man with a young family had needlessly died on the operating theatre table due to lack of care.

We had to prove his earnings, his pension, his family input etc etc etc. The solicitor identified the key person to sue. Beleive me it's not a good path to walk.

somethingcorporate

Honestly, if all you want is £50 then give it up. I am sure those that have been in the same position would be happy to have a whip round and give you £50 for you to avoid the stress and bitterness this will bring you.

Please try and forgive and forget, they are really not to blame here and whilst they may not have helped you really will just burn yourself up with hate - it really is a bad road to start on.

I wish you as much light and happiness as you can find at these dark times - I know how easy it is to look for a party to blame but this is not the right one.

Try and hold on to the positive memories - I have a couple of hours with my beautiful little girl (even though she was dead) that I hold on to and not the darkest of days before and after in the hospital.

All the best for the future.

System

As far as i am aware, the placenta being wrapped around the babys neck when it was born will have nothing to do with pain relief. I had two babies born with cords round their necks and i had the usual amount of pain relief. I think you would be lucky if you could get a result on the basis of that. I was told it was down to the position of the placenta on the uterine wall (or something like it).

I can understand your trauma, i can understand your anger but i do think you are in danger of focussing on that rather than dealing with the death of your child.

I was in a similar position almost 12 years ago. I could have sued the hospital, i could have probably made myself a small fortune if i had sold certain pictures to the press but did i? No. What would it achieve, it certainly wouldnt bring my baby back and did i really want to relive that nightmare over and over again?

Doctors tend to cover their backs anyway.... As i found out.

My daughter died. It was no ones fault, no matter who got sued or how much money i would have got would not have made up for that. How did i know that me suing the hospital wouldnt result in further cutbacks in patient care? I could never have lived with myself if that had been the case.

From one bereaved Mother to another. Focus on your grief.

Big hugs.

miduck

brunettegirl wrote: »

Because they owe us for making a distressing situation a million times worse than it needed to be.

Hospitals don't like having to give money away, been made to do that would make them take more notice and look at their treatment.

You have clearly been through a terrible experience - money will not make that better, counselling may help. You can access this through maternity services, your GP, or some of the charities already mentioned. There will be no charge for this service.

Hospitals do not give compensation, their insurers do. Although their premiums may increase, this does not lead to improvements in service, the two are not related. Honest and non threatening feedback is more likely to positively influence the care of others.

somethingcorporate

I am not sure if it has been mentioned to you but this company sponsor a number of facilities around the country (we were in a room sponsored by them) and they do some fantastic work.

They are worth getting in contact with as they are very supportive.

http://www.uk-sands.org/

hardpressed

If you were offered £50 wouldn't you feel insulted that your childs live was only worth that much? It's a terrible thing that has happened but you need time to grieve, then pick up the pieces and carry on. If you let the bitterness you feel take over then you will not be able to move on.l

coolcait

OP, you have my sympathy for your loss, and for the physical and emotional trauma of the delivery.

You have my support for making a formal written complaint, using the full extent of the hospital's complaints process. If you want to ensure that no other woman, no other family, has to endure what you went through, then a formal complaint is more likely to work than a compensation claim.

Maybe your experience was a one-off. In that case, a good hospital will still look at the circumstances, and see what improvements could be made. You might even get as much of an apology as they dare to give - without fear of opening the gates to a compensation claim.

If your experience was a horrible reflection of a badly-run hospital, then the complaint is important. It might not be enough on its own, but if it adds to a body of complaints, that can make a difference.

That's why I despair when people say that there's no point in making a complaint. If there is ongoing negligence, which "everybody knows about", but no formal complaints - to back up "everyone's" belief - of course nothing will be done about it.

If the body of complaints doesn't get the hospital's attention, then a well-timed Freedom of Information request might do the trick.

Compensation? I'm not sure that will help your cause, or your grief. If you're hell-bent on going for it, then I think that you need to make sure that you have been through the entire complaints process first.

Otherwise, you give them the get-out clause that "Ms OP has never made a formal complaint to us under our complaints process, so how could we address her concerns? Yes, she wrote us a four-page letter detailing her emotional state, and we understand that she had been through an emotional experience, but it wasn't a 'complaint'."