Grounds to sue NHS?

kazzah60

confuseddaughter wrote: »

Yes complaining is certainly more important than taking money out of the NHS system. Complaining is more likely to change something. Taking money out of the system affects every other patient. My sister lost a baby through medical neglect. She was discharged from A&E with nothing more than general aches & pains. Six hours later, I had to rush her back into A&E when at 32 weeks she was eventually found to have Placental abruption. She was rushed into theatre, lost her dear son, and spent the next 4 days in ICU with doctors warning us that she may not make it. Thankfully she did and went on to have three more healthy babies. She and her husband did complain about the care that she received at the first A&E visit for which the hospital accepted responsibility and apologised. It never crossed her mind to take money away from the caring of others.

Suing for compensation does NOT take money out of the NHS system - in fact your sisters complaint will have been subject to an adverse event investigation - which will have been recorded in the hospitals records and as such their insurance premiums will have been increased to cover the POTENTIAL costs of litigation for such events - so regardless of whether or not your sister and family decided to pursue litigation - the insurance premium will have risen and money will have been removed from the system anyway.

I am sorry to hear your sister lost her baby - it is not a pleasant experience for anyone when something goes wrong- but if things do go wrong and the consequences have a life long impact on such things as your ability to earn a living- then someone needs to pick up the bill - it is as simple as that

[Deleted User]

GlasweJen wrote: »

Jack_Pott what happened to us isn't grounds to sue but I would take your complaint further. If you're not happy with any NHS treatment complain directly to the place the treatment was done and then to the ombudsman.

I wrote to my MP some while ago complaining that the NHS are deliberately obtuse and uncooperative. I got a letter suggesting that I should talk to my doctor: a pretty good example of the obtuse uncooperative behaviour I was complaining about. When I complained about being systematically lied to, all I got was "well if you don't like it go somewhere else".

confuseddaughter_2

Everybody has a choice as to which hospital to go to, which consultant to use and which GP practice to be with. If people don't like what is currently on offer, they are free to go elsewhere. It's called 'choices'.

Indie_Kid

confuseddaughter wrote: »

Everybody has a choice as to which hospital to go to, which consultant to use and which GP practice to be with. If people don't like what is currently on offer, they are free to go elsewhere. It's called 'choices'.

Not always true. I don't think I've had a choice of what hospital I can use, apart from once.

confuseddaughter_2

Indie_Kid wrote: »

Not always true. I don't think I've had a choice of what hospital I can use, apart from once.

You are entitled to have a choice. I think that it is called choose & book. You do your research which hospital offers the best service, best specialists and shortest waiting times then tell your GP where you want to go and they will book it for you.
I have been all over the country when I needed treatment, two in London, Southampton, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool and Cardiff.
The only time when you don't have an initial choice is when it is an A&E admission. Even with that and you are admitted, you can move to another hospital and consultant of your choice.

[Deleted User]

There's little point in 'choice' if the prejudice and lies in your medical records all move with you. When I tried to switch GP the surgery I chose just refused, saying that they had a policy of not poaching other doctors patients.

kazzah60

confuseddaughter wrote: »

You are entitled to have a choice. I think that it is called choose & book. You do your research which hospital offers the best service, best specialists and shortest waiting times then tell your GP where you want to go and they will book it for you.
I have been all over the country when I needed treatment, two in London, Southampton, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool and Cardiff.
The only time when you don't have an initial choice is when it is an A&E admission. Even with that and you are admitted, you can move to another hospital and consultant of your choice.

Actually- if you have a rare condition or one which is unusual you may only have a choice of ONE hospital to be treated at- for example my son travels 150 miles to Leeds for treatment for his disability caused by his negligent birth and my brother travels 100 miles to London as only ONE hospital in the whole country cabn treat him for his very very rare autoimmune disease - for most "routine" appointments you MAY be offered choose and book but not for more specialised treatment

Also now that the costs of referring patients to consultants has to come from the GP's own budget rather than a PCT - you will find the choices are very few and tend to be hospitals within the same NHS trust with whom the GP consortia have arranged contracts for services.

Indie_Kid

Indeed. I have a friend who has to travel around 220 miles to be treated.

[Deleted User]

GlasweJen wrote: »

Unfortunately once something negative goes on your records it won't come off

It makes you wonder whether medical records are exempt from the libel laws doesn't it. Even the right to see your records would be a start.

sandy_smith_2

The NHS pay out of their own pocket for negligence claims. To suggest this money does not come from the system is disingenuous. We all end up footing the bill for such claims. Nevertheless, if someone suffers financially from medical negligence why shouldn't they claim.

More than £22billion - equivalent to about a fifth of the health service's annual budget - has been set aside to pay compensation to thousands of people harmed by poor care.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/nhs/10569745/Multi-billion-pound-NHS-compensation-bill-must-be-slashed.html