Is this negligence? 21 November 2020 at 7:31PM in Health & beauty MoneySaving 29 replies 1.6K views

JustTakeAllMyMoney

Recently I had to have a CT chest scan and I had a cannula fitted to add dye / contrast. I was told I needed a blood test before the CT and thought this for the illness I have, they were short staffed and after 2hrs waiting my CT appointment was due so I went for that. I had the CT scan then went back for blood test at which point I was told I should have had it before the CT as it was to check if I was safe to have the dye (this was never explained to me before). The nurse then tried to blag it and said they must of got the bloods elsewhere which is a lie as they are private and they had never taken my blood before. To me this seems a serious breach but not being an expert not sure how much of a risk they put me at by not doing the bloods.

Not NHS was private. 

keithdc

JustTakeAllMyMoney said:

Recently I had to have a CT chest scan and I had a cannula fitted to add dye / contrast. I was told I needed a blood test before the CT and thought this for the illness I have, they were short staffed and after 2hrs waiting my CT appointment was due so I went for that. I had the CT scan then went back for blood test at which point I was told I should have had it before the CT as it was to check if I was safe to have the dye (this was never explained to me before). The nurse then tried to blag it and said they must of got the bloods elsewhere which is a lie as they are private and they had never taken my blood before. To me this seems a serious breach but not being an expert not sure how much of a risk they put me at by not doing the bloods.

Not NHS was private. 

It is possible the intention was to check kidney function, as the contrast can affect the kidneys. 
Assuming you are OK, there is no issue!
There may be value in formally making the private provider aware of the issue. If there is no harm, you will not receive any compensation.

[Deleted User]

 So you didnt follow instructions and now want to know if they were negligent 🙄

JustTakeAllMyMoney

_shel said:

 So you didnt follow instructions and now want to know if they were negligent 🙄

You are wrong, I was never told the blood test was required for the CT, I'm not a medical expert I thought it was for my illness, I would of expected the person doing the CT would of had checked it had been done before proceeding. The CT scan was a set appointment time if I missed it I still paid. 

I'm not after compo it's more the case they messed me about and wondered how much risk they exposed me to, the even had the cheek to invoice me for the blood test they didn't do. If you are paying out of your own pocket over a grand for the service you expect it to be right. 

sheramber

But you said  I was told I needed a blood test before the CT  
You decided it was for something else.  That was your mistake . 
If you are paying out of your own pocket over a grand for the service you expect it to be right. 
No doubt thy expected you do follow the instructions given. 

JustTakeAllMyMoney

sheramber said:

But you said  I was told I needed a blood test before the CT  
You decided it was for something else.  That was your mistake . 
If you are paying out of your own pocket over a grand for the service you expect it to be right. 
No doubt thy expected you do follow the instructions given. 

I can see where you post count comes from.
Instructions they gave me when I asked about not having the blood test was to proceed to have the CT scan. Yes I thought the blood test was for something else but that's because I was not told different I'm not the expert. I'm ill with lung cancer I expect the medics to guide and give the required info as I am in alot of pain. This place was a shambles. 

JamoLew

A blood test is not always required before a CT scan, although as already mentioned it may be used to asses kidney function.
As it was private, there is a good chance they were just doing one anyway as it would be a chargeable item - plus it never hurts to have up to date blood results as well
For info as well - it wasn't a nurse that did the CT scan
To answer your question - the risk is absolutely minimal that you would have a serious reaction to the contrast - it happens, but not often
No its not negligence

Torry_Quine

When my husband had lung cancer he had a blood test before the CT scan to check the kidney function.  It does sound like a miscommunication issue. 

I am surprised that you aren't using the NHS but it's your choice.

Manxman_in_exile

I don't see the OP has done anything wrong here.  Even if she had been clearly told that the bloods had to be done pre-MRI, it's entirely reasonable for her to rely on the clinical staff of the health provider to have completed the appropriate (no, I'll say essential) check-lists before allowing her to be scanned.  Based on what the OP has said, the staff were negligent.  I don't see that any harm has been done to the OP, but I'd still be making a written complaint to the provider.

As regards the rather self-righteous "I am surprised that you aren't using the NHS but it's your choice", I was a NHS manager for 25 years and I'm not at all surprised (especially at the moment) that people are using the private sector for scans and other investigative procedures.  I got referred to a cardiologist privately when I was still working in the NHS.  It saved me over four months of additional worry and stress.  I'm also currently waiting for an ultrasound scan for a possible hernia, and I'll certainly be exploring getting it done privately if I've heard nothing from the NHS by the end of this month.

Funnily enough, my wife had to have surgery in August that she'd been waiting a couple of years for.  I can't remember the precise details but she was waiting in some sort of pre-op setting along with two other female patients who were expecting to be operated on that morning.  But they weren't operated on that day because it turned out the NHS hospital had forgotten to give them pregnancy tests.  (Apparently that is a must do for pre-menopausal women who are due to be operated on).

Torry_Quine

Manxman_in_exile said:

I don't see the OP has done anything wrong here.

As regards the rather self-righteous "I am surprised that you aren't using the NHS but it's your choice", I was a NHS manager for 25 years and I'm not at all surprised (especially at the moment) that people are using the private sector for scans and other investigative procedures.  I got referred to a cardiologist privately when I was still working in the NHS.  It saved me over four months of additional worry and stress.  I'm also currently waiting for an ultrasound scan for a possible hernia, and I'll certainly be exploring getting it done privately if I've heard nothing from the NHS by the end of this month.

Funnily enough, my wife had to have surgery in August that she'd been waiting a couple of years for.  I can't remember the precise details but she was waiting in some sort of pre-op setting along with two other female patients who were expecting to be operated on that morning.  But they weren't operated on that day because it turned out the NHS hospital had forgotten to give them pregnancy tests.  (Apparently that is a must do for pre-menopausal women who are due to be operated on).

I wasn't being self-righteous at all. I was genuinely surprised. If people can afford to go private then yes it is their choice.
 We couldn't have got the necessary scans quicker or the subsequent treatment.
Mistakes are made in both NHS and private settings. 

Aranyani

Manxman_in_exile said:

Funnily enough, my wife had to have surgery in August that she'd been waiting a couple of years for.  I can't remember the precise details but she was waiting in some sort of pre-op setting along with two other female patients who were expecting to be operated on that morning.  But they weren't operated on that day because it turned out the NHS hospital had forgotten to give them pregnancy tests.  (Apparently that is a must do for pre-menopausal women who are due to be operated on).

That can’t be right, a pregnancy test takes about 30 seconds, they could have just done it when they realised.