Who to complain to about VERY serious medical negligence resulting in life threatening diagnosis

FrankFalcon

Hi all

Before I start please allow me to state that I am not looking for any form of medical advice, nor am I asking for general advice of what to write or who to write to regarding a very serious case of medical negligence.  I am sort of hoping there is a solicitor reading this who specialises in medical negligence or if some unfortunate soul has been in a similar position.  I would like to offer a brief background in the hope that somebody tells me...'You need to address your complaint to...'  Apologies if some of my comments are a little vague but ultimately I guess this will end up in court or the subject of a serious misconduct case.  Therefore, this is the reason why the information herein is slightly vague.  

I will refer to the subject (patient) as 'Patient X'

So, the story starts in September 2022 when Patient X went to their own GP regarding a persistent cough.  The GP said the cough didn't appear normal and referred patient to Hospital for a chest scan.  So, Patient X went for the chest scan at the hospital 4 weeks later and was told "We will send the results of the scan to your GP".  One month passed and Patient X had heard nothing of the scans so rang her GP and enquired about the results of the chest scan.  The surgery receptionist told Patient X "We haven't had the results back yet.  We'll chase this up and call you back".  That call never came and Two more months passed.  Patient X rang again (3 months has now passed) and the answer from the surgery was the same "We haven't had the results back yet.  We'll chase this up and call you back".  As previously, the call never came.  Over the next 6 months Patient X rang several more times to be told the same "We haven't had the results back yet.  We'll chase this up and call you back".  So, Eleven months had passed and out of pure coincidence the GP of the doctor was passing the home of Patient X and decided to do a home call.  During the home call the patient asked what had happened to the results of the chest scan from 10 months ago.  The GP said he would personally look for the results first thing the following day.  Indeed, the following day, a call came from the GP.  To say the contents of that call were devasting is a seismic understatement.  Without going too much into this the words "Unfortunately, the results of those scans revealed that you have Cancer".  Patient X was understandably devastated at this.  The GP (at this time) could not explain why the results had been lost / not reported to Patient X but did confirm that they had received the results 10 months prior (with the cancer diagnosis) but couldn't explain why they hadn't been reported to the patient.  WE CALL THIS MISTAKE 1...

So, an urgent scan was arranged at hospital two days later where the patient saw a Cancer specialist.  A couple of days later that specialist reported that indeed Cancer was present on that scan at the time 10 months ago and now, because nothing had been done in the 10 months that had passed the cancer had spread to another part of the body which now meant that nothing could be done to save the patient.  He literally told Patient X that he was sorry but there was nothing that could be done to remove the cancer and this was the final diagnosis.  That specialist also sent a letter (which we have) that critisizes the GP for failing his 'Duty of Candour' and actually urges the patient to formally complain.  So, one can imagine the devastation, anger etc of the family!  However, the Patient got lucky (if this word can be used in this situation) because a friend of a friend is married to a Cancer specialist from abroad.  That specialist from abroad agreed to look at the scans to determine how bad it was and to see what could be done privately to prolong the life of the patient.  What happens next is a bombshell... This new specialist from abroad actually told us "The previous specialist has got it wrong (not the GP).  He has told you that there is no hope for Patient X but there is hope.  You need to go back to him and tell him you demand a PET scan because I think there is hope that this Cancer can be removed".  So, we go back to the specialist who told us there was no hope and he says "I am sticking by my guns.  There is no hope and I will not authorise a PET scan on NHS because of the cost, when I am certain nothing can be done to remove this cancer and save the patients life".  So, again, we go back to the other specialist from abroad and he literally says "Rubbish! I urge you to go to a private hospital and pay for the PET scan privately.  Only then can this fatal diagnosis be made, after the PET scan results".  So, Patient X paid a lot of money to have this expensive PET scan done at a private hospital.  The specialist from abroad subsequently looked at it and confirmed "The Cancer has spread, but it CAN be removed by radiotherapy.  The other specialist has got it wrong".  So, this specialist from abroad wrote a letter to the original specialist telling him he had got it wrong and there actually IS something that can be done.  Imagine our surprise when Patient  X received a call from the first specialist's team leader apologising saying basically..."We read the scan wrong.  We are sorry.  We agree this patient can be saved" etc etc.  We also have a letter of apology acknowledging this mistake.  From there on in Patient X has decided to pay a lot of money to go private with tons more scans etc.  In the meantime, the original specialist (who gave the no hope diagnosis) has apologized many times and has subsequently sorted a radiotherapy plan which they now say will cure the patient.  The patient is to shortly begin an intensive course of radiotherapy which both specialist says will cure the cancer. 

So, basically, the family are livid!  They want to make their complaint hear as vociferously as possible but they don't know who to! They want to know where to start the ball rolling.  Who do we complain to? Surely not just the GP who have shown they are incompetent, such as the original specialist has.

We assume that these GP's, NHS specialists have to answer to somebody?  Or, do we immediately consult a solicitor

Thanks for reading and I hope you can assist us.

p00hsticks

I presume you have found and read this ?
How to complain to the NHS - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Flugelhorn

For the GP , you need to address your complaint to the practice manager. you will receive a holding letter from then and after that communication will likely be via the defence organisations / nhs resolution

elsien

What outcome are you looking for?
 If you want an apology (which you seem already to have had) and/or assurances read something will be done then use the NHS complaints procedure. It would be two complaints, one about the GP and one about the consultant.
If you want financial compensation, then you probably need a medical negligence solicitor.

Jude57

FrankFalcon said:

Hi all

Before I start please allow me to state that I am not looking for any form of medical advice, nor am I asking for general advice of what to write or who to write to regarding a very serious case of medical negligence.  I am sort of hoping there is a solicitor reading this who specialises in medical negligence or if some unfortunate soul has been in a similar position.  I would like to offer a brief background in the hope that somebody tells me...'You need to address your complaint to...'  Apologies if some of my comments are a little vague but ultimately I guess this will end up in court or the subject of a serious misconduct case.  Therefore, this is the reason why the information herein is slightly vague.  

I will refer to the subject (patient) as 'Patient X'

So, the story starts in September 2022 when Patient X went to their own GP regarding a persistent cough.  The GP said the cough didn't appear normal and referred patient to Hospital for a chest scan.  So, Patient X went for the chest scan at the hospital 4 weeks later and was told "We will send the results of the scan to your GP".  One month passed and Patient X had heard nothing of the scans so rang her GP and enquired about the results of the chest scan.  The surgery receptionist told Patient X "We haven't had the results back yet.  We'll chase this up and call you back".  That call never came and Two more months passed.  Patient X rang again (3 months has now passed) and the answer from the surgery was the same "We haven't had the results back yet.  We'll chase this up and call you back".  As previously, the call never came.  Over the next 6 months Patient X rang several more times to be told the same "We haven't had the results back yet.  We'll chase this up and call you back".  So, Eleven months had passed and out of pure coincidence the GP of the doctor was passing the home of Patient X and decided to do a home call.  During the home call the patient asked what had happened to the results of the chest scan from 10 months ago.  The GP said he would personally look for the results first thing the following day.  Indeed, the following day, a call came from the GP.  To say the contents of that call were devasting is a seismic understatement.  Without going too much into this the words "Unfortunately, the results of those scans revealed that you have Cancer".  Patient X was understandably devastated at this.  The GP (at this time) could not explain why the results had been lost / not reported to Patient X but did confirm that they had received the results 10 months prior (with the cancer diagnosis) but couldn't explain why they hadn't been reported to the patient.  WE CALL THIS MISTAKE 1...

So, an urgent scan was arranged at hospital two days later where the patient saw a Cancer specialist.  A couple of days later that specialist reported that indeed Cancer was present on that scan at the time 10 months ago and now, because nothing had been done in the 10 months that had passed the cancer had spread to another part of the body which now meant that nothing could be done to save the patient.  He literally told Patient X that he was sorry but there was nothing that could be done to remove the cancer and this was the final diagnosis.  That specialist also sent a letter (which we have) that critisizes the GP for failing his 'Duty of Candour' and actually urges the patient to formally complain.  So, one can imagine the devastation, anger etc of the family!  However, the Patient got lucky (if this word can be used in this situation) because a friend of a friend is married to a Cancer specialist from abroad.  That specialist from abroad agreed to look at the scans to determine how bad it was and to see what could be done privately to prolong the life of the patient.  What happens next is a bombshell... This new specialist from abroad actually told us "The previous specialist has got it wrong (not the GP).  He has told you that there is no hope for Patient X but there is hope.  You need to go back to him and tell him you demand a PET scan because I think there is hope that this Cancer can be removed".  So, we go back to the specialist who told us there was no hope and he says "I am sticking by my guns.  There is no hope and I will not authorise a PET scan on NHS because of the cost, when I am certain nothing can be done to remove this cancer and save the patients life".  So, again, we go back to the other specialist from abroad and he literally says "Rubbish! I urge you to go to a private hospital and pay for the PET scan privately.  Only then can this fatal diagnosis be made, after the PET scan results".  So, Patient X paid a lot of money to have this expensive PET scan done at a private hospital.  The specialist from abroad subsequently looked at it and confirmed "The Cancer has spread, but it CAN be removed by radiotherapy.  The other specialist has got it wrong".  So, this specialist from abroad wrote a letter to the original specialist telling him he had got it wrong and there actually IS something that can be done.  Imagine our surprise when Patient  X received a call from the first specialist's team leader apologising saying basically..."We read the scan wrong.  We are sorry.  We agree this patient can be saved" etc etc.  We also have a letter of apology acknowledging this mistake.  From there on in Patient X has decided to pay a lot of money to go private with tons more scans etc.  In the meantime, the original specialist (who gave the no hope diagnosis) has apologized many times and has subsequently sorted a radiotherapy plan which they now say will cure the patient.  The patient is to shortly begin an intensive course of radiotherapy which both specialist says will cure the cancer. 

So, basically, the family are livid!  They want to make their complaint hear as vociferously as possible but they don't know who to! They want to know where to start the ball rolling.  Who do we complain to? Surely not just the GP who have shown they are incompetent, such as the original specialist has.

We assume that these GP's, NHS specialists have to answer to somebody?  Or, do we immediately consult a solicitor

Thanks for reading and I hope you can assist us.

First let me say how sorry I am to hear what Patient X is going through. 

Second, I'm afraid the chances of a medical negligence lawyer reading your post and replying here are extremely unlikely. Third, as I'm sure you are well aware, anyone on the internet can claim to be anything and you will, I am also sure, treat any legal advice offered by a stranger online with extreme caution. Fourth, depending on what outcome you would like to see from your complaint, you should seek specialist legal advice and beware of 'no-win, no-fee' firms because their terms of service invariably includes you (or whoever is the client) being liable for their costs if you decide at some point to stop the legal action for any reason. Even if you go ahead and are successful, the payout, if there is one, is unlikely to be as much as we might think it should be. A decent medical negligence solicitor will be able to give you some idea of a) whether patient X has a viable claim, and b) the potential financial award.

In seeking legal advice, you can search here for suitably experienced solicitors:

https://solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk/

If patient X is a Union member, they will be entitled to legal advice via their Union's retained solicitors, at least for an initial consultation and will be able to signpost to medical negligence experts. Or if patient X has a 'packaged' bank account (where they pay a monthly fee and which includes things like travel insurance) they may have legal cover with that. Or their home, car or life insurance may include legal cover. Some employers have Employee Assistance Programmes which sometimes include initial legal advice. 

It's important, too, not to underestimate the level of stress that undertaking legal action will bring. I fully understand that no-one would want their loved one to go through what patient X has endured but it must be patient X who decides whether to take this further and whose wellbeing must be paramount to all.

I wish patient X well with their treatment.

Brie

When we had a complaint about the NHS (granted not on this scale) we got a prompt response by sending the complaint to the local NHS trust, the hospital, and our local politicians.  It was including the last that seemed to get us some concrete results.

LightFlare

Sounds like they re-evaluated at an MDT and decided to offer Radiotherapy whereas it was not originally indicated (possibly it was a coin toss)

You are using a lot of words for which I would advise caution regarding the long term prospects - but without knowing the details it is impossible to be certain

Metastatic Lung Cancer is not commonly fully cured with Radiotherapy alone.


I would argue that any complaint should be directed to the initial failure to diagnose i.e. the GP - everything else is just a consequence of that

Any complaints MUST go through proper process before any thoughts of legal options

Flugelhorn

I don't get it - I worked as a GP - if I sent someone with a suspicious cough  / chest signs for an X-ray and it was a worrying result we would get a phone call within hours to say - "we are faxing / emailing the result to you now - please make sure the doctor sees it as soon as possble " - the result would also note that the X-ray department had made the referral onto the chest physicians and arranged the next scan. My job was to contact the patient and explain. All done within 24 hours of the first test being done.

IF that hadn't happened then it is possible for the GP to look up the results via the hospital results system.- at least in the area I worked, we access it several times a day to check on things.

elsien

I’m also querying two specialists guaranteeing that cancer will be cured. If that is patient X understanding, they may need another conversation with the relevant people.

tooldle

I agree with the above. My parent had a terminal diagnosis. The sequence of events as described doesn’t align to my own experience. Out of interest, how did patient x get access to their scan, in order to send it to a 3rd party?

onomatopoeia99

tooldle said:

I agree with the above. My parent had a terminal diagnosis. The sequence of events as described doesn’t align to my own experience. Out of interest, how did patient x get access to their scan, in order to send it to a 3rd party?

You can certainly get any data an NHS trust holds on you with a subject access request if the consultant won't simply give it to you.  I have done it, I got two CDs full of NMR (or MRI if the word 'nuclear' scares you) scans of my brain posted to me, which showed an absolute mass of lesions caused by MS.