Insertion

[Rubymonday]

Hi

This Feb I attended a local A and E with mild but persistant chest pains ( I have heart disease ). After 24 hours of observation was offerd an angiogram, just to see what was happening. I signed the consent forms , all as normal. During the procedure it all went wrong, it was later described to me as an" insertion", It was incredibly painful , I was physically sick and passed out at some point whilst on the bed in the lab. After it was over the registra said "sorry mate" gave me a short explanation but in technical terms of what had gone wrong.

Next day I asked the nurse who had "wired me up " to the monitors what had gone wrong and what it meant to me in long term etc. He denied there had been a problem , got rather nasty , I asked to talk to the ward sister , was refused and discharged from hospital, was literaly told if i was going to complain they didnt want me. I left the next day, but only after the consultant had berated me on the general ward in front of his staff , said I shouldnt sign things without reading them first.

My problem is this incident has trigerd a massive depression, I just cant face going to see these people again ,or even make a Pals complaint, yet I know I need to at some point, do you think another hospital cardiology would "take me on" or will they all have me down as a trouble maker

[RufusScamp]

This sounds like a very bad experience. Can you try discussing it with your GP, who may have details about what happened?

[Rubymonday in reply to RufusScamp]

Hi , yes ,had a phone conversation with gp. They say they will back me whatever I decide but , get the feeling it's down to me (as it should be ) but depression

[Milkfairy Heart Star in reply to Rubymonday]

Hello,

I am really sorry to hear of your experience.

We all have the right to be treated with respect and dignity. It sounds as though you have not been treated with compassion or kindness either which is how any healthcare professional should behave towards their patients.

I have had to make a formal complaint about my care and it is very stressful and to be honest the NHS isn't always brilliant at responding to complaints.

I stuck with it because I didn't want anybody else to go through my experience.

It hasn't been easy but I have now received a full apology, an acknowledgement of my poor care and how it has effected my well being.

I transferred my care to a different hospital.

My Cardiologist is very supportive and I have just finished revising my admission plan with him which is approved by the Head of Cardiology.

I have also been invited to speak to the ward managers about my experience too.

I suggest you seek support from either Healthwatch, The Patients Association or Citizens Advice. They can help you write your letter to PALS.

You have upto a year to raise your concerns.

Perhaps write everything down for now while it's fresh in your mind, request your notes and then decide how you want to proceed.

Also ask your GP to refer you for some help with how you are feeling at the moment.

I hope you feel more at ease soon

[Polly535]

You have the right to be treated with respect. Even if you complain you have the right to medical care and to be treated with respect. This sounds like an awful experience for you and it is understandable you don’t want to go back. Has your GP explained what went wrong? Your GP can also make a referral to a different specialist and there is no reason to think you will be ‘seen as a troublemaker’. Good luck, not all NHS staff are like the ones you had the misfortune to deal with.

[Jst455]

Make a PALS report, return to GP, ask for referral to investigate if any damage has been caused. You could talk to the Local Democracy Reporter in your area (a BBC funded scheme), it is within their remit to investigate poor practice in the local health authority. You may suddenly find your letters and calls answered with the press asking the same people the same questions. Journalists are occasionally useful.

[Rubymonday in reply to Jst455]

Tks for the reply . I never intended to complain in the first place , the doctors just assumed i was going to try to sue them or something ridiculous like that right from the start. My attitude was calm and polite but I was shocked by the reaction of the staff , all I wanted was a 10 min chat in layman's terms about the incident , still dont know how many stents fitted , were the stents to repair damage they did or did I need them anyway? Will I have to continue with all these drug I'm now on for life ? As I said earlier , it sounds pathetic for a grown man to say but facing any of the senior staff at this hospital would leave me tearful , not helpful. I dont think another cardiology dept would investigate a fellow colleague's "work" esp if I formally complained

Or am I being over sensitive here due to the depression it has triggered?

[Jst455 in reply to Rubymonday]

I think you need an advocate to represent your interests. The PALS service is the first place to start. It's your health and your body, you are not just a lump of meat. You have every right to know what procedure was carried out, and what went wrong. Closing of ranks by medical staff just shrieks "cock-up/cover-up". Get your GP onto it as soon as you can, and put something in writing to PALS as a first step; there are plenty of options beyond that is it is unsuccessful, (bear in mind that PALS is not a truly independent body, but the parliamentary ombudsman is).They cannot ignore you, this is serious stuff, your health is at stake.

[Rubymonday in reply to Jst455]

Under normal circumstances i would agree , my problem, Out of the health concerns I have from heart disease , arthritis to depression I think that it's the depression that will kill me , so I 'm being nice to myself , avoiding stress , trying to carry on with life in a normal way, certainly not being confrontational . Sorting this problem with the least fuss would be the best option for me

BTW being depressed does not mean I'm imagining things , over reacting or looking for problems where there are non. All I have described above actually happened

[Jst455 in reply to Rubymonday]

I fully understand depression from first hand experience. I also know the adverse effect of stress on cardiac health. But I think you are a victim of very poor practice here, and it would help others if you did not allow yourself to be bullied into silence, or worse.Ultimately, you must do what is best for you.

[Hidden]

Could you just confirm that you are actually in the UK, your profile gives no clue.

[Rubymonday in reply to Hidden]

Hi , yes I'm a UK resident

[Hidden in reply to Rubymonday]

So you are saying that you actually have no idea of how many (or any) stents were fitted and no one will tell you?

[Rubymonday in reply to Hidden]

No idea what was done , the rehab nurse that came to see me on the ward the day after was the first person to mention stents

[Hidden in reply to Rubymonday]

And nobody at the hospital can or will even talk to you about your treatment?

[Rubymonday in reply to Hidden]

Lol, had a followup phone conversation recently, it's the norm nowdays with covid" are you in any pain" -a little -"good keep on taking the tablets" . To be fair the registrar had booked me in for a scan about now ( my gp informed me ) but I knew I couldn't face them so was worrying about what would happen if I refused treatment, so, a short phone conversation was a relief

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

I am somewhat unclear. Does insertion mean they inserted a stent? This is often the case. They did not with me and I ultimately had a quadruple bypass. I have had reason to complain about a member of staff - in fact a staff nurse that I reported to the sister who in turn took it to the matron who came to see me. Everybody was quite polite and I believe the staff nurse had to undertake some further training. Can I assume you did not get abusive as profanities really upset staff.

You have to decide whether to raise the issue with PALS, get referred elsewhere (but you may end up seeing the same person!) or just leave it. The thing is not to dwell on it.

One other option is to go private. An initial consultation is around £200 - £250. I found it worthwhile as I was able to discuss things in more detail and had my medication tweaked. I also got a cup of coffee (my pulse and BP only increased marginally but a clever little test)!

[Rubymonday in reply to MichaelJH]

Hi tks for the reply , I think "insertion" means the catheter wes pushed through the artery wall, obviously depends where re how much damage this causes, Im convinced I died on the bed for a moment lol , I said think because non of this has been explained to me properly . Certainly not abusive , not even angry at time

[Rubymonday]

Tks , yes certainly ganged up on me , I was surprised by their reaction, shocked even, I wonder if they put on your notes that you are a trouble maker and that then follows you round to other departments?