Good afternoon to anyone reading the forum.Just wondered what any of you might think regarding my post.
Since I first joined six months ago I have read many comments from people suffering with PMR/GCA and their experiences with Doctors,Rheumatologists and Nurses,bit by bit I have felt more and more shocked that when people need compassion and understanding, liberally dosed with a healthy knowledge of this terrible disease from the professionals then all too often they have found it wanting,indeed there is almost an ignorance by those who often claim to care and no doubt whom have sworn in many cases to abide by the Hippocratic Oath.
Not too long ago I had a pretty bad experience with a Consultant in the Covirad unit who took decisions based on ego and put my life at increased risk.(he refused to believe that I had PMR,) He refused to engage in a discussion about my health. My second meeting with the same person in the same Covirad Unit ended up with much the same result.
Fast forward to 1:30 Friday morning. I ended up back in hospital with severe chest pains front and back. Tests carried out including CT scan/X Ray etc, clear.Raised CRP from 9 to 24 but not considered a problem. Kept in overnight and who do I see on the ward rounds Saturday morning ? The same Consultant.
His conclusion was that they had cleared any issues with my lungs and heart,he was convinced that I would not die within the next 24 hours and they could do nothing more,did I have any comments ? I asked could the issues be related to PMR or steroid use,he said that they could be and that I should increase from 15mg to 30mg/day and that clearly I made a better doctor than him ?????? a very nasty loud comment for the benefit of the team around him. I was discharged with the same pain Saturday lunchtime.
Fast forward again to 8a.m. this morning,couldn't move,a new level of pain,paramedics called,after much resisting going to hospital the paramedic spoke to my G.P. and to cut the story short my G.P. asked to speak direct to me,during our discussion he made a number of comments that seemed wrong so he looked at a recent CT scan from three weeks ago that he had not seen before.In shock he asked if I had been informed that T4, and T5 to T7 were damaged,(crushed he said,) believe me he wasn't more shocked than me. I had no idea. So now I am back home on Morphine for a week,still haven't a clue if I have PMR,no conclusion from my rheumy yet,fully aware that the NHS can and do get things terribly wrong.
No wonder so many of you write in on this forum with regard to the difficulties that you have and continue to have with your respective doctors,rheumys and so on,something more to add to my education.Truly shocking but in particular when I look at the functions carried out by T4,T5 - T7 and the implications when damaged.
It's a long post,for those who reached the end then thank you for your time.
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yorkieme
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I have to say - your experiences with said consultant would be enough for me to look to move somewhere else!!
I would, however, have a serious talk to your GP on the basis of that CT scan. I would want to know who reported it and who decided there were no compression fractures and said it was OK. After that, I would want copies of CTs and reports and I would discuss it with a no win no fee medical claims company. It isn't often I feel compelled to say that, Yellowbluebell may be able to advise better though.
Thank you for your reply.The scan was initially requested by my rheumy in order to eliminate the non hodgkins cancer being a cause for my present problems.I then had my appointment with a stand in hematologist as my regular was on self isolation.
Clearly during my appointment the assumption was made that I knew about the spine damage,my G.P. had no reason to assume that I didn't know and up it came today.Still quite shocked,my wife is devastated,even worse is that we are both certain that I will not be contacted regarding further medical advice and that once again I will have to do the chasing. I think it needs to go further,sadly.
I would put in a formal complaint but I would be extremely cautious about dealing with no win no fee Solicitors. This is a situation which while distressing is not going to get much financial compensation as say an operation gone badly wrong. Therefore won’t get Lawyers much even if they agree to take it on. There are many rogues out there and can end up sending nasty letters wanting hidden fees you didn’t know you’d signed for. That’s just my opinion but I’ve heard a lot about them as I work in Citizens Advice
Many thanks for your advice. Of course this whole situation needs to settle down a little as I still need to reach a point where someone will finally advise me regarding my health.My first thought was to take legal advice after arriving back home and I am still not certain that I will exclude it,either way it needs to be a rational decision.
This is the beauty of this forum,so many people to turn to and rely on knowing full well they understand.
Wish i did need the practice! Chance would be a fine thing these days. Medical negligence is about 30% of my cases!! Usually when I get involved it's because someone has died or has been left severely disabled but I know other barristers who's main work is just medical negligence. Most dont work in just one speciality although unfortunately I could in mental health .xx
At the maternity ward? It's always horrible when a maternity ward hits the news becsuse of baby deaths. Some hospitals have a dire reputation for babies nor surviving. My first medical negligence case was for the daughter of a close fireman friend of Ian's who lost her son. Shouldnt have happened but consultant refused to come to the hospital when she got into difficulties and the midwife couldn't cope. By the time another doctor arrived baby only lived minutes after his birth. YBB
It goes as far back as the 70's and in this day and age mothers definitely shouldn't die in child birth. Its like people still going blind with gca when there is a drug freely available and cheap. YBB
Have you considered contacting PALS - Patient Advice and Liaison Service? They are present in every hospital and are a good starting point to discuss your concerns before approaching expensive solicitors. They can give information on how to get independent help if you want to make a complaint.
You have to lodge a complaint via them anyway before you can do any legal action, ask them to investigate and get a response. I was going to sue over a botched eye op a few years ago and a very famous and reputable firm of solicitors famous for medical negligence cases took on my case on no charges. In the end it came down to the fact that my negligence claim wasn't going to succeed because basically by signing the consent form for the operation I'd accepted things could go wrong, unless I could prove that they hadn't done something that they should have done. It wasn't enough for me to claim 'it was common sense' they should have done something. I learned all sorts from that, such as it wasn't so long ago that surgeons started putting a big blue arrow or cross on the part to be operated on eg which leg to amputate. It was only after putting a procedure in place requiring them to do so a few decades ago that you could sue if they took the wrong leg off. As they hadn't skipped a required process before that, you couldn't sue. That's a story a lawyer told me anyway, might be apocryphal.
My thoracic compression fractures, turns out there were 7 of them, were not found after 3 PA visits at my doctors office until I insisted on seeing her. It’s so hard when one is not heard! Or, they haven’t a clue what is wrong with you. This was in January of this year. Had vertebroplasty , re-hab, then home. Am slowly regaining strength and ability to function. Reducing pain meds. Finally driving, but different car as old one involved too much bending and twisting to get in and out. Am very careful of my motions. Do hope you have some easing of pain. It is a long road unfortunately. My PMR diagnosis finally came a good year after symptoms were not listened to by Dr. Quack, who was, note was, my gp. My niece who is a doctor steered me in the right direction. Trx now with rheumatologist and have a new competent gp. My best.
The stories of suffering through either negligence or incompetence is shocking.My wife and I spend an inordinate amount of time discussing this,we just had no idea.
Having spent goodness knows how many hours over the last six months in A&E the Covirad wards twice,and many other departments I/we are genuinely sad to say that what we have always considered to be the gold standard in patient care is far from it.We have seen it with our own eyes. Please see my response to YBB below regarding just one more example.
The systemic failures of waste,incompetence,poor data base/software systems,(unable to communicate with each other,) and the broad range of quality or lack of in those employed by the NHS is something quite frightening.
There are indeed many good people in the NHS certainly at floor level and I will always be grateful to them but my goodness they are being badly let down somewhere down the line.
We both say a prayer of thanks that at the age of 68/69 respectively we have either used private health care through work or been healthy enough not to need it.
There are plenty on here who have not been so fortunate.
Formal complaint to the hospitals litigation department not PALS because this is way beyond their remit. Thats your first move. Dependant on how they respond your next move could be a no win no fee or if you have the money then you could employ a barrister yourself. Whilst no operation has been done that doesnt negate their responsibility to you to read scans and xrays properly nor to carry out the necessary tests. Please dont get sidelined by them and drop.this because even if your mistake has been spotted someone elses wont be. This shouldnt be about what money you could win but about their mistake. You dont need to take full legal action against them to make them take notice of you. Make sure they now deal with your issues properly or better still seeing you can be treatment another hospital. Unfortunately I spend a lot of time in court with cases of negligence like this and it's so common to far too many hospitals!!
If you need any help please feel.free to pm me. YBB
Thank you for both replies and the kind offer in providing professional references if needed.
I had reason to call my G.P. this morning reference the results of X Rays taken yesterday at the hospital showing the spinal damage and the morphine medication. ( it had absolutely no effect on the pain from leaving hospital to now,)
He could see the letter from the doctor in A&E showing a brief report of what I presented with yesterday but no X-Rays ? I raised the point about the previous CT scan showing the same and also not being picked up.Another example of sheer incompetence.
I need to keep this brief rather than test the tolerance of the moderators as it is a forum for PMR/GCA and related issues so I will say this,the G.P. has agreed to make an official complaint on my behalf and I have accepted this pending the response.
I have no interest in chasing after tax payers money as recompense,I don't need it and have already agreed with my wife that if it is absolutely necessary we would fund legal action,to a degree, privately.( what I want is to progress my treatment without having to move on and all that that entails,)
So once again many thanks,I keep all posts on file and will return to yours if needed.
It's good you want to chase this because of the negligence rather than a cash payout and I am pleased that your gp is happy at this stage to deal with this on your behalf. If the response is not to your liking please let me know and I can discuss any other action with you. I unbelievably had to sue our local hospital for their negligence in kot doing an MRI soon enough on my husband who broke his back some years ago even though there were red flags being waved. This resulted in a blue light transfer to a neurological specialist hospital at 9pm and being met at the hospital doors by a surgical team!! Although he underwent surgery immediately my husband was left with a lot of problems which wont ever go away. The hospitals words to us were "oh well things happen"!!!
Dont worry about the moderators as that was me and pro and although we are now called ambassadors we still do mostly the same job!!
Take care and please let me know when you hear something. YBB
Once again thank you.Seems when you/we pick up this terrible disease along with the burden of suffering both personally and for those close to us we sometimes have to deal with this nonsense.
Things may well happen,they just tend to happen for life in cases such as your husbands and of course family.
I will also be able to advise you on reputable no win no fee companies and there is one I unusually reccomend who are brilliant and will advise you right from the start what your expectations should be. Not all of these companies are rogues and some are well worth contacting. Believe me I have dealt with the giid and the bad!!YBB
What a horrible time you've had and your treatment has been beyond unacceptable. Incompetence is everywhere and quality and risk management programs are seriously lacking in health care. A complaint is definitely in order on your part.
I fractured my T-12 in a boating incident a few years ago and the pain was excruciating for weeks. I can't imagine dealing with 3 fractures. I didn't know about the fracture until two years after the event. The doctor who treated me only did an X-ray of my lumbar spine.
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