bureaucratic wankery and buck passing bollocks

[bigmouthstrikesagain]

I have encountered both today while trying to establish exactly why there is a massive service gap in my county for diagnosing the condition my ds is suspected to have.

The NHS trust that should be delivering the service blames the commissioners for squeezing resources and removing part of the necessary diagnostic team, the commissioning authority blame the trust for not delivering the pathway. They are so busy blaming each other they seem to have lost sight of the fact that children are the ones losing out on a diagnosis, necessary for accessing support. No alternative is offered so GPs will presumably continue to refer patients via this defunct diagnostic path.

I was particularly impressed by the trusts complaints team trying to halt my complaint about them, blaming the commissioners. but from the perspective of a parent of a child being refused a service they are commissioned to provide. The reason they cannot (shortage of resource leading to inability to provide a safe diagnosis) is not my problem it's theirs.

The commissioners will have a complaint made against them as well of course then they can go round and round in circles blaming each other until SOMETHING GETS BLOODY DONE ABOUT IT


Any bright ideas? How to put metaphorical rockets up actual bums?

[ABetaDad1]

I assume you have followed the complaints procedure on the PALS page.

If so, the best way to put a rocket under them is involve your MP. Write to him/her, set out the complaint and the complaints procedure you have already followed and point out that different parts of the bureaucracy are blaming each other for failing to deliver the service.

No bureaucracy wants an MP involved, questions being sent to the Minister, senior Department of Health civil servants asking questions, etc.

[bigmouthstrikesagain]

I am about to embark on the complaints process as I have only just found out about the gap. The trust wanted me to focus the complaint on the commissioners as they are the problem. The way I see is that if there is only one referral option for GPs in this county to follow and it is not leading to a diagnosis, then both the commissioners and the trust should take their share of responsibility for this and provide a stop gap.

[bigmouthstrikesagain]

I have spoken to pals and pohwer some help but they are both advising direct complaints through trust and CCG in-house departments.

[ABetaDad1]

I am no expert in this area but took a similarly complex complaint trough against a different department of Govt. You always have to follow the prescribed complaints procedure first and exhaust that before going to ombudsman or MP.

That said, if your child has a serious life threatening or life limiting condition I am sure an approach to your MP would be justified as complaints procedures can be very long and drawn out. At the very least his/her intervention will expedite the process.

[bigmouthstrikesagain]

If the condition was life threatening I would not waste my time with complaints or moaning on the internet. I don't think waiting to go through complaints process before contacting MP is necessary either. They are not providing a service they should be providing. Involving the MP is mainly to expedite the decision making process. The ombudsman will only be required if the complaint is not answered satisfactorily I will obviously want them to reinstate the service but in the meantime MP might help get them to approve the stop gap out of area referrals until they are able to offer it locally again.

[SmallGreenBouncyBall]

we had a similar sounding spiel with dc and a rare chronic condition.
circles and circles
in the end we sacrificed our holiday fund and maxed out a credit card and went private for diagnosis and start of treatment.

[ModernContinental]

It was only on becoming a mother of a child with a disability that I realised how dreadful & inadequate all the services were.

Advancing on from the health/diagnostic side it becomes apparent the education side is equally appalling.

[WhirlyTwos]

bigmouth. If the trust and commissioners are blaming ach other for non-availability or non-delivery, does that mean that your DS hasn't actually yet had a proper first consultation at hospital for his suspected condition?

[bigmouthstrikesagain]

That's right whirley - he has been given a referral by the gp but it has been returned to our local doctors by the centre meant to do the actual diagnosis. They can't take him and can't offer an alternative.

[bigmouthstrikesagain]

It is only the diagnostic service that is unavailable the support services are in place for after the diagnosis. Frustrating. Anyway I have a horrible virus and feel like poo right now thank you very much for replies and apologies for bluntness of some of my responses, don't be offended. I need to lie down in a dark room for a while.

[WhirlyTwos]

Ok, well then i think there is something you can do.

The Patients Charter ( google it) gives you the right to be referred to any hospital you want for treatment. It does not have to be in your area.

Many gp's don't know this, but if you press them and confirm via your MP you will find it is the case.

So what you need to do is find a hospital / trust that will do the diagnosis path plus the treatment, and get your gp to refer you there.

I know it is possible because a close family member used this very aspect of the patients charter to choose a hospital 3 counties away for their treatment.

[WhirlyTwos]

See for a start www.nhs.uk/choiceintheNHS/Yourchoices/hospitalchoice/Pages/Choosingahospital.aspx

[OurBlanche]

Yes to ^^ from Whirly.

Get back to your GP and ask them to re-refer you.

Good luck.