I've name changed as the details I need to give you here will immediately 'out' me.
I'm putting this bit at the top as it's the question I'm asking about:
I am wondering whether we should refer ds's case to the NHS ombudsman, having already made a formal complaint to the hospital and feeling fobbed off by their response. Alternatively, should we even sue the hospital? I'd never consider this option for me as I'm an adult who understands that human error happens and I don't really like the compensation culture. However, I feel that DS has been through so much (on top of his other ongoing medical difficulties) that I wonder if we should take it further and seek compensation for him. I'd appreciate any experience of suing for medical negligence, whether it was worth it (in terms of the stress versus the outcome). We are already under quite a lot of stress and I don't want to embark on something that will send us over the edge! Please don't berate me for even contemplating it. If you want to read about the case, the story is below.
Backstory to avoid drip feeding:
My 4 year old ds fell in November and suffered a nasty laceration to his forehead. I was away at the time on a course so didn't see the wound until it had been patched up, but met him and DH at the hospital as the treatment was being finished and could see it was really nasty. The doctor in A&E had put 10 steristrips on it and then glued all over the top, having offered him no pain relief. I queried at that point whether it should have been sutured, as it looked nasty, and was told that they do not stitch children's heads as it is too distressing for them. I argued it again but was told it was fine.
Five days later, I took him to the practice nurse at the GP (who worked in A&E for 20 years) and she asked me if I had applied the strips and glue. She was horrified when I said it was done in A&E and urged me to complain. I then sent the photos I had taken to a friend who works as a specialist children's nurse in our regional paediatric hospital. She was also very concerned. I saw the A&E matron the following day (as we were attending another appointment) and she reassured me that it was all fine and to take the dressing off in the bath that night. We tried, failed, it started bleeding and we returned to A&E for help. The junior doctor said it was okay, said they had used the 10 day glue, instead of the 7 day glue, and that we should leave it another few days and then have another go.
Twelve days after the initial injury (and the day before we were supposed to go back), I took ds to A&E to have the strips removed (as they had effectively been superglued to his forehead and eyebrow). They eventually got them off and the nurse stood and gaped at it. There was a 5mm deep hole in his forehead and it was yellow, smelly and oozing. She went to get the sister on duty who also expressed her concern. The doctor was called, pulled out a load of the gunk with a pair of tweezers (something no 4 year old should have to endure) and sent us to the regional paediatric hospital for plastic surgery. The plastic surgeon's opinion was that the local hospital should never have tried to treat the wound (from my photo of it with the original dressing on) and that it should have been operated on at the regional hospital on the day of the injury. By the time it was contaminated, they could not operate as it would seal in the contamination.
Since then, we have been backwards and forwards to the regional centre every fortnight for ongoing treatment which he will need for up to two years, when they will probably have to resect it anyway as it is sore, red, raised (and now a hypertrophic scar).
I wrote a formal complaint to the local hospital including the photos of the initial wound closure, the horrible contaminated hole and the resulting closure. I've finally heard back from them and they have said they are sorry that ds was not offered pain relief (his chart says it was scored 4-7/10 so moderate pain) as this was an oversight, and that there 'may have been excessive use of steristrips' in the dressing of it (but no acceptance that he should have been referred elsewhere - blaming the resultant problems on the general chances of contamination, not that they completely sealed it so that it couldn't heal or let the germs escape). The letter says that junior doctors have been reminded how to treat wounds appropriately.
DH and I feel that we have been fobbed off and that they have done the bare minimum to try and placate us, rather than take on board the fact that they have caused considerable unnecessary suffering (and time off school/work/costs etc..). The practice nurse (at the GP) wants us to request a copy of the hospital's updated wound closure policy as a result of our complaint so I could request that.
Any thougts gratefully received.
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Children's health
Should I take legal action against my local hospital?
19 replies
ProtectingMyNormalNickname · 19/02/2013 22:31
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