To file an official complaint?

[Tulio]

I’m laying here with my newborn baby on my chest thinking back to my 20 week scan. They ‘couldn’t get a good view of the neck/spine’ so told me to come back in for another scan. Which I did, completely trusting it was just because the baby was in an awkward position, as they said.

Second scan and the technician tells me there is a cyst in the baby’s neck, ‘a pretty large one’ she says she’s ‘surprised they didn’t pick it up on the other scan’.
Anyway she was very matter of fact about the whole thing, so I wasn’t too worried. She wrote on my notes cystic hygroma followed by a question mark. And told me I’d have to come back for a consultant to scan me.

So obviously I google cystic hygroma when I’m in the waiting room and, well, if you know what it is, the prognosis is pretty horrific. Most babies die and when they don’t it often signifies severe illnesses and genetic problems. Was on the verge of tears at this point, when a nurse comes over and instead of taking me into the private room they have (yknow the one with the big box of tissues), she starts talking to me about the scan and what was found and the consultant appointment, in front of the very full waiting room. I was a bit shellshocked at the time but so annoyed afterwards.

Anyway would IBU to complain that the ultrasound technician wrote cystic hygroma on my scan notes she gave to me? Even if she did put a question mark.
The consultant appt wasn’t until after the weekend so I essentially spent 3 days crying, thinking I’d have to have a termination for medical reasons. She’s not a doctor, she shouldn’t have speculated. And it wasn’t a cystic hygroma, so all that stress was for absolutely nothing but someone’s opinion.

What do you think? The more I think about it the more I want to make sure they don’t do the same to other couples. Should I file a complaint, would I have grounds?

[Swimslikeamole]

I think it would be perfectly reasonable to write, also mentioning the subsequent lack of privacy, as constructive feedback.

Trust it has all gone well for you - congratulations on your newborn.

[Dizzywizz]

Yes, I really think you should

[HoppingPavlova]

Uhhhhm, no. If the U/S tech suspects something then that’s what they write. With a ?, which is correct because as you say they are not qualified to make a diagnosis. What do you want them to do, get a consultant to look but not tell them what they should be looking at/for? So the consultant can waste a whole lot of time trying to work out where there could be a problem and then if it is a problem or not. People don’t have all day to sit around and waste time so this is typically how it’s done. No diagnosis was made, a request was made to investigate something further, turns out it’s nothing. You were upset for 3 days but that’s the trade off for scans and better we have them than not.

[Teachermaths]

Complain about the lack of privacy.

The notes is not an issue. Mine said "sepsis?" when I was admitted with a UTI. It was flagged in case that's what I had but luckily I didn't.

[StarfishOfDoom]

Congratulations on the birth of your healty baby.
Spend every second enjoying being a new Mum.

I'm inclined to agree with Hopping though. Medical notes are to communicate with other medical professionals and to keep a record - not for you to go googling and frightening yourself.

Enjoy that new baby smell and tiny cuddles. Wish I could go back in time and do it all again.

[lljkk]

What would be the right way for the sonographer to ask the consultant to check if that was the condition?

If your baby had the terrible condition, would you feel angry that the sonographer didn't tell you as soon as she suspected?

[FixTheBone]

I think the sonographer was correct to write what they did, but incorrect to let you see it. By flagging it as a potentially serious finding or abnormal scan, it should get reviewed more urgently.

If there is uncertainty, the report should be verified or reviewed before being released.

[LoveNote]

think the question mark signifies its someones opinion only

i think we all know google gives the worst prognosis

[AnchorDownDeepBreath]

I wouldn't complain. I'd rather know what people suspect, even if it doesn't go on to be true. It makes me feel prepared.

Congratulations on your baby

[RosieLynn]

I don’t think she was being unreasonable to write it on your notes - it would be far worse if the consultant didn’t know what they were supposed to be looking for & a serious condition was missed - but she certainly should have explained to you what it meant so that you wouldn’t google it and panic.

[CallmeAngelina]

They suspected that there might be a problem, and flagged it for other professionals to check out. Luckily, it proved to be a false alarm.
Why not thank your lucky stars and let it go? Enjoy your baby.

[RosieLynn]

I don’t think ‘filing an official complaint’ is the right way to go about it - I would suggest flagging it as a learning point, in a constructive email/letter.

[Tulio]

@HoppingPavlova I totally get what you mean, but these weren’t the notes given to the consultant, he had those prior to scanning me. And was obviously debriefed before the appt. They were given to me, she wrote the term in biro, I popped it in my folder and no-one ever asked for it again. Which is why I thought it was so unessesary (which I clearly can’t spell but it won’t autocorrect me haha).

[negomi90]

That's normal medical notes.
If I'm thinking something could be something I write ?x. It doesn't even mean I think its likely, just a possibility which I'm allowing for or investigating.
In your case the ultrasonographer saw something and wanted the obstetrician to investigate. It was entirely appropriate for them to write ?cystic hydroma as it told the consultant their concerns so the consultant could look specifically for it.

[Tulio]

@CallmeAngelina I agree I’m so thankful that the problem was much smaller than initially thought! It was actually my health visitor who suggested I think about bringing it up with the hospital. I’m inclined to never kick up a stink. So just wanted to gauge other people’s opinions. If it was something they’d gone about in the wrong way then I’d like to think I had the balls to stand up for myself. If that’s just how they operate, then good to know too. One day it’ll all just be a bad memory haha

[Stripes100]

By ‘ultrasound technician’ I think you actually mean ‘qualified radiographer’. Someone who is highly trained to undertake and interpret images and the results and then escalate appropriately to the medical team?

[KittyKel]

So you want to complain that they flagged that there might be a problem, they investigated and then it turned out there wasn’t a problem. Seriously?! Motherhood is fraught with worry, get used to it, stop googling and enjoy your little one.

I agree you can complain about the breach of privacy, that’s it.

[HoppingPavlova]

By flagging it as a potentially serious finding or abnormal scan, it should get reviewed more urgently...........If there is uncertainty, the report should be verified or reviewed before being released.

It sounds like it was reviewed urgently. 3 days and that’s with a weekend involved so no issue there.

It also doesn’t sound like it was a report, it was a request for the consultant to review? That’s essentially what happened, the consultant was reviewing and verifying. The verification was that an issue the u/s tech was unsure and flagged for review was reviewed and verified as being of no concern.

If there is a complaint re lack of privacy then that’s fair enough but my read is that was a nurse, not the u/s tech. Who knows though, maybe the private consult room was occupied at the time and the OP was highly distressed in the waiting room, the nurse was trying to help and there was nowhere free. Maybe there were places and what happened was inappropriate. It’s hard to say unless you were there really.

[Tulio]

@negomi90 this seems to be the consensus, so I’m glad I asked! My health visitor suggested bringing it up with the hospital but I’m glad I know not to now! I think I would have come across very silly indeed. Thank you!

[LolaSmiles]

The only thing I would do is raise the privacy issue.

Writing something in your notes is precisely so other medical professionals can see the notes. If someone goes away and Googles and gets upset then that's on them for going to doctor Google instead of trusting people who are doing the job they are qualified for.

Enjoy your newborn though

[Tulio]

@Stripes100 sorry I genuinely thought that was the job title! I shall forevermore refer to them as qualified radiographers.

[GladAllOver]

Congratulations on your baby! :)

[wineconnoisseur]

I was monitored through pregnancy from 20 weeks, Had scans and monitoring twice a week and everytime they wrote in my notes they would put different things that they may or may not of found or what may have been a possibility for abnormalities with my baby and they would always put question marks after because it was just a possibility. For example my baby was very small so in my notes at one point they put achondroplasia? Which is dwarfism.. I would always google every word they put and stress myself out.. Fast forward to now. My baby is 4 weeks old and so far my baby appears to be healthy.. I haven't considered filing a complaint because I know they would write these words in my notes to show any other doctors that they were already checking for what they had wrote in my notes..

[Tulio]

@KittyKel from my point of view she wrote this term in biro on my notes and gave them to me to keep. She then obviously gave the consultant a separate set of notes or account of what she saw (because those biroed notes have remained firmly stuffed away in my folder). So I really didn’t see why she was writing the speculated anomaly on something that was just for me.

Of course I was going to google it though, cmon, most people would. And I’m really not a worrier by nature, this isn’t my first child and I’m pretty laid back about the whole thing. Although might not be when he has to have his first general aesthetic next week 😭!

That’s kind of why I was asking, my go-to is to do nothing, but i had been advised to take it further. So was seeing the consensus. Which is generally don’t make an idiot of yourself 😂

[HoppingPavlova]

They were given to me, she wrote the term in biro, I popped it in my folder and no-one ever asked for it again.

Not sure why biro is relevant? I would think it’s to explain to you why you were seeing the consultant? Wouldn’t you think it odd if they said you had to see the consultant urgently (as that’s what 3 days including a weekend is) but didn’t tell you why? Then you’d complain anyway because you spent 3 days worrying because there could be something wrong, they refused to tell you what it was but wanted to rush you through to a consultant. You’d just Google madly and instead of Googling one thing you would have Googled hundreds of possibilities. There was a question mark, that clearly indicated they were unsure and further review/investigation was warranted, it wasn’t a diagnosis. Your choice to become Dr Google.