Hospital complaint - is there any point in pursuing this?

[Pringlebeak]

A few months ago my brother, who had terminal cancer, went into hospital for an operation to improve the quality of his life. The operation apparently went well but DB suffered appalling neglect during his stay in hospital, to the extent that he came out much sicker than he went in, never recovered, and died five weeks later.

I wrote a letter of complaint on behalf of the family about his treatment, and the hospital carried out an investigation. I was expecting a half-hearted "we're sorry and will do better in future" kind of reply, but actually the hospital have denied everything. To be honest, the letter was mainly a way of getting it off our chests and we didn't expect great things, but the fact that they are saying they did nothing wrong has really got my back up.

To be clear: we knew his cancer was terminal, but our position was that he wasn't particularly ill when he went into hospital, and that his neglect sent him into a downward spiral and caused him to die much earlier than he otherwise would have (I should add he was aware of this as he declined and was highly pissed off about it).

My SIL is talking about legal action, but really, is there any point in pursuing this? Is there anything else we can get out of them? The one person who could contradict their statement is not here any more (as they must be aware), and an apology isn't going to bring him back. Following it up would be stressful with no guarantee of success. Is it better to let it go?

I'm sorry to hear about your brother. Unfortunately there are no guarantees with surgery; there is risk whenever you undergo anaesthetic, surgeons are humans at the end of the day - they try their best but they cannot always control the outcome.

You would need to give more details on the neglect that made him weaker. Do you mean with holding antibiotics to treat infection?

It really depends on the specifics I'm afraid.

What did they actually do that contributed to his decline? How do you equate that to his passing earlier than expected? It's difficult to say without knowing more but I appreciate it's not an easy time.

Sorry you've been through this.

What actually happened while he was in hospital?

Sit down and rationally write down all the events that led to the deterioration in his health. Hold off sending it until you know who your MP is then sent it to the hospital chief executive and your local MP (newly elected they will want their chance to shine). I'm so sorry to hear what you have gone through.

I cover quite a lot of medical negligence cases. Has there been an inquest or is there likely to be? You should very much raise your concerns with the coroner and if you have the funds, get your own legal representation for the inquest.

I’ve found Irwin Mitchell to be excellent at this stuff but there are lots of other solicitors around. It’s definitely worth an initial conversation with them.

I was trying not to give too much detail, but I guess it would help!

As far as I'm aware the operation itself was fine, but he was there for a week and a half, and on several occasions was left in agony for hours without pain relief and ignored when he tried to call somebody. He couldn't hold anything down and we're fairly sure he wasn't given fluids as he was severely dehydrated when he came out. They left him lying in vomit- and blood-stained sheets, and didn't clear away his sick buckets for hours. They also left untouched food by his bed for hours. My SIL had to clear up and change his bed herself when she came in. They refused to let her come and look after him outside strict visiting hours (although they deny this). He found this all extremely distressing and it did absolutely nothing for his post-op recovery.

I don't know if you'll get anywhere, but I wouldn't be able to let that lie. Not giving fluids is serious neglect.

It was the coroner who advised us to take a case out against the hospital for the neglect of our dad. Much damning medical evidence was gathered by experts. Hospital wriggled out of it on a technicality.
All we ever asked for was an apology and an understanding things would be improved.
I got no closure from any of it and am still hearing stories of terrible care.

I'm sorry to hear that.

There was no inquest in our case as there was no question that he died of cancer, but what you say is exactly what concerns me about pursuing our case. We are up against a big organisation who don't give a shit and clearly have no intention of admitting anything. It could take years to get so much as an apology out of them, and I don't want to be dedicating my life to it. It seems to me it would be more sensible to move on.

I seem to be answering my own question here :-) but it really does stick in my craw that they can get away with it. I told them that what we wanted was for them to reform their procedures so it wouldn't happen to anybody else (anecdotally other people have also been treated badly at this hospital), but what power do we have when we're up against such a big institution?

We didn't have an inquest either. Somebody at the hospital suggested he looked into it. As there was a clear cause of death he said it was out of his hands but encouraged us to find a solicitor.
Think it took 5 years for the hospital to put the blame on someone else.
If it's peace of mind your after, would you feel better if they didn't rule in your favour? Would you feel bad if you didn't try?
We felt we owed it to my dad to get the full story. Which sadly we did. Horrible reading but at least I have the facts in black and white. I feel better for that.

I've had 2 friends complain about very similar and get nowhere. I complained about a different issue and got nowhere.

Similar situation with a relative. It has gone to inquest but hospital are covering their backsides despite months of neglect of my relative. We feel at a loss due to limited specific evidence but my relative knew the neglect she was experiencing. She died in distress due to this. She was terminally ill but got much sicker while in hospital and died much sooner than she should have.

So sorry op. We have given up on a complaint as I can't carry it myself and other family members feel it is pointless.

As a nurse I am sorry for the poor care your brother received and that the hospital denied it. Have you tried contacting PALS I do think this should be taken further, that is the only way things change and improve. Any nurse who thinks this is acceptable behaviour are a disgrace. This area of care is the one we should get right as their are no second chances. I am so sorry. I have just watched dispatches which detailed poor A&E care it is so upsetting that this is what we think is acceptable. I am worried this is now accepted as the 'new norm'.