To put in a complaint against NHS

[Vanillaisboring666]

My beautiful 14 year old dd attended hospital Tuesday last week to have her ACE stoma reversed . It was a simple 20 min procedure that was class's as day case surgery. We arrived at 8am and she went down to theatre at 12pm , arrived back onward at 1pm . At 230 pm she was discharged . She was un comfortable but managed to walk to car . Upon getting in car began to cry saying she was in a bit of pain . I got her home and into bed and gave paracetomol as per hospital instruction. At 4pm she was in agony and sweating. Took her to A&E as day case unit advised on phone they would be closing at 8pm . Anyways 2 hrs in a&e she was sweating , breathing fast and writhing in agony. After 2 hrs a paed doc came and gave oromorph and placed her on paediatric ward. She stayed overnight and was given regular oromorph but she was still In agony . The sister the next morning said it was post op pain and told me to take her home amd have a duvet day and give paracetomol. By this point she could not walk and looked gravely I'll with sweat running down her face. I took her home and once again tucked her up in bed. At 4pm wednesday (day after her stoma reversal ) she was in absolute agony so I called gp and he prescribed oromorp and we gave it her overnight. Thursday mornine she was unable to lift her head and gp advised over the phone i ring an ambulance . Ambulance arrived (after 1.5hrs) and she was once again took to a&e . A gastronsurgeon came immediately and she was then rushed to theatre . I was signing consent forms running along corridor. It was terrifying. Anyways she ended up having a full blown laparotomy after the attempt at doing surgery laparoscopically failed. She has 4 laparoscopically incisions and a huge vertical cut down her tummy from laparotomy and also a cut on right side of tummy from her ace reversal surgery and initial ace surgery. She has been through hell. She was on itu for two days and is now on ward but is still critically ill as having temps and heart rate fast. The surgeon who did the ace reversal was never informed dd was readmitted by the ward and has profusely apologised as he said this should never have happened. He is going to be looking into why he was not told dd was back in hospital with pain 4 hrs after his surgery and why the bloody hell she was discharged in such a terrible state the next day when she was very obviously seriously ill. She is so so so poorly now and is still critically ill amd at risk of sepsis . She will be getting ct scan tomorrow as nothing is bringing down her temps . I am furious she was made to suffer such pain for 48 hrs and has ended up needing full blown laparotomy. If her surgeon had of been informed on the Tuesday he said he could have managed to do surgery laparoscopically. Instead he said her abdomen was so full of puss and poo he had to open her tummy from top to bottom. I am heart broken and not coping well with seeing how much pain she is in. I am strong in front of dd but have to go to toilet amd cry every now and then. We have a huge long road ahead to get her better but I am now starting to realise just how appallingly she has been treat by the ward who initially discharged her. No doctor even examined her before discharge and the sister said it was post op pain amd to have a duvet day and paracetomol ? I can tell the hospital is shitting themselves as they rolling over me and dh now . Even my dds consultant has admitted this should not have happened amd has apologised . He came to see dd twice a day Saturday Sunday despite it being his day off. I pray to god she recovers as docs say she is still critical and may need more surgery amd to go back to picu if her temps don't drop. Sorry it's so long and I hope it makes sense. I'm in bits and can't believe our wonderful nhs could have gotten something so wrong. A routine simple procedure has ended up with 8 hrs of surgery ,paed intensive care for two days,severely in pain child that is bed bound ,catheterised and has no clue just how serious this situation is. Her whole abdomen was filled with puss and poo and her bowel had ruptured . According to ward sister though it was post op pain and all she needed was paracetomol and a duvet day. My dd is so lovely and never complains so I knew something bad was wrong but the sister said she knew best and discharged her ??? AIBU in going to pals ????

Use your phone to take photos of the notes. Send them to your email. Good luck

Does PALS deal with actual complaints in other hospitals? In my local hospital they are clear that while they act as a liaison service they will not deal with official complaints.
Very glad to hear DD is recovering, albeit slowly. Lucky she has a wonderful Mum.

Def take pictures of the medical notes. Do it at night when they aren't around as much and keep quiet. When you request them later you can compare and note differences.

I took copies of notes from my dad and it was a good thing because they lost everything. I told them well good thing I have a copy from his hospital stay. I didn't have copies of notes from clinics.

Does PALS deal with actual complaints in other hospitals? In my local hospital they are clear that while they act as a liaison service they will not deal with official complaints.

It depends. Typically, yes, PALS are a liason service. BUT if you say you want to make an official complaint then they should advise you how to do that and who to send it to.

Many hospitals have separate PALS, Complaints and Patient Safety departments, but they will be under the same division and will usually have the same divisional manager.

I worked for a combined PALS, Complaints and Patient Safety department. We called it Patient Experience. People could call in and speak to PALS, say they wanted to complain, the PALS call handlers would advise and then the complaint would come in to the same department. Some of the team just did PALS, some just did complaints, some did both. The administrators covered the paperwork for complaints and PS, hence us being able to join things up where needed.

With all that said, I also disagree with complaining to the GMC/NMC about specific people. If a SUI investigation determines negligence the trust themselves will have to refer it on to the appropriate registration body. However, if OP is unhappy with the outcome of either her complaint or the SUI investigation she can ask that it is referred to the Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) who will do an independent investigation.

So glad to hear she if doing a bit better. Please feel free to ask what is in the drip she is getting - it may well contain glucose. The nurse/dr should explain what the plan is for ensuring she receives adequate nutrition. The files outside the door may just be her obs charts not her full notes. A and E and OOH docs may well have different notes in different systems that would need to be requested separately. T

So happy to hear that your daughter is doing a bit better Vanilla. I hope she continues to improve.

So sorry you have both had to go through this dreadful ordeal though Take care of yourself as you will be exhausted.

💐
Wow, what a clusterfuck

Hoping dd continues to improve

Thank you . DD is improving daily. This time last week she was on intensive care. It's amazing how quickly she is recovering xx

So pleased to see your latest post, Vanilla. I think of you and your daughter so often, as I'm sure does everyone else who has read the thread. I hope that you have managed to get some rest and are feeling better. How is your daughter's eating going? Do you feel she is getting the best care from the doctors and nursing staff now?

Yay to recovering. don't forget to look after yourself too as she'll need you when she's discharged

Very pleased with your good news Vanilla:-)

So glad to hear she is improving. I hope I didn't care you with talking about adhesions etc. Many people have adhesions and it is rare they cause obstructions. All best wishes for her continued recovery.

Lovely to hear your DD is getting better.

I wouldn't start reading and taking pictures of the notes. They aren't yours to see they are your daughters and she is entitled to privacy. If you were caught potentially you could be removed from the hospital if the staff were to escalate it.

Thrilled to hear mini vanilla has turned the corner.

Make a formal request to see the notes. And do make a formal complaint. I hope they areooming after you both better now.

So pleased to hear this Vanilla! I hope she continues to improve x

Really glad she's improving and I'm utterly shocked that she was discharged in the first place bless her

How is your daughter, Vanilla? Still thinking of you.

vanilla Hope all is well with your DD and there are no serious long term effects from the mistakes by the hospital. Hope your family are able to go on that holiday sooner rather than later.