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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To put in a complaint against NHS

319 replies

Vanillaisboring666 · 03/07/2017 17:31

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 ????

OP posts:
Sanscollier · 04/07/2017 22:52

Thinking of you and your dd tonight Vanillaisboring666 Flowers

A1Sharon · 04/07/2017 22:53

It is truly amazing what the human body can take Vanilla. My own son was seriously ill last year, we were in hospital for a month. It took a year before he really 'got over' it, although he has been like a spring lamb ever since he got out!
It takes time. She will have reserves, and they can feed her through a line for a while once risks lessen. That what they did with my son.
I have seen many cases where the bowel broke down, and the people all did great. As I said above, it really is amazing how much the human body can cope with.
Thinking of you and really hope it settles soon.

Keel · 04/07/2017 23:44

Thinking of you Vanilla and sending lots of love and strength to you and your daughter. I have a daughter the same age and it breaks my heart reading your posts. I hope she turns a corner very soon. X

FeralBeryl · 05/07/2017 01:07

Just popping in with some support for overnight Vanilla Hoping she's started to steady out a bit now and that you've managed some rest - and food! Flowers

KeiraKnightleyActsWithHerTeeth · 05/07/2017 01:20

Thinking of you.
Complaints to PALS whilst you're still in the hospital do tend to help (they are on site and I find patients and relatives who use them tend to come out with a bit of strength in them.) I always told people to think of PALS as a bit like a patients union, they will help guide you and point you in useful directions.

KarmaNoMore · 05/07/2017 01:34

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

KeiraKnightleyActsWithHerTeeth · 05/07/2017 01:41

Op re her scar, when she is up and about and it has healed, you will find vitamin E oil the best at helping the scar disappear.

Redsippycup · 05/07/2017 08:02

Hi Vanilla. Just popping in to say I'm thinking of you and your daughter. I hope things are looking more positive for you this morning and she is more comfortable Flowers

ASDismynormality · 05/07/2017 08:27

Hope all goes well for your DD today. It does sounds as if she's being very well looked after.
Although now is not the time to complain it's important to note the series of events that led to her becoming so unwel while it's still fresh in your mind.

Supersoaryflappypigeon · 05/07/2017 08:33

Sending love and wishing your daughter a speedy recovery. I am so sorry that this has happened. Flowers

Oly5 · 05/07/2017 08:39

Complain to PALS but also ensure this has been reported as a serious incident. Say you want this investigated properly and for there to be wider learning across the entire hospital.
So sorry this happened

Sunnymorningwithbacon · 05/07/2017 08:42

You're in my thoughts. I hope things go week for you and her.

Civilsoot · 05/07/2017 08:56

Norm when I see the 'am I right to complain about NHS treatment' threads I think what eye rolling rubbish is it this time, a 3 hour wait to get a splinter out of a finger, outrageous etc crap, normally followed up with I want financial compensation bollocks.

However, on this one I'm with you 100%. I'm a nurse and I can't believe nobody got a surgeon to check your daughter. Mistakes do happen and I understand that the ward was probably chronically short staffed - that they now have a sister instead of a doctor making those important medical decisions says it all really!

So yes, in time, go to PALS. This needs to be investigated as to why it happened so there's any hope of it not happening to some other poor child. I wouldn't say it's the NHS's fault though, if was this particular hospital that was the problem.

Really sorry you and your poor daughter had to go through this, it sounds terrifying. My thoughts are with you both.

Civilsoot · 05/07/2017 09:01

Sorry, meant to say that the ward was probably short staffed but this is still a never never incident. It really should have sent alarm bells ringing to all people concerned. Can't believe the GP just gave you oramorph without thinking 'oh, this could actually be something more serious, I'll check her before I say to give her this'.

This is a shameful incident.

LovelyBath77 · 05/07/2017 09:54

Yes, they would have had the notes in the hospital as well and been aware she had just had surgery. there is really no excuse here however short staffed they were- the consultant should have been told, as he mentioned.

I hope things improve for your daughter and she starts to recover soon.

FlySlayer99 · 05/07/2017 19:05

Thinking of you and your dd - hope she has a speedy recovery and you both get justice for her awful treatment :(

hotchocmarshmallow · 05/07/2017 19:40

I'm so sorry to hear this and wish your daughter a full and fast recovery. I'm a clinical negligence solicitor and I would definitely recommend you speak to a solicitor in the future, once everything has calmed down, to pursue a claim on your daughter's behalf. This sounds very similar to a case I've dealt with previously and if the open surgery could have been avoided, it is certainly worth investigating. As your daughter is a child she has until her 21st birthday to submit a claim so there's absolutely no rush. Making a claim will involve independent experts assessing your daughter and recommending treatment, rehab, aids and equipment and that alone is valuable. The first step is always to formally complain to the chief executive of the NHS trust and request all your daughters records. I wouldn't bother with PALS when it's this serious. Focus on getting your daughter better first- all this can wait. Good luck OP.

RideOn · 05/07/2017 19:55

I think you should complain to PALS. No one wants what happened to have happened and they won't want it to happen again.
The lack of surgical assessment /causing delay in picking up this post op complication was wrong and has had serious consequences.

Unsurprisingly the ambulance chasing solicitors won't advise putting an official complaint/ PALS. I think you should.

Vanillaisboring666 · 05/07/2017 20:52

Today she has been slightly better but still spiking temps of 39 . She seems to perk up for an hour or so but then crashes and we are back to square one . She has however been able to eat some yoghurt and fruit today and drink some fresh orange juice. Taking each day as it comes at the moment. Definitely in here for at least the next ten days her consultant has said today. I miss my other 3 chikdren so much and can't wait till we are all back home together . Dh says once she is better we are booking a holiday amd getting away for a break and some fun x

OP posts:
Redsippycup · 05/07/2017 21:45

Oh I'm so glad she is improving! Smile

They must be pretty confident if they are allowing her to eat?

You must be exhausted, I hope everything calms down for you all now and you can all concentrate on DD getting better and looking forward to a holiday Flowers

ZebraOwl · 05/07/2017 22:37

Being able to eat & drink is HUGE progress and hopefully she'll be more stable soon. Poor wee girl. And poor you too.

10 days - all though that's an "at least" isn't such an awful estimate though: hopefully your DD will bounce back in that way children ahem, and some adults do & you'll all be able to get away on holiday together.

Hopefully the hospital will offer this once your DD is a bit better, but if they don't, please do ask if she can see one of the therapists attached to paediatrics. Obviously what's happened is a physical trauma, but being as ill as she was can be mentally/emotionally very distressing and children & young people, particularly, can struggle to process & articulate their understanding of, & feelings about, what happened. Am not meaning to give you something else to worry about, sorry - just wanted to say something so you can ensure the support is in place for your DD if she's one of the people who struggles after this sort of illness.

Justaboy · 05/07/2017 23:25

Glad to hear of that improvement Vanilla:)

Suppose that after all this debacle she has got a lot of attention from the staff and consultant !

C0rdelia · 05/07/2017 23:42

Genuinely SO pleased to hear your latest update.

Slinkymalinky1 · 06/07/2017 00:04

My goodness! Your poor daughter! And poor you! I'm a nurse and feel so disappointed at how she has been treated, from your first paragraph I was thinking sepsis and can't believe a duvet day and paracetamol was advised. You really do need to take this further. I think I'd also want her in hospital now, to be monitored, it's not fair that they have left this to you to monitor. Are you checking her temperature regularly?

Slinkymalinky1 · 06/07/2017 00:20

Sorry my phone didn't update your latest updates. I am so glad she's a little better, really hope she has a speedy recovery xx

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