In complaining about the NHS? I need advice. *trigger*

[RP1X]

Firstly, I don't want this thread to seem like i'm bashing the NHS. I'm aware i'm very luckily to be able to access free healthcare, which, is usually, very good. My post is long so please bare with me. . It has reference to abortion, apologies if this offends anyone :-(

In Jan 17, I found myself unexpectedly pregnant and opted for a termination. I made a GP appointment who was awful, he told me to think about my options, he didn't agree with abortion and handed me a tissue and demanded I do not cry in front of other patients in his surgery. I went home and contacted an NHS family planning clinic who referred me for a surgical abortion 4 weeks later on January 27th. I'm a young professional who used to work full time (this has some meaning later in my post)

After the op, I seemed to recover well until 10 days after. I collapsed at work and was rushed to the walk in centre, I was checked over and my heart rate was sky high and I was bleeding heavily. I was admitted to A&E. After I had settled, felt well and the bleeding had stopped I was admitted to EPU - I was fobbed off told this is normal. No tests were done except STI's (this had already been done previously whilst pregnant, all were negative)

To shorten my post (I will expand if needs be) in the space of 2 months I was still bleeding heavily, feeling tired and generally unwell. I went back to A&E again (referred after a call to 111) after this incident a week later. I was sent back to EPU who tried to fob me off again and gave me two types of acid for bleeding and pain. Still no change. The doctor was horrible, I felt I would rather bleed and be in agony than go back there.

Since that point, I called 111 five times, was referred to A&E another four, I visited my GP again who referred me for an emergency scan. I attended that emergency scan (should this not have been offered the second time i'd visited EPU?) and confirmed there were remains of conception that were large. I was recommended to go back to my doctor and they would send the results there. I had no call from my doctor since receiving my results!

That night, I collapsed in a pool of my own blood in the supermarket, it was seeping through my jeans and onto the floor. DP took me back to A&E and explained I had retained product, I was sent home and told to come back tomorrow. Finally, they scanned me again twice and I had a second OP to remove it. This solved the problem - it took 9 weeks.

I had so much time off work, I slipped behind and was sacked at the end of April for perfomance issues. I feel this whole episode is to blame. I'm struggling to pay bills (I don't claim anything) and i'm becoming more and more depressed. I never want another woman to go through what I did. I sent flowers and a thank you card to the final doctor I saw and got the ball rolling. I just feel the others should not get off with this! I could have got a serious infection!

Do I complain? I doubt i'd get anywhere against a big teaching hospital ;-(

Sorry to hear that- it sounds like you have been badly treated. I think most medical negligence solicitors offer either no win no fee or there may still be legal aid (although don't quote me on that). You could always give it a go and they could advise you. You can search for a specialist solicitor on the Law Society website.

I think you should complain so that ok one else has to go through this. Talk to PALS initially and your GP practice manager.

I also think you should talk to an employment law solicitor to see if your dismissal was unfair and possibly sex discrimination.

I'm not one for litigation but for you I fully advocate litigation

I think you should also consider a sex discrimination claim against your former employer.

I'm so sorry you had to go through all that. Have a think about trauma counselling.

God, this is awful. Definitely file a complaint - they should have dealt with the issue immediately (or not had it in the first place) and definitely complain about your doctor being unsympathetic and biased against abortion.

Any sickness absence related to pregnancy (including terminations) is protected by law. It seems unreasonable of your employer to dismiss you for the time off (even if your performance suffered, you should have been given time to improve and the opportunity to explain why you have been unable to meet your deadlines). Are you a member of a union? I would recommend challenging the dismissal on appeal if you are within timescales to do so.

The original GP who saw you was definitely a dick, but he has a right to conscientiously object to have any part in an abortion. It's one of the only things HCP are allowed to object to. The professional thing to do would have been to refer you to a colleague who could help you.

I'd start with a written complaint to the hospital. Outline everything that has happened from start to finish and ask for a full explanation of why this happened to you. It could take around 20 working days, but they have to respond to your complaint.

If you are unhappy with their response, your next step is to contact the healthcare ombudsman. However, I understand that you forfeit any right to monetary compensation once you contact them.

I don't want compensation as such, it would help massively. I've used my savings supporting myself/paying bills since I was sacked. I genuinely feel I performed badly (not hitting targets/making enough money) was due to having so much time off sick. I want my anger to be recognised and used to ensure, even just one woman, never experiences this.

Wih regards to my old employer they were very sneaky. They said they were terminating my contract with immediate effect due to bad performance. They said due to a legal clause, I would have to put in writing that 'I resign'. I panicked and did so. I wouldn't have a leg to stand on, the only written correspondance is me emailing that I resign.

Go through PALS to complain at the hospital. You should be able to find the information on their website. I'm so sorry this happened to you.

I'm generally a bit fan of the NHS but this is appalling. In addition to what everyone else said I would consider making a complaint about your GP and the Dr in the EPU to the General Medical Council for not fulfilling their personal professional obligations. They will personally have to respond then. Hope things improve for you

I'm worried that because all the trips and phone calls to healthcare providers have merged into a big long fog. I won't/don't remember exact dates/times. Can I request my records/logs from each provider?

I want to be as accurate as possible. Who do I contact first?

Well, you can still claim unfair dismissal if you resign, especially if they tell you that you have to resign. However, there is a time limit for bringing the claim of 3 months since the date of dismissal, so if you were dismissed in April, you would be out of time, unless the tribunal agreed to waive the limitation period. You would also have had to be employed for 2 years before the dismissal. You would need to speak to a specialist employment lawyer to see if there is any point in pursuing this.

And yes the GP is allowed to conscientiously object but they are required to refer you to a colleague, and this would apply also to the results of the second scan. They are definitely not allowed to just ignore it.

You can submit a freedom of information request to gain access to your records, but I'm not sure you need to initially. Do you still have appointment letters or a diary that you noted appointments in? Exactly when and where will be in your notes, and the people dealing with the complaint will have access to those. Just write down what you can remember and take it from there.

papa I was employed for 13 months, there's not much point and besides I really want nothing to do with that company ever again, they know what they did was wrong.

YES - please complain.

Women with gynae issues routinely have their symptoms minimized, and serious bleeding which is having a very detrimental effect on their lives is often ignored as "normal". Diagnoses and referrals for things like endo and fibroids take ages as a result. It is not on. We need a movement to raise awareness. Complaining is useful.

After my second scan, the sonographer said he will immediately send my doctor the results and GP would call me in the morning - my GP still to this day has never phoned p me about my results despite it showing 'large vascular clots'.

I have no appointment dates written down, I have three letters one for my initial termination, a trip to walk in after I collapsed at work and one with my second D&C info on. I want all the info with every date I attended a healthcare provider, could I push to get these?

I'm glad I'm not BU.

You were extremely unwell and retained products of conception can be life threatening. You were bullied into resigning by your company who demanded your resignation. Fight for sexual discrimination as I think the payout is unlimited whereas a unfair dismissal tribunal has a limit. Get good legal representation on a no win no fee basis. You have been treated appallingly by the NHS and your employer. I think however the NHS is harder to sue as many people were involved in your care. Best wishes to you I hope you recover well and get good advice.

I know GPs are overworked and see hordes of women complaining about bleeding, but really we need a MUCH better system for dealing with this because I think there is an epidemic of a problem. We are not talking about the pathologization of normal periods here. We are talking about women whose jobs and health and ability to function as parents and carers is put in jeopardy because of heavy bleeding, and no action is taken despite repeated trips to the GP. I know of many cases where this has happened.

I think you can request a copy of your medical records which should have the details of every visit. Make a timeline of what has happened with a column for dates, a column for where you went, and a column for what went wrong. Send it to PALS and to your GP surgery with a clear accompanying letter drawing attention to each failing.

Contact these people and talk it through with them, they are a charity who will put you in touch with approved lawyers if they feel you have a case. They also offer excellent support.

www.avma.org.uk

Oh, and I second everything that has been said about unfair dismissal. You don't want your job back. You do want a compensatory payout from the bastards who did this!

I am so sorry you went through this. If you want to complain you have the absolute right to; however, don't feel that it's your duty if it's only going to upset and drain you further. You get to do whatever is best for you and while obviously everyone hopes no one else has to go through this, the responsibility for that can't be put on your shoulders.

Completely agree with the post above that pain that can only be felt by women is massively understated and undertreated. Was discussing this with a group of friends recently - how many times doctors have told us to expect 'some discomfort' over experiences that they were then completely unsurprised when we found excruciating (having a coil fitted, early miscarriage, chemical abortion). I've never been expected to endure severe pain without painkillers and even a bit of sympathy for any medical condition that wasn't to do with my womb.

I'm not saying don't go for compensation, but there is a difference between complaining and suing. I have complained a couple of times about NHS care which has helped to sort issues which were a problem (both gynae/fertility related) but I have never sued.

If you have been left financially struggling then that's different from the treatment you received.

I've also had undiagnosed "retained products", I'm so sorry that you had to go through it

Fuck that.

Op that sounds absolutely awful, i hope you get some justice i would certainly be complaining to PALS

Sounds awful op. A gp can refuse to refer for termination but where i work there was a gp who wouldnt refer but he just explained and booked in with a gp who would do referral. Yes you can request records your surgery should have a copy of every hospital visit so you could ask them for copies. Where i work you request it in writing from practice manager but if you ring and ask your surgery will tell you how to do this. After my mum had me she retained placenta and was told by gp that was normal to bleed , she also collapsed and it had gone toxic she had to have a operation to remove leaving a hole in her womb and a blood transfussion. That was over 30 year ago but seems similar things are still happening. I think you should complain and you can contact Pals to help you do that. I dont know anything about compensation but would certainly hope they will be action taken and it wont happen to anyone else. Sorry you had such a awful time and hope your on the mend. Your ex employers sound awful aswell