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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be so angry with the nhs and considering complaining with the view to being compensated?

128 replies

shebuildsquickmachines · 26/05/2022 10:41

I know this will divide opinions so I'm prepared to be flamed

For 17 years I had thyroid issues. I had yearly appointments with endocrinology and every time I went I was feeling progressively worse and worse which I told them.

I was never given any medication or any further help,
I always felt fobbed off . On top of that I had thyroid nodules that gave me an enlarged thyroid gland) which gave me a very unattractive swollen neck. It even affected my breathing. This slowly got worse over time. It destroyed my confidence and self esteem and even worse there was a chance that it could develop into thyroid cancer. So I had the feeling I was living with a ticking time bomb.

I have wanted the whole thing removed for a long time but everyone kept fobbing me off. Despite the fact that there is a gmail history of thyroid issues on my mums side (mum, 4 aunts and grandmother all had theirs removed for same reason) I felt so awful all the time that I could barely work plus I was constantly anxious. Luckily my husband works so I did not need to try and get benefits etc

Last year I decided enough was enough. And we used a credit card and paid privately for the operation. From seeing the consultant to getting the all clear after my op was 6 weeks, at the cost of £7000

I literally now feel like a new woman. I have to take thyroxin replacement hormones but My energy is sky high, I feel great, I sleep better, I even look so much better. When I look at pics taken of me in the last couple of years I honestly looked so poorly, my face was pale and bloated and I just looked ill

Don't get me wrong I am so happy to be well again. But I'm in debt due to having an op that I should have had on the nhs. and I am also so angry that I was put through almost two decades of feeling absolutely shit and no one helping me. I feel like I should have some sort of payback.

Would there be any point complaining ? I know the nhs is on its knees due to underfunding which didn't exactly help matters.

OP posts:
Thelnebriati · 26/05/2022 10:54

YANBU, I'm shocked they let it get so bad your breathing was affected. Restricted airflow can cause heart disease. IDK if you'd be entitled to compensation, but I think they should pay for your operation.

Original poster
shebuildsquickmachines · 26/05/2022 10:58

Thelnebriati · 26/05/2022 10:54

YANBU, I'm shocked they let it get so bad your breathing was affected. Restricted airflow can cause heart disease. IDK if you'd be entitled to compensation, but I think they should pay for your operation.

I used to get breathless even going up stairs etc , it's much better now but it's scary to think my heart could be affected I did not even know that

Thanks for not flaming me Flowers

OP posts:
Pennypie · 26/05/2022 11:06

YANBU, this is shocking but sadly not unusual. Too many people put up with poor treatment and then don't do anything when they finally (often paying privately) get it resolved, because they want to forget the whole horrible experience. And the NHS is not "free" - most of us already pay a lot in taxes for it.

I agree, they should at least pay for your operation.

Please complain, it may help someone else.

Original poster
shebuildsquickmachines · 26/05/2022 11:09

Does anyone know how i would even go about trying to get help with this ?

OP posts:
TheSnootiestFox · 26/05/2022 11:12

Every woman with lipoedema is in exactly the same boat, I've had to sell my house to pay for my lipoedema treatment. But you won't get anywhere as you will have been seen to have elected to go privately.

The NHS is a shower of shite. On top of the lippy I also have PCOS which stopped my periods for years and instead of doing a simple blood test and providing a simple prescription there and then, my GPs and endocrinologist ignored what I was telling them, made us try for two years, then put me through 6 rounds of clomid, then we sat on the IVF list for a year, had counselling as by this point I was suicidal, spent hundreds if not thousands on supplements, accupuncture, reflexology, diets and detoxes and then eventually as we were starting IVF the consultant asked for bloods. He rang me, told me he'd spotted something and put a prescription in the post. 3 months later DS1 was on the way.

I also headed for a solicitor as I ended up having fewer children than I wanted much later in life. All I ended up with was a verbal apology from my GP of sorts ('Oooh I thought I'd done that...) and a written one from the endocrinologist, who actually said he was sorry but inferred I should just be happy to be pregnant.

These people ruin lives, and we are just expected to be grateful and suck it up and applaud them in times of crisis. It all makes my blood boil!

FlipperSkipper · 26/05/2022 11:12

NHS policy regarding thyroid issues seems to be to do the minimum possible. I’d start by requesting all of your notes and then getting in touch with PALS.

torquewench · 26/05/2022 11:16

shebuildsquickmachines · 26/05/2022 11:09

Does anyone know how i would even go about trying to get help with this ?

I'd imagine the first step would be to contact a lawyer specialising in medical negligence claims.

Childbeinganiggtmare · 26/05/2022 11:25

Thyroid sufferer here. Can I ask if you were under or under active please?. I’m on 350mc levothyroxine and feel and look like death

Original poster
shebuildsquickmachines · 26/05/2022 11:26

@TheSnootiestFox that is fucking awful I'm sorry Flowers

OP posts:
Ownedbymycats · 26/05/2022 11:26

Perhaps you may want to enjoy your new found health rather than putting your energy into a legal battle.Things were obviously terrible for you but medical negligence cases are complex and costly.

standoctor · 26/05/2022 11:26

So you sue the NHS which means they have less money to treat other ill people
Nice person

Innocenta · 26/05/2022 11:30

@standoctor I have to agree. I've also been horribly failed by the NHS, in ways so dramatic and identifying that I can't talk about them here. But it's just immoral to sue given the underfunding, in my opinion. This is the conclusion I arrived at when thinking it through as part of my ongoing grieving process.

Timide · 26/05/2022 11:32

I have no idea how the process actually works but yes, I would complain. I have a family member with thyroid issues and your condition should have been addressed in timely manner. It is awful that you were made suffer for so long. Flowers

Stabbitystabstab · 26/05/2022 11:33

standoctor · 26/05/2022 11:26

So you sue the NHS which means they have less money to treat other ill people
Nice person

When I sued over the premature death of my partner it was an acknowledgement I wanted, not cash.
A simple "sorry" and measures in place to prevent it destroying other families was all I wanted.
Closed ranks and pushed blame onto the assistant target. It was disgusting.

OP go for it.
I fucking would.

Brieandcamembert · 26/05/2022 11:39

Problem is too much money is spent on preventable I'll esses and there isn't enough to spend on real issues.

We need a different system where health care is based on how well you care for yourself a d what taxes you have paid.

I don't think seeking compensation is in anyway advantageous to the system.

Getoff · 26/05/2022 11:42

standoctor · 26/05/2022 11:26

So you sue the NHS which means they have less money to treat other ill people
Nice person

There isn't a fixed amount of money for the NHS. We could spend two or three times as much on it if we wanted to. It's a political choice to offer a level of care that's below what some of the people paying for it consider acceptable.

If it doesn't cost them money when they fuck up, they have no incentive to improve.

Getoff · 26/05/2022 11:45

I wonder if the people who think the NHS shouldn't be sued are the same ones who think Ukraine shouldn't resist the Russian invasion. Presumably their general attitude is that we should allow the world to go to shit as peacefully as possible, rather than actually fight for it not to be shit.

TheSnootiestFox · 26/05/2022 11:50

Ownedbymycats · 26/05/2022 11:26

Perhaps you may want to enjoy your new found health rather than putting your energy into a legal battle.Things were obviously terrible for you but medical negligence cases are complex and costly.

It's not often posts on here leave me opened mouthed but just wow.

Did you not read the bit where the OP has effectively lost 17 years of her life? How is she going to get that back?

And thank you
OP for your kind words x

TirisfalPumpkin · 26/05/2022 11:52

If they keep getting sued, it will become too expensive to keep mistreating people and will have to improve. This isn’t a case of ‘we take you seriously and have diagnosed your problem correctly, but there isn’t staffing/money to fix it’ - it’s straight up neglect and fobbing off of a genuinely unwell person trying to access care.

One way or other, they should pay for OP’s op. It sounded like it was long overdue and much needed.

Suzi888 · 26/05/2022 11:53

I’d complain too. If it helps someone else from suffering the way you have. Nothing changes if we just suck it up.

However I wouldn’t do it expecting compensation as I don’t think that will happen.

Norgie · 26/05/2022 11:54

The compensation is paid by the insurers, not the NHS directly.
It has no financial bearing whatsoever on the delivery of healthcare.
I worked in that field. If the public knew how much the insurers have to pay out annually for NHS blunders, it would make them weep with embarrassment.

PaddingtonBearStareAgain · 26/05/2022 11:55

We need a different system where health care is based on how well you care for yourself a d what taxes you have paid.

wow

Original poster
shebuildsquickmachines · 26/05/2022 11:57

Norgie · 26/05/2022 11:54

The compensation is paid by the insurers, not the NHS directly.
It has no financial bearing whatsoever on the delivery of healthcare.
I worked in that field. If the public knew how much the insurers have to pay out annually for NHS blunders, it would make them weep with embarrassment.

I didn't know that

OP posts:
CornishPorsche · 26/05/2022 11:59

What did your private surgeon state was the clinical necessity for the surgery?

moose62 · 26/05/2022 12:01

My sister had the same issues and also had a private operation. She feels so much better now. A friend of mine was also put off my her doctor for 4 years. Every symptom she had, the GP put down to the menopause. She knew it wasn't and finally paid for an MRI, yes, stage 4 cancer. She is now undergoing chemo and fighting for her life and the GP apologised for ' giving her poor treatment ' what treatment, they refused to give her any! Go for it. ..even if you can only get the private op money back. The 'saintly' NHS needs to admit its failings.