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

[shebuildsquickmachines]

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.

Firstly you need to complain via the proper channels in the NHS, then if you do not achieve the result you want, approach a firm specialising in medical negligence, e.g. Irwin Mitchell 'no win no fee' or similar.

They won't take on a case they have no hope of winning, so will be able to advise you accordingly on the possible outcomes.

NHS Resolutions is a body set up to consider and defend claims.

There's no reason not to pursue this, as lessons are often learnt better when payouts are involved.

Complaining and seeking compensation are two separate actions. You can complain to the trust and receive an apology. In order to receive compensation you need to instruct a medical negligence solicitor. It is unlikely that negligence can be proved since your treatment was conservative not negligent.
All surgery involves risk, thyroid surgery is extremely high risk. I had a hemithyroidectomy but I only agreed to it when the cyst nodules in my thyroid became unstable and the risk of suffocation outweighed the risk of permanent nerve damage due to surgery.
You had elective surgery which fortunately resulted in a positive outcome. If your thyroid nodules had been life threatening they would have removed your thyroid years ago. This is the defence the indemnity will use. You will find it difficult to find an expert who would argue against this.

I just don’t know how far you’d get. 🤷‍♀️ It is awful that you’ve had to pay for surgery which seems to be so medically indicated but maybe you didn’t meet some nhs criteria/cut off for how bad things need to be.

I sympathise. I’ve been in daily pain for 4 years and hobble around like an old woman due to an ankle issue which the nhs could not give a fuck about. Their attitude is that if it’s ok if I don’t walk anywhere just don’t walk anywhere.

@Getoff Utterly ridiculous and offensive. Some of us have incurable, lifelong, devastating medical problems and disabilities that require 24 hour support. You have no idea how much the NHS has harmed me or what they've done. However I am also aware of what those who work in it go through, and that actually trying to sue won't directly affect or 'get back at' the people who personally did me harm. Some of those who did are dead now.

Your understanding of medical trauma is callow and pathetic and your post is shameful.

Sorry for your troubles OP and I'm glad you are feeling better. I think though, that it's not the NHS itself you should be angry at, it's our elected government who has underfunded it for so long. Sueing the NHS won't solve this problem.

This. I even worked with a consultant who recommended suing. I don’t like it - professionals make mistakes and we’re all human - but I can see his point. It was a faulty simple thing.

Not enough money - wards understaffed - patients get pressure sores.

Patients sue, costs management money, they increase staffing to reduce pressure sores and save money.

I’d prefer politicians prioritised healthcare over their mate’s businesses, their bloated expenses and their hoarded wealth, but if they won’t, then we need to make it more expensive for them to provide substandard care. Which means suing. I don’t know if I could, but I can see why people might.

I’ve sued (and won!). It’s very simple but takes quite a time. I had a no-win no-fee solicitor. They got all my hospital notes and did all the leg work. After an initial face to face with my solicitor everything was dealt with by email. The NHS settled out of court and covered all my costs. As previously mentioned by another poster the NHS doesn’t pay out of their funds, it’s covered by their insurance.

Just enjoy your health and leave the nhs alone. What's happened has happened money grabbing isn't going to change anything.

Glad it was straightforward in your case. In many it isn't and can go on for years.

To complain and get any form of compensation, you'd need to evidence that there was a huge blunder in that your consultant didn't follow strict policies for treatment.

Anything less than that, you'll get at best an apology.

Medicine is not an exact science. Sometimes errors are made. Its a real shame for those at the end of it, but doesn't justify automatic compensation.

You need to start looking at your notes, nice guidance, endocrinology policies and recommendations and try to see if you can identify a major cockup.

YANBU. Provision for thyroid problems in the NHS is really terrible, and I've always suspected that it's because it is mainly women who are affected. A friend of mine has had her health significantly prejudiced by ridiculous prescribing policies.

However, I doubt that you will be able to sue, just because it is so complex proving negligence and what failures have caused what damage. But it could certainly be worth entering a formal complaint and taking it to the ombudsman.

PS: the NHS doesn't have to justify that a patient was better after private care and the care should therefore had to be provided by the NHS. There are many treatments that make patients better that is not available on the NHS or not as quickly.

Speak to Irwin Mitchell. I've never had to use them, but they have built a solid reputation over the years.

Thyroid issues are not fun. They should be easily diagnosable, and easily treatable. With externally obvious physical symptoms and a family history, there's no excuse for being ignored.

It’s not immoral to sue the nhs if they have caused harm due to neglect of their duties.

If they are sued, they will be incentivised to improve their practice - thus providing better care to future patients.

YANBU OP, they need to be told how to improve otherwise they will get worse and worse.

We are conditioned to think that the NHS are heroes and that governments past present and future are to blame for its decaying state.

The truth is that’s all a smoke screen to hide the fact that it’s run so badly and that there are people in charge and making decisions who care more about finances than they do peoples lives.

Don’t get me wrong, not every trust and every department or practice is run like that and we are lucky to have it at all, but when you’ve experienced just what a shitshow it really is under the bonnet it just makes you question everything about it.

But as with anything, the more you claim the more insurance premiums rise. So it isn’t cost free to NHS.

So what we're saying now is that it's OK for NHS workers to make mistakes and blunders because they're underfunded & underpaid?

I'm not paid enough in my job either, but if I balls up I can and would be sued. Why should the saintly NHS not be sued if this woman has lost 17 years of her life?

Our family GP (at the time) misdiagnosed my relative, didn't refer her for the tests she needed. Said she was "too young" to have a breast lump investigated.

She went on to her her children and the lump grew - GP still said it was fatty tissue.

Turned out to be breast cancer, followed by secondary cancer in her brain and we lost her at 35.

No money can bring her kids their mum back, her husband will never have his wife back, we miss her every single day.. but if I was her NOK I would have been lodging a very public claim on that GP to make sure she never, ever dismissed younger woman's problems ever again.

Her husband, understandly hadn't the capacity to do this in the aftermath of her death as well as bringing up their young family.

My biggest regret is not taking this on on his behalf.

Sue the NHS OP and I hope the money you get brings you some quality of life.

It doesn't matter whether the NHS pay compensation out of insurance or not.

The NHS have avoided paying for the necessary treatment for 17 years. They are quids in. It's not increasing the cost for everyone else if they saved money by not providing the treatment. It's money they should have paid already to deliver the treatment.

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

Wow. What a truly ignorant and disgusting attitude.

YANBU to complain and/or sue, OP.

I just want to say it’s not always about the NHS though. I lived abroad for a time in a country with excellent healthcare. I paid to go privately as I was in agony and it turned out I had a 7cm cyst in one ovary and stage 4 endometriosis: I paid him so much money and his advice was “meh, see how it is in a few months”.

I moved back to the UK and saw a (admittedly private) doctor here. Within 2 months I had had an operation, he was so angry about the medical advice given and I was thankfully fine and have children. But almost certainly if this had continued and I had followed the medical advice I would have been unable to have children.

I contacted this doctor and his response was “pfft, we have great IVF in this country and you’re young/I didn’t know maintaining fertility was a concern for you”.

my point is this = as in every profession, there are lazy and shit doctors. Arrogant doctors. The problem is the knock on effect is so much bigger with a doctor. If you sue the NHS you won’t get the doctor in question in trouble; you will just take money from the system.

from a personal perspective it will be exhausting and fruitless for you as medical negligence cases are exceptionally difficult to win, because the system needs to be protected, otherwise doctors would be afraid of treating people.

The state of the NHS and the way some HCPs act as gatekeepers of healthcare is making me really worked up lately. I have just had a bloody massive tax bill (a lot more than £7000) some of which of course is increased national insurance contributions. So many seem to think that healthcare is free and we should be damn grateful every time we manage to get some of it. No, we/I pay a lot for the NHS. Too right I expect to not have to fight and battle for every last thing. And yes I expect my surgery to offer FTF appointments now, rather than having a three week wait for a five minute phone consultation, and then two more weeks if they deem my issue worthy of actual attention.

Slight deraily rant, but I would definitely raise a complaint.

Sorry for shocking you to that extent and you must be rather sensitive. After a 17 yr battle with illness I think the op should be cognisant of how difficult and stressful a medical negligence claim is.That's all.

This is my thinking

As others have said, this was 17 years out of my life affected negatively. The years between 25 and 42, the time should have been building a career. Instead - I've worked part time in shitty menial jobs and sometimes not at all. I have now started a business which is going okay and I also have a part time job alongside that as a carer. But I have not got a career and probably never will have now. and I've spent way to much time feeling sick and exhausted.

You need a specialist claimant lawyer. Not sure where you are based but Julia Hurstfield at Pannone and partners is very good.

if you’re not in the north, look in an online directory called chambers and partners or legal 500 - you want claimant clinical negligence in your area and this will list good firms

you might find you can get legal expenses insurance cover via your household insurance policy but they may not let you choose your own lawyer. Otherwise you can take out a policy to cover the cost of your fees (the lawyer will advise you re this) and if successful claim back the cost from the nhs later on

I had a fractured kneecap (sustained while running down a mountain) put down to the menopause. It healed badly, because guess what? I got no treatment because I was menopausal and could just expect these things to happen. Now I need arthroscopy to tidy it up (not just a pretendy no-purpose arthroscopy but to remove a particularly large and painful fragment easily viewed by MRI) and will probably have to pay to go private. I was told to stop doing weight bearing exercise.

The real joke? I'm not even bloody menopausal!

Anyway, I looked into using a no-win no-fee solicitor to sue for the failure to diagnose the fractured kneecap correctly for months, and none of them would take it on, because its too difficult to prove that any other doctor wouldn't have done the same thing and because the ultimate outcome would have been the same. No win, no fee solicitors will only take on very easy to win cases, preferably where there has been an apology by the NHS.

PALS were useless in my case.

But pursue it by all means OP, contacting NWNF solicitors to ask if they will take it on will cost you nothing.