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.

I would definitely complain but I can't see how you would win a compensation case. Couldn't anyone pay for a private operation and then get the NHS to pay for it in that case? A relative of mine has cancer, she went to the US and paid for an operation which the NHS do not offer. The operation extended her life. She can't sue the NHS and get them to cover the cost for it

YANBU at all but it’s challenging. I had a consultation with a clin neg solicitor after a failure to diagnose a uterine fibroid after 8 GP visits and 2 A&E attendances across 4 months meant that it grew to such an extent that I had to have a total hysterectomy at 32. Open surgery, full menopause, surgical infertility and I have very obvious disfigurement due to separation of my abdominal muscles.

The advice was that I had reasonable prospects of a sum big enough to pay off my (small) mortgage but it’d mean 2 years of litigation and I’d have to be prepared to be interrogated throughout about something incredibly traumatic. I didn’t go for it, as I decided all it would do was make the trauma worse.

It’s really hard and people will be really critical of it, as the thread shows. But I do feel at heart that what happened to me was wrong, and I’m angry nobody is responsible. I imagine you do too and I’m very sorry for what you’ve been through. Womens issues are so often dismissed by the medical profession.

I found out 2 weeks ago that my ill health over past 8 years is due to medications I've been given. The doctors and specialists have made me iller every time they've medicated me.
There are academic papers about this, but still they prescribe, even to babies.
I'm coming to terms with the fact what I have gone through was avoidable and preventable. I'm deciding whether to write to chief medical officer, copying in specialists. I don't think I can sue but I want them to know I know they are harming people.

@BattenbergdowntheHatches Factual reality is not 'top trumps'. I genuinely - genuinely, I do mean it, am sorry for what you've been through, if I could undo it for you I would; but what you describe is still very plainly a level of restoration to normal function that is never ever going to be possible for someone in my position. It is not a top trumps thing to explain this; it's a material reality. My functional ability is worse than many people in their eighties; I need 24 hour support; IVF would be utterly pointless because I couldn't safely support a pregnancy or ever care for a child even with help. I'm not invested in one upping anyone, I just want to explain that being failed by the NHS for literally decades isn't something that can be repaid. Several of the people who contributed substantially to my missed and misdiagnoses and to medical abuse, are now dead.

I support litigation to some extent in the aftermath of a death due to negligent care. I don't think it's absolutely never okay. But people claiming on this thread that it will somehow teach the NHS a lesson are absolutely kidding themselves.

All you can ever really do is come to terms with what's happened, for yourself.

@BattenbergdowntheHatches I am truly so sorry for what you've been through. I care more about that than the details of an argument. No one should be harmed by health 'care'.

@BattenbergdowntheHatches thank you, and wishing you the same.

From my own experience I’m not sure complaints are useful as I’m not convinced the are used to improve future care (at least not for those who I know). I sadly think litigation has more impact and it would be worth chatting you case through with a solicitor

It's not underfunded and they've just had their debt written off. Poorly run is why it's on its knees and £7k rebate won't make a single bit of difference. You should absolutely be seeking compensation and don't for one minute let people try and make you feel guilty. It's not for you to fix the mess they've made. We pay for the NHS and it has not served you. It's actively made you worse which is neglectful.

If you pursue a clinical negligence case using a specialist solicitor, your medical nodes will be examined by an independent expert which you may find helpful in explains your lack of treatment even if it does not lead to financial compensation.

@Ninspeedles its not just one 7k though is it? If 1000’s of people started claiming for compensation then it would all add up. Yes we pay towards the NHS in taxes but hardly anything.Yes the NHS can be shit at times, but I feel extremely thankful that I don’t have to pay for every doctors appointment, test, operation and hospital admission that I need.

If the NHS can't deliver the healthcare its supposed to, then the people who are harmed as a result should get compensation. I don't see how that's contentious or up for debate. OP isn't asking for ridiculous amounts of compensation, she just shouldn't be out of pocket.
I think if there was a poll, the majority would think we should pay more towards the NHS. Even people who have private healthcare use it.

At the moment very sad. Having spent the last year having treatment for breast cancer, had a lot to be sad about.

I work in the nhs and I would complain. Thyroid issues are notoriously fobbed off. Or I should say, every woman I know with thyroid issues in the last few years pre- pandemic have been fobbed off. I had a family
member in similar circumstances and they got treated in the states. Their GP had a tantrum they’d been shown up. But they had a diagnosis and treatment that was now working. They felt like a new person too.

Not sure why it’s considered a moral obligation to put up, shut up and accept whatever shit is dished out to you.

God forbid she cost the NHS the money they would have spent on not treating someone else.

It’s not about put up and shut up. NICE guidelines are rigid and dictate all areas of treatment policy and prescribing of drugs within the NHS. The private sector does not have to comply to NICE guidelines so are able to provide a much more patient led service. In both cases it’s all about money.
You can probably find a private practitioner to carry out almost any elective surgery you want, that’s how cosmetic surgery works. Whether it is ethical or morally right, or clinically necessary is very much up for debate.
Proving negligence, which is the only reason OP would be award any financial compensation is incredibly difficult when looking at 17 year treatment period. It would involve a large number of doctors and institutions and is likely to take many years.
Indemnity insurers are taking a much harder line with claims currently, medical negligence solicitors have relied on the tendency for indemnity firms to avoid expensive court cases and settle out of court with no blame arrangement ( they pay the claimant but accept the surgeon has done nothing wrong) basically paying off the lower claims to go away. It’s easy money for the solicitors involved.
I am not suggesting that the OP doesn’t seek reparation but that she be prepared for a very long wait.

@Angrymum22

I am sorry to hear that but that doesn't make it ok that you said such an unnecessary and mean thing to me.

However I do hope you make a speedy recovery.

Yes I'm in a group for women who suffer with thyroid issues and sadly my sort of experience is very very common -
It's absolutely shit

It tends to be a predominantly female issue - all of the doctors and consultants I saw during my years of being poorly were male ...just an observation

Also I just wanted to say that some posters have asked about any medication I was given or offered

I was NEVER ONCE offered anything to try and help me 😞 I did ask and was fobbed off

My bloods consistently showed hyperthyroidism which gradually worsened.

What levels were your bloods showing though?

Were they within the criteria in England for treatment, or were they considered normal? If they were considered normal, you've no hope of compensation.

What was your diagnosis from the specialist you paid for the treatment? Why did they say it was clinically necessary to undergo that treatment?

This will be the entire basis for any claim, so you need to have all that information to hand when you see a lawyer.

Sorry but I wasn’t being mean just honest. I have been part of an online support group for breast cancer and have witnessed just how much people want to blame someone or something for their health issues. Unfortunately most cancers and chronic conditions are just down to bad luck. Hyperthyroidism is one of those conditions. As someone who has suffered from endocrine problems since my early 20s I understand your frustration but the endocrine system is very complicated and often it’s a fine balancing act trying to treat it.
No one has been able to explain to me exactly why my hormones are not quite right but it has impacted my life in so many ways. I decided many years ago to just live with it. I accepted that I am just not a “Joe Average” and no amount of blood tests and treatment will make me normal. It’s quite possible the breast cancer is a result of my dodgy pituitary as was my weird thyroid. But it is no one’s fault. It just is what it is. I have given up trying to find a reason, I have chosen life over spending the rest of my time trying to find a “cure”.
By all means Perdue the NHS but just be prepared for years of waiting. Alternatively, get on with enjoying your new found healthy. You have no idea what’s round the corner, and the next mountain awaiting you is menopause.
Time is priceless don’t waste it looking back.

I'm sorry to hear that.

However it was a shitty thing to say. Own it.

Thanks @HesterShaw1

It did really hurt me as I've always felt so crap for not having a career and always having done the menial sort of work that some people look down on. If I was in full health I know for a fact I'd have "done better" in my life by now

But hopefully my new(ish) business that I absolutely love will take off and I'll finally be able to feel proud of what I've achieved.
And hopefully continue to have decent health