To think the NHS have made me infertile and to attempt to sue them?

[outpatient]

I had a miscarriage ten weeks no bleeding heartbeat stopped I then had a d and c surgery to remove the foetus and since then my problems started,

All I've had is continual early miscarriages - which I am reading is common issue after d and c surgery due to womb scarring.

I have even had corrective surgery I paid 5k for and the early losses are continuing in the same way, I've had scans that show I had adhesions which happen after d and c, things feel different since the d and c

I'm very angry, what do I do about this I'm almost certain my issues have been caused by the d and c surgery

@Kennykenkencat I couldn't agree with your post more.

You're right it's not so much the funding of NHS this issue as it is that very few there seems to give a fuck and it's pot luck who you get and you can't switch if you're unhappy like you can private and private also has the same shady characters like the one I'm currently dealing with but I guess the good thing there is you can switch speedily to another

It is a known but rare complication of a d and c whether done privately or NHS. The problem with the news and the public slamming the NHS so much is that everyone jumps to the conclusion that when things go wrong it's because some horrible doctor/nurse didn't do their job right. I know your situation is awful and I'm so sorry but take a moment to imagine that you're the staff working in awful conditions. You're working many more hours than you should. You're missing time with your own kids. You're trying your best to deliver good care and yet you're constantly being gaslighted to think that your profession is lazy and that you're the reason a horrifically underfunded system is going down the toilet. Unless you work in it you have literally no idea how demoralising that it.

Complain by all means but you may have to accept that there is no fault and you're just unlucky. Please think very carefully about who you actually want to blame too. The complaints system is already heavily geared to put an individual at fault and avoid any suggestion of institutional failure despite the fact that institutional failure is usually the more pressing cause.

Did it mention potential complications on the consent form ? If so you may not have a case as if they’ve counselled you re the risks they have covered themselves. Can you get a copy of your medical notes to check?
I had a similar issue with the nhs but mine was a procedure I wasn’t consented to properly and they did have to apologise and pay for things to be repaired but I had proof I hadn’t been consented (was very hard to get my notes though as they withheld some deliberately). Your first step definitely needs to be getting your notes

It’s a dreadful situation to be in and I’m very sorry for your losses ❤️

If you hate the nhs why not go private? Be careful what you wish for as we are rapidly losing it.
you have conditions that also cause miscarriages even before the surgery. You aren’t even infertile. Sorry you are hurting but sometimes there’s no one to blame and I think you are projecting your hurt onto the nhs because it’s easier than dealing with the reality.

You need a diagnosis and also to demonstrate negligence has caused it. Was the risk explained beforehand? Your hospital notes should contain a copy of the consent form and risk assessment if you do not have one. Are you getting any support with the miscarriages?

@BirdyWoof thank you and I fully agree if I go down the legal route it isn't because I need the money it's because I am sick of the NHS being so shit - and I do not think it's because of money either I believe it's because of lack of accountability

If they are financially held accountable it pushes them to change and not make same mistake again otherwise how many other women will have these things happen to them?

Your booking in appointment with the midwife is only at around 8 weeks then first dating scan at 12 weeks so if the OP miscarried at 10 weeks then when was she expecting the monitoring to be done?

Also many staff there are unprofessional@allswellthatends sorry for your losses and that does give me hope actually thank you for sharing

@havingabubble I have heard a lot about Dr Shehata come up on here and professor Quenby - I am trying to decide between the two who to see next.

Has anyone seen both?

Have you tried raising a Complaint via Pals. That will get you feedback without suing, if change is your motivation.

@Herejustforthisone yes I had been told about my thyroid a few years earlier and under the consultant then just told it had naturally gone back to normal and was discharged - never told to monitor it nothing , no warning about fertility in future nothing and then when I became pregnant nothing was mentioned about this or special monitoring advised - I then few months after that loss find out my thyroid was three times higher than normal person and basically was out of control causing heart rate to be over 100 beats a minute (despite being incredibly healthy excercise regularly etc) so I feel pretty certain it cause first loss I had

Only then did google tell me it's all linked and I start to connect the dots

@FortSalem86 no suing makes people stand up Listen and change procedures

If I didn't sue nothing changes

I'm very sorry for your losses.

I'm not sure you would get very far with a claim tbh

You would have to prove negligence. A known complication is not in itself negligence.

You would need to prove they never told you the risks.

Then there's the issue of whether not having the procedure in the first place would have been more damaging in your case.

Maybe ask NHS for a gynae consultant appointment from someone who hasn’t been involved in your care to discuss.

Might also be worth checking the consent form. If it was listed as a potential risk, then you might be the terribly unlucky 1 in 250 (or whatever).

Whatever the reason, I’m so sorry for your troubles. I’ve been through both recurrent miscarriages and terrible NHS treatment for a particular issue (as well as great care for other issues) so you have my full sympathy.

I hope you’re able to get the care you need.

@ElizabethBest did not disclose it at the time as did not get asked about it - should they not at your first midwife appontment ask you if you have had thyroid conditions? Or look through your notes to see if you have?

Corrective surgery was laproscopy and hysteroscopy

@ArcticSkewer yes the issue here is that no one has spent time going through all my records to make a full summary of where we are.

Even this stupid private doctor I've paid 7k too every time I go see home asks me to summarise what he told me last time. What the fuck is that I'm paying him £150 for a 30 limonite chat he should read my effing history otherwise he isn't giving me proper advice then is he

@Buffyfan26 36 though I started this journey at 33 which I appreciate isn't going but not that old in fertility terms

@lljkk I suspect I have it.

@lljkk I paid for a private 9 week scan

To sue, you would have to show that the doctors involved did not act in accordance with a responsible body of medical opinion at the time, i.e. that basically no responsible doctor would have done a D&C, or wouldn't have done it in the way they actually did. Obviously D&Cs have been routine for ages, so you would need an expert to examine you and look at the records to see if anything went wrong during the procedure. If the reality is that they performed the procedure perfectly correctly but your problems actually arise from a rare reaction by your body, then it's unlikely you would succeed unless there are medical protocols that say doctors should test for that before performing a D&C. You would also have to weigh that risk against the risk of not having the D&C; if, for instance, it's a 0.01% chance of developing Asherman's but a 10% chance of infections caused by retained products of conception, doing the D&C would not be negligent.

You would also have to show that you actually suffered damage because of the negligence (not, for example, because you already had a pre-existing condition which is the true cause of the damage) and that it was reasonably foreseeable that that would happen. If, for instance, it was a rare complication it probably isn't reasonable foreseeable. Finally, you would have to show that you didn't accept the risk, which is where the consent form comes in.

But you get nowhere without medical evidence, and to be honest it's not worth wasting all that anger on the basis of your feeling that this could be Asherman's caused by the D&C, when the reality is that your problems could be caused by something entirely different which is nothing to do with the NHS.

@babyyodaxmas I agree I'm actually going to look at therapy thank you x

Even this stupid private doctor I've paid 7k too every time I go see home asks me to summarise what he told me last time. What the fuck is that I'm paying him £150 for a 30 limonite chat he should read my effing history otherwise he isn't giving me proper advice then is he

So the problem is not just the NHS, is it?

When I saw the word "proof" my first thought was no you don't, a civil case is decided on balance of probability. But then I remembered the definition of medical negligence, which I read on here, and it's not enough to show the procedure caused the problem, you need to show that it was done so badly that if almost anyone else had done it, you would not have had this outcome. Given infertility due to scarring is a recognised complication of the procedure, however rare, that makes it less likely you could prove negligence, as the outcome in itself is not evidence of any shortcoming.

@Justkidding55 I already am private! And have spent 7k so far to amount to nothing because the provosts doctor in seeing doesn't seem to give a shit either

OP I have had multiple D and Cs, the risks are outlined on the consent form. From your updates they also asked you if you wanted to go down the surgery route or wait for nature to take its course.

I would say it's very unlikely they did anything wrong - it is a routine procedure, and your complaint is you think it caused Asherman's. The problem is, even if it did, it is outlined as a possible but rare side effect. So, kindly, what is it you want to sue for?

I think you need an outlet for your anger and the need to have someone, anything to blame for your hand in life. I get that - life hasn't been kind to me over the years either. This is unlikely to get you the result you want though. Therapy and a proper diagnosis and a plan of action is what you should be using your energy to obtain.