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

@LIZS that's the issue he charges me £150 to speak to me. I'd rather have a text which I don't mind but I would just prefer it to be explained in more detail that's all. Or an email - I don't mind having things in writing but just be pleasant in it is what I'm saying especially after the money I've paid him if that makes sense

I think any communication needs to be taken with care and if the consultant is doing this outside hours or whatever it is they should moderate.

If it’s just their normal style it’s not great. I don’t know if you’d want to see someone else at this point, I understand if you’ve had enough, but maybe ask for recommendations.

I don’t think you are unpleasant as in pp but you are understandably sad and frustrated

Also, if you see from the texts he says the results don't change anything so what was the point of them then - to extort more money? Because I knew I had a miscarriage I didn't need a blood test to tell me this.

The blood tests were £150 on top of £150 to talk for half hour

I don't think the medical world can help OP.

You will have signed a disclaimer before surgery which explained the risks. People have bad results from surgery all the time. Some people even die during surgery. You don’t get compensation because it went wrong! You would have to prove negligence and that’s unlikely.

I had a c section and the surgeon cut a nerve which led to permanent numbness, it can’t be fixed, and I can’t sue because it comes under “unfortunate things that can happen which aren’t due to negligence just bad luck”. Sorry you’re upset but a bad outcome isn’t necessarily negligence.

Very sorry OP. I havent read all the posts on here as it has alot of responses. But all i wanted to say is that you being certain that your issues have been caused by the surgery may not be enough. I would encourage you to get evidence to show a causation between the surgery and your miscarriages. It could be difficult to argue because you did have a miscarriage before the surgery so the NHS could argue that this was an issue before you had the surgery. Unless you can medically prove that the first miscarriage and the other miscarriages are not related and show how the other ones were specifically linked to the surgery.

I was also wondering why you were not aware of the risks of the surgery ? did the NHS not advice you to the risks before hand ? if that is the case i would also use that to sue.

Goodluck

I definitely think you should speak to a different private specialist. That text consultation is disgusting to be quite frank. I know you said you are happy for these things to be in writing but it would be better to have a phone call so you can ask questions more freely and they can't fob you off with answers so short and blunt.
And take up the pelvic scan on NHS, it will be in their protocol for referral to have one done within a certain time frame. I know it seems like a waste of time but if you can get a more up to date one it will give them a clearer picture of what's going on. I really do hope you get some answers soon and that you explore some therapy to try and help you deal with the emotional suffering from all of this. Take care x8

@Schlaar Im a little confused ? how is it not negligence that the surgeon cut a nerve? unless this was part of the c section process ?

The consent form doesn't cover malpractice! If you are infertile due to poor work etc then you need to take it further, find a no win no fee lawyer and talk it through with them.

NHS is def not infallible. My dad suffered oxygen starvation during a heart op - he went in walking, driving etc and came out double incontinent with vascular dementia.

My hubby died because he caught mrsa from the surgeons skin. It's appalling that infection is a risk, it is if the person cutting into you has a disease which is completely prevenable.

A friends child was put on anti Ds at a young age, it messed up their hormones, caused them not to develop sexually.

And the worst thing is the nhs is completely defensive even if its a pharmaceutical that's at fault.

Don't get me wrong, properly managed the nhs would be brilliant, but it hasn't been brilliant for many years due to successive tory government's from MT onwards. It git a little reprieve when we had a labour government, and no doubt all those same tory voters will cry when it's fully killed off.

The midwife will have asked about your past medical history - this is where you volunteer the information about your thyroid problem. Healthcare staff don’t go through every single body system to painstakingly extract information out of you.

I take about 30 patients histories a day in my job - I ask the PMH question and hundreds of them say “no, no medical problems” and then when I ask my next question about Drug History, they turn out to be on 17 different medications - in those cases I can quickly catch that there is obviously some PMH - by saying “Mrs Smith, you said no PMH but you’re on quite a few cardiac drugs, and some used for Diabetes, steroids and some inhalers” - and they say “Oh yeah, I had a heart attack in 2017, I almost died, I’ve got COPD and heart failure and I’m a type 2 Diabetic”.

The onus is on you to disclose your PMH when asked. Tell them everything, and the clinician will decided what is relevant to the consultation that you’re having that day. You don’t need to try and discern the relevance yourself and hold bits back.

Because you can’t see nerves and their anatomical location is slightly different in everyone, the surgeon will know where they are generally and avoid those, but if it was a crash section whether either mother or babies life was at immediate risk then preservation of life comes before preservation of nerves!

That isn't what a booking in appt is about Tho. They ASK YOU about your medical history, if you're related to the father, if you're safe at home, if you've had prior pregnancies etc. They aren't applying to all the local hospitals for medical records.

It sounds like the first miscarriage was no ones fault, but I do get its easier to point a finger and say well the midwife should have stopped it, someone should have and someone should be to blame because I hurt!

The subsequent issues with your womb, I think it's v much about "is this a known risk, in which case did you sign it off?" . From your comments, it sounds like this . Pals should be your first point of call to see what you signed.

Or are you saying "the Dr did something different in the procedure - something wrong - that has caused this specific damage and he/she is specifically guilty of causing me harm"

This won’t make a difference op.the people that need to make a change won’t.the people who should care don’t.the people with the money won’t.
it’s a failed service all around.and the worse it gets the more trouble it gets into.recruiting people who should never be in this profession in the first place.rope to abuse,mislead and or harm.this is where our health system is now.on its knees and not fit for purpose.but your too small im afraid.going after them won’t help.because when they do have is bigwigs on their side and they will have the money to put a stop to anything you have.sorry

@kateandme what drivel! My husband is a nurse and your comment is downright offensive!

I agree with @kateandme, I’m a HCP and aiming to leave. Just because someone works in healthcare doesn’t mean they’re a good person & it doesn’t mean they’re good at their job. Two of my colleagues over the years have been convicted of sexual assault on patients and the HCPC, who’ll strike you off for drink driving, let one of them back on the register.

Another colleague caused serious harm to two patients in a three week period and the HCPC said there was no case to answer. They falsified patients notes for those two patients. Then the NHS gave them a promotion to deputy team lead & every Monday morning they disappeared. They should have been doing a clinic with me but they’d cross it out in the diary. The office would ring the clinic to check they were in every single Monday morning but the manager was too weak to deal with it so this man had every Monday morning and sailed in after lunch. Nice work if you can get it.

Sorry OP for your troubles but it's a well known risk with D&C - there is no way of knowing for definitive that it is the cause of your subsequent miscarriages and if you have confirmed thyroid issues then that is more likely the cause. I'd request a referral to a miscarriage clinic but the risk of a D&C are started on the forms

You're angry and that is completely understandable. You've had a tough time from the start and I do think early pregnancy care is quite heartless/uncaring. I imagine it's a protective mechanism for themselves to not "feel" every loss but it's hard when they're so unsympathetic you Kind of feel abandoned emotionally.

I'm no doctor, but I really think your body needs a break, if you'd had surgery in your leg and was having pain and bleeding and it kept giving way you wouldn't keep trying to run marathons. Could you just give yourself a year, no hormonal contraception, use condoms and just let your uterus get some normality and rest? And give your brain a rest too from the stress and anger and anxiety.

You should have tried to have found somewhere that does vacuum aspiration instead of D&C as it’s less risky and invasive, this is what I was going to do but didn’t end up needing it in the end as it was an early miscarriage with no remains. I found this out though because I researched myself. You need to research risks to these things yourself. You have internet access.

I’m sorry your offended.I’m glad your dp is a good one. But my comment still stands.and it is worsening by the current crisis.the lack of care,funding,time,too many gaps to fall into and for people to take advantage of.it is on the increase and often in the sectors of the most vulnerable.

I am really sorry for what you’re going through. Are there any medications you can take to improve your womb lining like progesterone? I’m not sure how likely that is to help but it might be worth speaking to a gynaecologist about medications…

@BirdyWoof actually your argument is flawed because the comment about pensioners living in poverty was directed at the op complaining about the government putting money into pensions. Not that if the op sued the NHS pensioners would live in poverty. Re-read the comment from op further up.

You had options, you chose the D and C. Without this your possible risks would have included sepsis. Considering you've had a loss you can't blame your fertility struggles on this procedure. Try and get your thyroid levels under control and get an appointment with the recurrent losses clinic.

Maybe you should speak to solicitors working in the area (medical negligence?)? They would be able to advise you if your options. I'm so sorry that you are in this position.

I haven't RTFT, but just wanted to say that I highly recommend Dr Shehata. I had multiple unexplained miscarriages, 2 of them missed and requiring medical management and my treatment by some doctors and nurses was both negligent and unsympathetic at times. I was getting nowhere with the NHS after exhausting their available tests. I had loads more tests with the miscarriage clinic and results were still inconclusive, but Dr Shehata's approach is very positive 'we will get to the bottom of this' and we just tried a few things that he felt might help (unlike the NHS doctors who just kept telling me I was just unlucky.) I ended up with a very health little boy. It cost me about £6k in the end, but it was totally worth it. I'm now actually a mother of 4 and feel like the treatments I had somehow 'reset' my fertility.

Surgery is not an exact science. There are a number of possible risks. The surgeon could nick the bladder or bowel. They could nick the baby. You could develop an infection or lose a lot of blood, or react badly to the anaesthetic. Your future fertility could be affected and you could suffer losses. Or as in my case, the surgeon could cut a nerve resulting in numbness. None of these outcomes are negligence - they are risks of what could happen even under the best circumstances with the best surgeon.

D&C is the same. Like any procedure it carries risks - and it’s not negligence if one of those risks happens. Hence why they ask you to sign a disclaimer saying you know these things could happen but you choose to go ahead anyway.