To effectively sue the nhs :/

[HarriwithanI]

This is mega outing with my name and condition, If you know me please respect my privacy.
I work for the nhs but also been neglected massively.

after 10 days in the hospital I work in I lost all feeling from my hips down (couldn’t feel when I needed to wee or walk) was told it was my mental health and functional. Blue lighted to a specialist hospital turns out ecuda equida and basically I’m extremely lucky not to be paralysed.

WWYD? Feel so let down and when at a low emotionally and physically time everything was put down to weight and mental health when it was something that could’ve been/is seriously life changing. I don’t want it happen to anyone else

This sounds so traumatic and similar to what happened with my Mum. She was misdiagnosed and it was blamed on her mental health (grief after caring for her dying brother) when in fact it was cauda equina.

Despite surgical intervention (after she pushed and pushed) she remains numb from the waist down.
For those commenting saying it sounds like you got the treatment you need, lucky your not paralysed etc, they really should look more into what cauda equina is and the impact it has on quality of life.

Losing sensation of the saddle area can impact toileting and sexual sensations for life, which has a huge impact on physical and mental well-being.

OP, every case is different and you need to first focus on your recovery but keep notes on everything. Request your records. Keep a time line clear for you.

My Mum did end up in court with the NHS using a no win no fee solicitor and she won with a 6 figure payout. It was a very lengthy process though and very intrusive tests, she was also followed by investigators the NHS had hired to see if she really was as disabled as she said she was. It was very tiring for her.

There is tort in UK law.

The OP doesn't know of any long term effects.

I'd want a debrief once everything has calmed down. You are allowed to go over your notes with the medical professionals who have dealt with your admission and surgery etc. Raise it with PALS and see where it takes you.
You may feel different when you have some questions answered.

Some posters need to realise the NHS can make mistakes. The OP did eventually get the right treatment but not in the correct manner and could be left with serious long term effects. How does the OP not know what those few extra days cost them? What about the impact on their mental health? Clearly even failing NHS services can't be criticised - which means they won't be improved.

There really is tort law in the UK.

Yours, an actual tort lawyer 🙄

The NHS is a business <---- if it makes mistakes, it pays for them. That's how they learn to do better next time.

Pretty much all of this is wrong. Why would you just make some crap up and post it as if you know what you’re talking about?

Basically the nhs needs to understand that not everything is because your fat and not everything is because you have previously struggled with your mental health

So people should suffer life changing injuries and just suck it up? Ok then 🙄

I’m sure you wouldn’t be saying shit happens, move on if you were misdiagnosed for 10 days for a condition that is treatable (within 24 hours usually). You then spend the rest of your life being unable to hold in a fart and never getting it up again.
Aye, shit happens move on.

she’s not taking money directly from the nhs when she sues, the doctors have insurance to practice.

The insurance does not fund compensation claims. Every penny comes out of the nhs budget so puts further strain on the nhs

but that isn’t the case for the op. Costs should be covered, profit shouldn’t be made, ever

I think you would be fair to put a complaint in via PALS but if you are not suffering any long term effects then I don't think you would win a litigation case.

I also think it may be difficult to prove that their delay in treating you for it is the cause of any ongoing problems. Cauda Equina is serious and can result in long term problems even if treated immediately. The other thing would be did they highlight any risks to the surgery. Because they may argue that any injury was caused by this rather than the original problem.

Deciding symptoms are likely a result of stress/mental health issues/‘functional’ should ONLY EVER be done once all relevant tests have been carried out to rule out a physical cause.

In this case there was a huge red flag that cauda equina could be a possibility and that you be had be left paralysed for life, OP.

You NEED to take this up with the hospital one way or the other. They have been negligent and probably discriminatory as well.

They need to learn from this to make sure they don’t put other patients in danger. What happens if they dismiss the next patient’s chest pains as ‘stress’ or ‘anxiety’ and the person is actually having a heart attack? Or somebody loses feeling and movement in an arm and leg and they immediately conclude it’s ‘functional’ without testing for stroke? And then the person misses the window for treatment which can limit damage from the stroke.

It’s scary that you can be in a hospital and have actual medical staff fail to consider serious physical conditions. They need to learn and change. This won’t happen if you don’t at least complain. And if you are left with ANY long-term damage they should compensate you for their incompetence.

I hope you recover well and completely.

If you have been left with long term/permanent bowel/urinary problems due to a delay in surgery like a friend of mine then yes, sue. 5 years on she still can’t have a poo or wee.

if no long term issues then I’d just complain because I’d want the staff who missed it to be made aware for their future knowledge.

So you couldn't walk or wee for 10 days? Sorry, your timeline is confusing.

I agree that a debrief might be the most helpful thing for you now.

We don't have all the information - we only have what you have said, post-op, and I'm not sure that's enough to make a judgement.

Best wishes for your recovery.

Ridiculous, rude, spiteful post.

Sorry but you wont be able to sue them, you wouldnt win with that argument as you havent lost anything and your health hasnt significantely suffered as a result. They DID diagnose you eventually and you had the surgery which i presume went well.

Im sorry but i think your just trying whatever you can to rinse them but it wouldnt work in this case.

Although i would make some serious complaints.

None of that is known at the moment. The op may well be absolutely fine now, but she wouldn't be able to bring a claim for some time until the long term prognosis is clear. However she may want to obtain and review the medical records in the meantime as they do go missing on occasion and sometimes have incorrect information recorded.

I would definitely report to PALS. Very unlikely to be successful in suing though unless you have long term implications which require you to pay to support yourself ie living aids due to it, or loss of earnings as you can no longer continue on your career path.

You can tell from the language and terminology the American posters on here encouraging to sue!

I have been through very similar recently. I had red flags 8 weeks before being listened to. First I was unable to move without excruciating pain - literally stranded on a dining chair in the middle of the lounge, yet advised by 111 to stay in bed as comfortable as I could. I am a breastfeeding mother and they prescribed tramadol and advised me not to feed baby for 8 hours after taking it! I got by with rotating ibuprofen and paracetamol and self referred to physio and called the GP. GP gave me an appointment 5 weeks later and I had to contact the breastfeeding support network for painkiller advice before they prescribed something suitable over the phone. I muddled by, looking after my young baby and older child until my physio appointment. She advised it was not nerve pain and I should build up my exercise, including cycling. By now I had regular bilateral sciatica and numbness. 2 weeks later I saw GP. He saw I couldn't lift my leg on the examining table so referred me to MSK. This should have been a serious red flag. 2 days later I couldn't move for pain. I had to call my mum to help me with baby, back to the dining chair as couldn't move. Home visit GP refused to come and told me to call 999. 999 raised priority of call due to red flags. Paramedics reluctantly drove me to the hospital where I stayed on ambulances for 5 hours before being seen by Doctor. Doctor prodded me a bit and gave me 2 paracetamol and said he would "mobilise me in 2 hours" and I was taken on a wheelchair to wait by myself in the a+e waiting area. Seen a couple of hours later by a different doctor who requested a urine retention test, which I was made to walk to the toilet and back in excruciating pain, and examination of back passage. I failed both these tests. Next seen by an orthopaedic doctor, who wanted to do the same tests but I said no, it had already been done. Advised I would be sent home and called back next day for MRI and told to go nil by mouth. I wasn't sent home (couldn't have got in the car anyway) and at 6am they opened the MRI for me. After the scan the radiologist told me not to walk, and it turned out I had a huge herniated disc pressing on my spinal cord. After 20 hours since ambulance arrived I was rushed into surgery for decompression, discectomy and microdiscectomy for cauda equina. I was so relieved to be listened to, and walking pain free the next day. Recovery has been hard, no lifting, bending or twisting for 12 weeks (with a baby at home!) but I am getting there slowly and seem to have no long term effects. I am still in two minds to complain but at the same time so grateful to have finally been heard.

Hope your surgery was successful and you are recovering well

Your timeline is a little confusing, were you in hospital for 10 days because of pain in your back ? They dismissed this as MH related or due to weight but still kept you in ? Then on day 10 you developed the loss of sensation and were unable to walk and pass urine ? or were those symptoms present during the whole of the admission ?

I would begin by wanting a discussion and explanation.

I'd also want an apology but you may as well ask for a rainbow farting unicorn because apologising would mean accepting responsibility.

I'd want to know what they plan to do differently in future to ensure other people are not dismissed like you were.