AIBU to sue the NHS for medical negligence in which my Dad died.

[Fedupofdiets]

My beloved Dad died last year from multi-organ failure due to sepsis and DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis) in an NHS hospital. We had take him to hospital with a deteriorating foot wound secondary to his diabetes and staff failed to spot the signs of sepsis and also failed to do a blood test and discharged him home despite a high blood sugar reading and known cardiac issues. He was readmitted 2 day later as he deteriorated and died from multi organ failure. I raised a complaint which then turned into an investigation from which I had the report in November. I have only recently been able to bring myself to read it - they admit that had had they treated him on the first admission there is a chance his death could have been avoided (the report is very long and very technical but I am a HCP so understand what happened).

I have contacted a Solicitor and given the info they have said that there is evidence that would support a claim of litigation against the trust. I am however in two minds whether to pursue it, on one hand I don't want to add to my pain (I will be the driving force behind the claim my siblings do not know although my Mother fully supports it). The other part of me wants my Fathers name on their lips - he was in his 60s and did not deserve to die alone without his family due to their negligence. My Mother is also working FT in a minimum wage care job (70 this year) and hell yes any money would be great for her.

So my question is WWYD leave it be or pursue a claim?

Then you’re part of the problem. You not only do nothing yourself, but you berate people for saying the care isn't good enough. How dare you say how shit it is, then come on here and complain about people saying how shit it is.

if people arent allowed to question it and say enough is enough, then nothing will ever change.

funding is one thing. People not doing their jobs is still an problem. People using sick leave like an extension of holiday leave is a problem. Poor management is a problem. Unusable systems for patients are a problem.

They made a mistake. A man died. To many of these mistakes are being made. You're heartless.

Yes I'd put my claim in. They need to be held accountable.

@ArnieLinson and you work in the NHS do you? Or do you just sit in your ivory tower and say what you think you can see?

How dare you say I'm part of the problem? I'm literally working in services trying to improve things without any additional funding to do so. What are you doing about it? I spend my working days battling to make things better for patients by redesigning services, looking at how waiting lists can be reduced etc. that's my JOB. I'm pretty sure that I'm doing a damn site more than 99.9% out there.

I won't be replying to you any further as I have better things to do than argue with someone who knows f all about what I do

I empathise with staff, I am one of those staff (although I do not work in the acute thankfully). I have have had very few dealings with the acute setting up until this point and what I saw was shocking, I have repeatedly said that staff are too busy to care (as in carry out the care needed to a good standard). It is a sad state of affairs indeed but that does not bring back my Dad. I wish I could tell him how sorry I am for not shouting louder I am just as angry with myself as I am at the system sadly 😔

Why was his diabetes poorly controlled? How could it have been controlled better?

@Fairyliz I don't know the answer to that, he was under a diabetic specialist, had seen dieticians, his practice nurse, specialist nurses yet his regime just never seemed to really stabilise for any good length of time. He could go from a high BM to a hypo within hours. His diabetic control does not warrant the neglect though does it?

I would claim, will it help the system No, but it will help your DM to not have to worry about having no money in later life and maybe have the retirement your DF would want,

My 88 year old diabetic father in law died after being taken into hospital as his foot turned black overnight. They kept saying they were operating the next day, for 4 days, so he hardly ate anything. We spoke to him on the phone one afternoon as we were away that weekend, he sounded on good form, the next morning at 6am we got a call to say he had deteriorated overnight and to get there asap, he died at 10 am before we could get there. He was looked after whilst in hospital so we can’t complain, but maybe had they operated sooner, he may have lived a bit longer.

Are they not insured against paying out for negligence? I’m not sure it comes out of the same pot as the wages etc.

I agree in lots of cases care is appalling especially for the elderly and there are a small minority of uncaring staff. But Ive been in the NHS 40 years and it’s completely broken. The Kings Fund were on the radio last year basically from 2009 to 2018 the amount of money given to the NHS fell in real terms but the number of patients requiring treatment went up and more people are living with chronic health conditions and then add into this the mess that is our failing social care system, you don’t have to have a maths degree to understand why the NHS is basically bankrupt. People bang on about too many managers or staff off sick but the cost of this this is a drop in the ocean compared with the medical expenses of treating millions and millions of patients each year and the cost of elderly people occupying acute beds because there is no care in the community for them.
Corridor care is not the fault of the staff on the ground nobody wants to care for people in corridors but if there aren’t any beds available on wards but patients are still coming in the door what are staff to do?
Many staff are utterly demoralised many are stressed and unhappy, in my extensive experience most of us want to care for our patients properly we believe in what the NHS stands for free quality health care for all we are trying our best to do a good job but this is becoming increasingly impossible. We are abused and blamed for patients in corridors, noisy patients keeping others awake, waiting lists cancellations but you are blaming the wrong people we work in the system we do not create it.
OP by all means sue but your dream that your fathers name will be on the lips of those who let him down is unlikely as others have said it’s likely that many will have moved on and it will al be dealt with by lawyers the staff involved will probably know nothing about it. As an HCP you probably already know this. I also understand that you want procedures changed this may have already happened possibly because of what happened to your father but procedures change all the time in light of new research, so you may not get the outcomes that you hope for. I’m not saying don’t sue I’m sure you have a strong case and hopefully you’ll get financial compensation but you need to be realistic about what you will get in the end.

I would continue with your claim. Are you using a specialist medical negligence firm? Once all the initial details have been given, there will be very little for you to actually do as they obtain the records and have an independent report on them which can take a considerable amount of time.

I am so sorry for the loss of your Dad.

For the sake of those that go after your dad, please please do it.

Despite RCA, despite knowing that this happens, despite criminally short staffing, despite the harms and deaths, absolutely ZERO is done or changes.

Hit them where it hurts, where the numbers and data cannot lie and surely to God, someone in one of those lofty offices will notice and begin to make the changes needed.

For the sake of us all, do it.

Hi OP, a close family member of mine has chosen to take action for damages against an NHS trust following the death of another close family member of mine., This follows an inquest at which the trust was found to have acted against his interests in a manner that contributed to his death.
The decision to take legal action was all about putting pressure on the NHS to take meaningful steps to improve, as we didn't believe that the mere fact of their internal report and the 'lessons' they promised to learn would be enough to cause them to do better in future.
I, on the other hand, couldn't face being involved in the case, as it had already been such a long and hard treadmill. For what it's worth, I think it would be a good thing if you took action. But also that your main consideration should be your emotional wellbeing, which means that you should do what comes more naturally to you. For some people that is fighting; for others it is giving themselves the relative peace and privacy of focusing on the dead person, rather than the fight.
I am very sorry for your lost in such traumatic circumstances

My dad died in his 60s, in nhs care, from sepsis due to complications in cancer treatment (ironically had been accepted for treatment from Ireland due to expectation of better outcome). My brother was semi keen to litigate, I was keen on understanding the lessons learned which were reasonable and resulted in a change in policy. I'm the only family member living in the UK, couldn't stomach the legal route alone. I'm glad I left it but absolutely understand your need for accountability OP. I'm very sorry for your loss x

Yes, if you have a good case, I would sue. As with other organisations, such as the Post Office, people need to be held accountable.

Be prepared for a long slog though - they tend to cover each others backs.

Sorry for your loss. 💐

@tiredwardsister thank you for reflecting the true story. Not sure if you have RTFT but I am one of those managers, whose job it is to try and make services better whilst also dealing with less and less funding year on year - the maths just don't math. But according to some posters on here I'm part of the problem and should be doing something about it!

I would do it based on the advice you’ve had here.

I am sorry for your loss.

I've been a nurse for over 30 years. I wouldn't sue. I agree with a pp that those who are to blame will have mentally moved on already and physically will likely do so long before any claim is settled. Think how much more angry you'll feel if you're not successful.
My DM (and another women) was killed in a car accident at 69. We were told we make a claim against the driver who was found at fault in a crown court. We chose not to.
Risk v benefit to your mental health, I'd leave well alone.
So sorry for your loss.

Do you think the HCPs involved will be held accountable if the OP sues? There has been an investigation, the staff involved will already at the very least have had to make a written statement accounting for what they did and why, they may also have had to answer questions to a committee justifying their actions. They would hopefully have seen the report and guidelines/procedures may been changed or reinforced.
Ive been there done it and got the T shirt and I fortunately I hadn’t done anything wrong but others had. And yes it has impacted on my practice and I know it impacted on the practice of the person at fault.
For all we know the patient and their family may have gone on and sued but we would know nothing about it and the person involved who was at fault has now left and moved to another trust.
Im not saying the OP shouldn’t sue I’m just saying she might not get all the outcomes she’s hoping for.

I think we are all doing an impossible job in an impossible situation. I’m tired of hearing that the financial mess we are in is caused by too many managers/immigrants/staff swinging the lead over sick leave. The NHS is the fifth biggest employer in the world, the largest employer in Europe and the biggest employer of women in the world. More government money goes to the NHS than any where else. Of course we have managers. The idea spouted by Jo Public that we just need to bring back matrons like those portrayed by the likes of Hattie Jacques in Carry on Doctor and the situation and all our problems will be solved is insulting to all of us who are fighting (and it is a daily fight) to do our best in a total nightmare situation and utterly demoralising.

@tiredwardsister absolutely! I'm not clinical but I work very closely with the people who are and anyone who tries to say staff aren't doing their best is being utterly ridiculous. I take my hat off to you and everyone like you who is still showing up and caring for patients despite the utter despair you must feel.

I don't think the people saying get rid of the managers and bring back matrons understand that if that happened the matrons would be the managers and their time wouldn't be spent on clinical issues!

Hi I think you should do it , it’s not as scary as you think your solicitor will do most of the work.I think if you leave it, you may regret it. At least this way you know you did what you could. As others have said these things need to be looked into so they don’t continue to happen. Good luck

Absolutely.

The reverence for the NHS needs to end. As long as it remains nothing will change.

Sue, they should have been able to spot the signs for sepsis, it may make them look harder and the next person coming in and hopefully save some lives in the future.

I'm truly sorry to hear this. We went through an almost identical loss with my mum.