Medical Negligence claim against GP

[amnidyaa]

Aibu to think I have grounds for a claim?

In March 2023 I had an operation on my spine for Cauda equina syndrome. After the operation the spinal specialist sent a letter to me and mh GP saying there is a 5cm growth on my ovary and they recommend a follow up with a Gynecologist and another scan. I went to see my GP and enquired about getting the growth looked at by gynaecology. The GP refused and said people have growths all the time and its nothing to worry about and she said she will not be ordering a follow up.
Then 1 year later in March 2024 I had pain and went to A&E and they did a scan and found the growth was now 10cm and had spread all over the pelvic region. I ended up having to have a hysterectomy within 2 weeks and I had to lose both my ovaries and uterus because the growth had spread. I am now in menopause at the age of 39 and unable to have children all because my GP didnt follow up on the growth before it spread.

Would it brlw unreasonable to think I have a claim?

I don't know which part of the country you are in. If Manchester/North West I would recommend Pannone Solicitors ... they did my mum's medical negligence claim and were excellent and easy to work with.

Some do some don’t ime. Usually direct referrals are because the consultant thinks it’s urgent. Less time critical stuff is left to the GP.

I’d say try more than one firm as they often work on a ‘no win no fee’ basis but their fee (whilst capped by law at certain percentage of compensation awarded) might vary from firm to firm

Depends on the trust. Lots have ridiculous funding rules. I've even worked somewhere where the acute pain team can't refer to the chronic pain team it has to go back to the gp, it's a total joke and incredibly frustrating to work in.

Op sorry to hear. See a claims team you've probably got a reasonable chance of success. Be expected to have it be suggested that your fertility success rates independent of this would be reduced at your age though x

So sorry that this has happened to you. I would echo what previous posters have said. Your neurosurgeon should have referred you to gynaecology. Yes, this was an incidental finding not related to what he/she treated you for but that doesn’t mean it is not their responsibility to deal with. In our trust, we would never pass this back to a gp, we’d do the referral ourselves.
Have you been told that this outcome could have been avoided if you had been referred to gynaecology earlier?

God how awful

I hope youre doing ok regarding the hysterectomy

YANBU. At all. I speak as a doctor - not following up on a radiologist's advice is brazen at best, I have never heard of a doctor ignoring a radiologist's advice without at least discussing the findings with the radiologist directly. I'm so sorry this has happened.

I'm sorry this happened to you.

Have you spoken to PALS at all? Have you made a complaint to the GP practice to allow them to investigate and learn from any mistake(s)? What was their response?

Many areas do not allow consultant to consultant referrals for largely financial reasons. This puts patients at risk because it adds extra steps of writing to GP to ask them to refer, the GP receiving the letter, reading the letter and acting on the letter. There are lots of places where this could go wrong. Please bring this complaint to PALS because if cons to cons referrals were allowed this wouldn’t have happened, and it’s only by highlighting real examples of harm that change will happen.

As the medical files are going to the medical expert being asked to advise, it's hardly going to be a secret, is it?

@goodgirlwannabe she had that done in Dec 2022 not 2023, so before the spinal surgery in March 2023.