Complaint to Hospital

[QuacketyQuack]

Good morning,

My Mum passed away in hospital in June. Since shes passed I'm feeling more sure that the hospital is at fault. I want to raise a complaint but I'm wondering if it is too late?

Sorry for your loss.
In what way do you think the hospital is to blame? you will need to post a bit more information.

She had MS - she was admitted to hospital with fluid in her lungs. The medical team kept her under observation to see if she could eventually breathe on her own - her condition got worse and the morning that she died - we were told that she had worsened because an HCA had fed her yogurt - which had gone to her lungs.
She should have been Nil by Mouth.
Additionally, I believe they should have cleared her lungs sooner- or pretty much as soon as she was admitted to hospital

Sorry for your loss OP
It’s not too late, but what you are hoping to achieve by doing so.
If it’s just that you don’t want other people to be treated the same way as your mum then yes absolutely do so - I’m a great believer that unless people complain about things they perceive to be wrong and could be done better then nothing will ever change, and I can say with certainty that when I worked as the hospital link for complaints and claims every complaint received was very carefully reviewed by all those involved, and appropriate action taken if necessary.
On the other hand if it’s more of a possible claim for negligence I would think very carefully about whether you are prepared for what could end up being a long and difficult fight and whether it would best to instruct a solicitor to act on your behalf.

I am so sorry for your loss. I had concerns about something before my mum died and I was advised to email the patient care department of the hospital giving full details and say that if there wasn’t a reply within a reasonable amount of time that I would send my complaint to the Care Quality Commission. I received a reply from a consultant. I hope this helps.

Sorry OP - just seen your further post which must have crossed with my earlier response.
On the face of what you’ve said I’d certainly contact them as it seems that somewhere along the line there was at the very least an error in communication which led to your mum being fed when she shouldn’t have been.

I cant get over how she died - it was awful. She didn't have to go like that, and I feel like someone needs to be held accountable- they just brush it off likes its nothing.

I do sympathise, my DP cared for a very elderly GP and he was admitted to hospital and developed pneumonia and his last day they withdrew food and fluids and DP agreed to DNR, we've since found out this pathway should be defunct, it haunts him still.

I would complain in this case and ask them to review if anything could have been done differently. So sorry to hear about your mum.

may be worth asking to meet with someone from the hospital in the first place as I wonder if somethings have got lost in translation (re the fluid in the lungs). If you're not happy with their explanation then there's the complaint option. Most hospitals will have a bereavement team who can help with exploring how to organise this.

Sorry for your loss, OP. Please can tell us, do you mean she was fed yoghurt when she was on a nil by mouth order? Or you think she ought to have been made nil by mouth?

Sorry if I wasn't clear. I believe she should have been nil by mouth

@QuacketyQuack My mum died of MS complications in August following a few horrific hospital stays where I felt the care she received was awful. It’s really shit. We considered a complaint but in the end we didn’t want to relive it all again and it wouldn’t have changed the outcome.
My mum lived with progressive MS for over 40 years so I know what you are going through. We managed to get my mum home for her last 10 days so she didn’t have to die in the hospital.

I'm sorry for your loss. Take comfort that you had her at home at least

I'm going to speak to my Dad , and see what he thinks, I'm sure his stance will be that it won't change anything