The hospital fucked up my caesarian - now they want me to wait five months before fixing things [big bloody rant]

[whomovedmychocolate]

Long story short, repeat caesarian for pre-eclampsia last month.

Escaped five days post partum - still felt really crappy.

Developed peurperal sepsis (deep joy), given massive doses of antibiotics and was finally starting to feel better Sunday but had this massive lump in my abdomen which wasn't getting any better. I looks like a had an adult sized jawbone sticking out my lower belly. Oh and it's really sore too.

So yesterday I went to see GP and he took one look and admitted me to hospital.

Had a scan this morning, the infection is almost gone but I had an incisional hernia, which apparently is where they trap a bit of your major organs in the muscle when they sew the muscles together.

Unfortunately there is a five month wait to get it fixed on the NHS and because the caesarian wasn't done under my private medical insurance, they don't cover the resulting fuck- ups either, so I'm left with waiting nearly half a year to get out of pain or paying around £2K to get it sorted.

Oh and apparently it may turn gangrenous or cause major organ damage if it gets strangulated...at which point the NHS will consider it an emergency and do something.

Otherwise they've given me 28 paracetamol tablets.

I would go and lie down outside the Chief Exec's office until it was resolved

WMMC this is just shocking! I can't believe what a mess they have left you in- and they are not in any hurry to rectify it. I think you should make A LOT of noise about this- it is quite frankly disgusting. Complications after major surgery is one thing, but this is just shoddy work, surely?

Agree with Lulumama's sugestions.

Message withdrawn

All of that sounds like bollobks to try to get round this 18 week wait time frame thing. You need to get to the point when they "Start the clock" as it's known in my hospital RIGHT NOW! This is what I would be most aggrieved about to be honest.

I don't think it's fair to say that this is "shoddy work" (unless this particular surgeon gets loads of incisional hernias in his patients) but it is just a risk of c-section and although I can see that it's a priority to get resolved for wmmc it's not in all honestly an emergency.

OK, missed a post when writing that one, you need to get to see that general surgeon asap.

Actually I agree it's not an emergency, other than the fact that I have a heart defect and if I get an infection it's much more serious for me than for most people - and I have two small people who need me well.

It is shoddy to not have noticed this, I did complain to the cmw when she called (she never visited) post partum as well as during the five days in hospital but it was not even looked at.

But yes it is bollocks to avoid the waiting list rules - but completely normal at my hospital.

I was responding to the op- crossed posts there- your explanation sounds much more reasonable,LaDiDaDi, but the explanation WMMC was given sounded more like a mess up in surgery than a post-operative complication?

I still don't think leaving bits of placenta behind sounds very thorough, or is that common too?

I just feel so sorry you are having to go through this when you should just be enjoying your children

I think that the most likely thing is that the person who did the explaining is crap at communicating rather than the explanation being true, after all you would bloody notice if a bit of bowel was gaping through your incision as you were sewing someone up after an op but obviously you couldn't forsee that the wound might weaken sometime afterwards.

Oh and I know how you feel about telling people that there's aproblem and being ignored. I knew from day one that there was a problem with my section wound, "Oh no, it's just your tummy after having a baby" was what I got in response, until my wound fell open once the stitches came out to reveal a huge haematoma that had just been sitting there all along!

You must press to get to see that surgeon, perhaps ring his.her secretary and ask if there are any clinic cancellations?

OMG!!!

Come up here, you would get seen sooner than that. And by a lovely surgeon.

If I were you I would make a fuss until they gave me a date for the revision surgery.

God, I hate to think of people being left like this, there is no need!

it's not all a bed of roses 'up here, though, sherbet, sadly.

a good friend of the ILs just had to go private for a PET scan. 8 months wait. for someone who had prostate cancer.

in edinburgh, there is no 20-week scan unless you go private and pay for it.

I think DH is cross enough to insist on me seeing a surgeon before the week is out at this rate. He makes me look very meek when he's cross!

For scans etc it takes ages, they don't have the same rules about waiting times.

I just know a nice surgeon Not perfect up here by any means, and an 8 month wait with a cancer is not feasible at all. Neither is 1 PET scanner for the whole of this area when Aberdeen has one and so does Elgin of all places, so they have smaller waiting times in NE scotland with a smaller population.

I also worked at JR and in 6 months in surgery I never admitted anyone for a waiting list op, they were all emergencies which I found very odd.

I think I would go to your local paper with your story too, it may embarass the hospital into doing something or bringing to someone's attention higher up within the hospital.

The hospital messed up my section too and after 15 months I went private to have it sorted out. The insurers paid as it had originally been an emergency section. They wouldn't have paid if it had been an elective.

Emphasise the heart defect problems and don't be shy about going to the press. The waiting list nonsense is scandalous on its own.

I would contact PALS - they sometimes have the ability to get things sorted out relatively quickly. If you can get to see the surgeon who will do the op - s/he will probably make the decision as to how urgent it is - they can bump people up the list on an urgency basis.

I just wanted to add that I do hope that they pull their fingures out and get this sorted for you ASAP.

Before you run to the papers you should complain formally through the hospital complaints procedure.

Waiting lists are a fact of life in NHS unfortunately - everyone complains about them but no-ones prepared to pay higher taxes to do something about them.

Well you are the best judge of how serious this problem is, but some legal advice would not go amiss. Yes, before you can litigate you have to go through the complaints procedure, but what if that takes so long that your health is compromised. Don't take one of those 'injuriesforyou' type clowns (well you are too intelligent to fall for that) but see a good local solicitor.

Yes - PLEASE go and consult a lawyer. I'm sure you feel like shit and are probably not feeling up to kicking up a fuss, but if not, get someone else, DH or a friend of relative, to keep yelling about this until someone takes notice.

It's a farking OUTRAGE. I don't know how complaints to the GMC work but maybe worth investigating.

If you are in Devon I know a fantastic medical negligence lawyer?

wmmc I would do what ladidadi suggests and phone the consultants sec explain very calmly what has happened and ask if she can ensure he gets the message, explain that you are really keen to see him and offer to take cancellations etc. There are bound to be some it's Summer. Just phone switchboard and ask for Mr whatnots sec they'll put you through, although if you get answer machine might need to keep trying.
If you don't feel she was receptive (or even if you do) follow it up with a letter addressed to him, telling him what has happened and explain why you really need to get this sorted.
The human touch can often work and you need to get past the system and talk to people so they can sort this out for you.
I would also go to your GP so he can write and plead your case a bit.

Sorry this has happened to you but I bet you'll get results if you do that.

If you go down the other routes you'll have had the op years before it's sorted.

Oh WMMC so sorry you are having to go through this on top of everything else. No helpful advice but do hope you manage to get it sorted out a bit sooner than 5 months!

Er... who did the cs?