NHS Mask Shamed/Discrimination, escalating action (thread 2)

[Maskwoes]

First thread: Mask shamed (disability), complain? (Some TMI) http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/amiibeingunreasonable/3978398-mask-shamed-disability-complain-some-tmi

It's been almost a year since I made my original post, and the after effects are deeply ingrained in my soul. I've had my piece published in Laura Dodsworth's book "A State of Fear" too.

I complained through PALS and my concerns were escalated to a senior nurse at the MIU, where my concerns were met with pure disdain, an attitude of "fuck you, wear a mask, protect everyone, I don't give two shits about the impact on your mental health". She also wrote that any questioning regarding lack of masks would be gentler and more private - things I know have not been implemented.

I've taken legal advice to determine my legal position and I'm told I have a strong case as the MIU stance contravened governmental coronavirus regulations and the impact to my mental health is shocking. Also that my mental health conditions, including PTSD and GAD from the sexual assault, and how they affect me are enshrined as a protected characteristic (Equality Act) and their actions were in contravention of this and direct disability discrimination.

I'm about to escalate up the chain to CCG, then CQC, then sue. Why sue? Why do I feel the consuming rage to take money from the cash strapped NHS? Because it's the only language they will understand - the only thing that will force accountability and responsibility on them. I can then directly pay privately for counselling.

Why sue? Why do I feel the consuming rage to take money from the cash strapped NHS? Because it's the only language they will understand - the only thing that will force accountability and responsibility on them.

Why do you think that? It would be settled away from the ward.

What are you hoping for from this thread?

On your first post re this, a year ago, you wrote "I'm posting this in AIBU as I want the brutally honest views!"

You are following this up in AIBU, and presumably would expect much of the same, but now you don't want even a mildly frank response, as per the first poster on this thread.

I think your energies would be far better spent in seeking professional help for your PTSD and GAD. There are some marvellous new body-based and cognitive therapies nowadays, and many are available for free and online, if you are unable to afford/find in your area a suitable psychologist, etc.

If only rape survivors would just train themselves out of wrongthink eh?

@Maskwoes

I had to disclose the abuse, in public, THREE FUCKING TIMES

So much for patient confidentiality.

As a survivor of more things than I would care to mention, I don't find brewing up longstanding resentments, anger, rage, or self-pity helpful in the ongoing recovery process, or beneficial for physical health.

But by all means, maintain the rage.

@Maskwoes
No words, just a hug and

I’m so sorry OP. You should never have been put through this. Rules about masks are designed to protect people, but not at the expense of the wellbeing of those who have completely legitimate reasons as to why they can’t tolerate them.

I hope your next escalation is taken seriously and you’re given some sense of justice.

You are in control with a mask. You can take it off anytime.If you'd have caught covid abs been ill with it you'd have had to have had sonething over your mouth and nose or you'd have died.I don't think suing will achieve anything, hospitals had to prevent the spread of COVID and protect staff and patients. I know people that were hard of hearing with mental health problems who had to attend appointments alone due to COVID protocol, far from ideal but the situation was dire.

Can't believe how awful some of these responses are. I also hadn't realised how fucking obsessed people still were with mask-wearing! OP I'm sorry for everything you've been through, you've been treated appallingly.

Something similar happened to me. Ignore the idiots saying "wear a mask". PTSD and GAD aren't anxiety. I'm sorry this happened to you.

Many people deal with stuff. Bad stuff. Most people never even get a diagnosis for their ptsd (especially complex ptsd). Do you know what that's like? To not even be heard? You got validation through diagnoses and clearly the trauma you experience. I feel this has all just spurred you on to dictate how people should have acted in what were also very challenging scenarios themselves. It's not right. Everyone is walking around with emotional wounds. It is not just you.

People just don't understand PTSD. I know it's not the same scenario but I get the same kind of comments about refusing a smear test.

"Just go. It only takes a moment. Why would you not do something that might save your life? You're stupid. You're being selfish. No one likes it but we still do it. Just do it."

Some people just don't understand how that fear of being back in that moment can be greater than the fear of dying. Lucky them.

Wow, the lack of compassion on this thread is astounding. When will people understand that mental health is just as important as physical health?

As a hcp who has been on the receiving end of this sort of vitriol for the last 16 months, I know you'd be begging to wear an O2 mask or be artificially ventilated if your life depended on it, despite your experiences. I have absolute experience of this. Wear a mask in places you're required to because others' lives depend on it.

My bosses back me up, and theirs back them. Unless you're prepared to sign a waiver refusing an O2 mask/ventilation during any medical treatment.

This is easily one of the most ridiculous things I’ve read on here. Yabvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvu.

For God’s sake calm down. Just download an exemption badge/certificate from the Gov.uk website….

Exemption cards
If you have an age, health or disability reason for not wearing a face covering:

you do not routinely need to show any written evidence of this
you do not need show an exemption card
This means that you do not need to seek advice or request a letter from a medical professional about your reason for not wearing a face covering.

However, some people may feel more comfortable showing something that says they do not have to wear a face covering. This could be in the form of an exemption card, badge or even a home-made sign.

@Frogsonglue

Can't believe how awful some of these responses are. I also hadn't realised how fucking obsessed people still were with mask-wearing! OP I'm sorry for everything you've been through, you've been treated appallingly.

I was trying to think of a reply and this is basically what I was thinking ^ Completely shocked by some of these responses. Sue them, I hope you win because I do agree it’s the only language many companies, including the NHS, understand.

Just as depressed people can still be arseholes, people with GAD & PTSD can still be drama llamas too. It seems difficult to separate out what is a reasonable reaction due to mental health issues and what is ‘drama’, tbh.

Declaring that anything going near your mouth causes severe panic attacks (really? So you’re fed via a GI tube then?), sounds like it’s entering drama territory. As does you saying you’ve been more upset by a post on this thread than any in the last 27 years on the internet

Also, if you were so traumatised and incapacitated by the mental health impact of being asked to wear a mask, how is it you are able to summon the considerable mental effort required to sue the NHS? I think your efforts would be better spent working on your health issues, rather than attempting to extract money from a taxpayer-funded healthcare institution that needs every penny and on which everyone relies.

Compassion seems to have disappeared in this pandemic - under the guise of concern. I feel for you OP and respect your decision to stand up for yourself.

@FrankensteinIsTheMonster

Went to the original thread and read all the OP's posts.

Yeah, it wasn't great. They caused you a lot of distress which could've been avoided. But they hardly chopped the wrong leg off you. They fucked up and upset you, in what was then a very new and unfamiliar, extremely difficult and rapidly-changing situation, and you had a reaction to that later on which couldn't have been reasonably predicted. Nearly a year ago. Things are very different now, we all have more experience with how this stuff works, and it's probably pretty unlikely that patients in that position now would experience the same treatment you did back then. What's suing going to achieve, other than maybe a payout for you, along with yet more prolongation of the stress associated with the incident?

This. I can’t add anything - you have summed it up perfectly FrankensteinIsTheMonster

DSis sued the NHS after a botched op that left her doubly incontinent, reduced mobility to the extent she could only walk with a zimmer and PTSD that meant she couldn't leave her house. She had to give up her job.

It was a horrible, degrading experience. She had to go to specialists around the country for assessments - Newcastle, Edinburgh, Dundee - despite her disabilities. She lived in the North of Scotland. It took 3 years and the sum she got was derisory and less than half what the legal fees were. (She did get legal aid).

I don't think suing the NHS will achieve anything for you.

OP, I was a bit alarmed to see that on your previous thread you were relying on advice on the laworfiction site, as really that advice had much more to do with fiction than the law. I hope you're no longer dealing with them?

It’s possible to have compassion but still not agree with a course of action.

Unfortunately, the needs of individuals in a global pandemic came second to doing what was best for the largest number of people. That’s why many people had treatment and surgeries postponed and cancelled. My Mum’s thyroid surgery was cancelled 3 times for this reason and she’s suffered with her symptoms throughout.

In Switzerland, where I am, my DH’s health diagnosis for a muscle condition got put on hold all of last year due to the pandemic. And sadly, other people with more serious conditions have died waiting for diagnoses & treatment. Because the needs of individuals unfortunately had to be sacrificed for the needs of the many.

If everyone who had suffered health impacts as an indirect result of the pandemic were to sue the NHS, where would that leave it?