Sue Marsh (spartacus report author) has been treated inhumanely.Forced to tweet for help from hospital.

[carernotasaint]

www.latentexistence.me.uk/sue-marsh-given-wrong-drug-and-nurse-refused-to-change-it-agony-instead-of-pain-relief/

The NHS is a gigantic organisation. Mistakes will occasionally happen.

Look at it this way - Sue Marsh has had the benefit of literally hundreds of thousands of pounds of treatment, free of charge, from the NHS, over many years. It now looks like she's aiming to take the NHS, ie the taxpayer, to court to claim compensation. That is money that is desperately needed to treat other people.

I have seen some people who are her followers, claiming that she has been deliberately nearly given the wrong painkiller because she is a disability rights campaigner. Does anyone here seriously believe that a doctor would do this? It is a wicked suggestion.

I would be very careful about believing anything she says.

Think you've rather proved her point, Curbit.

Although presumably that's not what you intended.

Just wanted to add I did tweet from recovery. I was surprised they let me too. I wonder why a recover nurse might have let me do that eh?

I hope you are well now Suey.

To those who think she should not have tweeted for help, what would you have done in that situation?

If your life is at risk, or your loved ones is, what can you actually do if staff just fob you off?

suey - whistleblowing without putting the whistle to their mouth, perhaps...

There's an inquest going on at the moment into the case of a young lad who had to call the police to get a drink of water when he was in hospital - St George's in London. Unfortunately even that wasn't enough to save him. He died. Of dehydration. While an inpatient on an NHS ward.

And people have the effrontery to doubt what Sue says? Read the Mid-Staffs Inquiry report - sadly, terrible things do happen in hospitals sometimes. Stuff that should never happen at all.

edam I heard about that on the radio yesterday and was open mouthed with shock. A bloody drink of water ffs. And apparently the police were turned away.

It is beyond scary.

I confess I haven't read beyond pg 2 of this (this is page 5) but I was of the impression that an allergy to something made you very, very ill? I thought it was where your body went into meltdown if that thing was introduced? I understand that there is a problem with people using the term 'allergy' when they mean 'intolerance'. I'm intolerant of pork products, in that I have a nasty, colicky, windy night and am a bit out of sorts the next day if I eat pork, but I understood that if I had, say a peanut allergy, I 'd go into anaphlaxis and possibly die. Can you be a 'bit' allergic?

Enlighten me, someone! It'll all be news to me!

Allergy

"Mild allergies like hay fever are very common in the human population and cause symptoms such as red eyes, itchiness, and runny nose, eczema, hives, or an asthma attack. Allergies can play a major role in conditions such as asthma. In some people, severe allergies to environmental or dietary allergens or to medication may result in life-threatening reactions called anaphylaxis. Food allergies, and reactions to the venom of stinging insects such as wasps and bees are often associated with these severe reactions."

HTH

Litten, do you know anyone with asthma or eczema? Both can be allergic diseases (although there can be non-atopic forms of either). Allergies can be mild or can be serious or can be severe or can be life-threatening. dh's gave him a collapsed lung aged about 8, IIRC.

"It's the product of a professional culture in which patients are seen as stupid, as knowing nothing about their own condition/body/medical history, and as fit to be patronised, fobbed off and in some cases lied to, unless they make a huge fuss."

I have never read such a succinct, accurate summary of what is wrong with the NHS and those who work in it. My own expereinces - in connection with a very different sort of problem - are perfectly descriobed by this.

Karlos a lot of them also treat the carers of ill relatives in exactly that way too.