Can you sue the GP?

[whatdoutnk]

Hi I'm looking to know the following? If anyone has any Knowledge of this?

Patient has suspected a mole on body, new mole, fast growing, patient sees GP, GP isn't concerned, but sends a picture of mole to a dermatologist for an opinion. Dermatologist comes back with "not concerning"

Patient goes back to the GP as is still concerned, a different doctor has a look at it as this doctor has a qualification in this area, GP say's definitely nothing to worry about but can remove to ease patients mind but it doesn't need removed.

Patient gets referred for mole removal due to patients request.

On the day of removal, it was another GP who removed it. Before removing the GP couldn't wrap her head around why it was being removed as it looked okay. The GP said "I would only remove this if it's catching on to your clothes or something as it looks okay" patient demanded to remove it as it's causing anxiety and practically had to beg for it to be removed.

Patient finally get its removed and biopsied.

Biopsy results come back as melanoma (skin cancer)

3 doctors, 1 dermatologist seen this mole and said nothing is wrong with it. Patient demanded for it to be removed.

Is this something that can be took further?

No.

Umm, no. Suggest you try and move on. It's not great but it's sorted now.

Assume you're looking for a financial reward?

Don’t understand the first two posts at all. Yes of course this can looked at further. That’s not to say that if you decided to pursue a legal claim that you would win, or that if you did win it would be a particularly large award. Does sound unusual that several people missed the diagnosis, but it could be that it was an unusual presentation (or several other explanations). If you are concerned about the care, as an initial step I would submit a complaint to the GP practice and also to the hospital where the dermatologist is based. It might give you some reassurance and an explanation about what happened. And from there you can decide whether you want to take it further. You have three years from the date of incident/date of knowledge to start formal court proceedings.

No it doesn't work like that

For money? Why?

I’m sure there’s a complaints procedure you can follow.

Not sure why you're blaming the GP here. They referred to the dermatologist who said it wasn't a concern. They removed it at your request anyway.
In terms of pursuing for financial comp. You'd need to show that the actions of the GP were both negligent and also caused you some impact. By your description ultimately the cancer was caught so you could perhaps have some mental/emotional argument but you are not now sick as a result. The GP did refer to a specialist who agreed with their initial view so I don't think you can argue the GP was negligent. The dermatologist perhaps but it would then depend if the mole was obviously a problem and the dermatologist was clearly negligent. If it looked to all intents and purposes normal but in fact was not then I'd say unfortunately it was just bad luck.

I’d certainly consider putting a complaint in if you are that way inclined. But suing? I take it you want money? Why do you think you should get money from an already strapped NHS when the problem has been sorted?

Agree, what do you want?

You can go to the health ombudsman once you’ve exhausted the practice complaints procedure. They can award compensation but base it on the actual impact on the patient’s day to day life and future. They can also advise whether they think you’d have a case for legal action.

No. Obviously it didn't have the characteristics of being cancerous therefore not negligent. Several qualified professionals wouldn't have missed it otherwise.

I'm sure you are upset but it happens. You go to the drs several times and see several professionals and 99% they are correct. Unfortunately, there are times were they aren't. I went to the drs several times with breathlessness and other symptoms and only in my 20s was brushed off... anyway turned out I had multiple organ failure and nearly died but I didn't sue anyone. Mistakes happen.

I'm posting this on behalf of someone else (with their permission)

They don't believe they can sue nor do they intend do, I thought that they can tho?

This patient suffers from health anxiety, hence why they repeatedly went back to the GP.

If this was me, and I seen the GP once & they weren't concerned I would of never of went back. Which is scary because the melanoma would of eventually spread to other parts of the body.

In my opinion, this case was kind of negligence? The mole was new, went from red and flat to raised and black within weeks, this to me rings alarm bells and quite concerning that no gp OR dermatologist was concerned.

Health anxiety saved this patients life

What would you hope to get from suing them? Nothing is ever 100,% certain. On the balance of probability the mole looked benign, it wasn't, sadly it happens.
Taking money from an already impoverished service isn't going to help anyone not make mistakes in the future.

You would have to be able to demonstrate that other doctors would typically have made a different diagnosis and acted sooner, based on same presentation. Hope they are now recovering well,

They can make a complaint to the practice manager though, which may prompt an investigation and review of processes if necessary, to avoid it happening to another patient.

It was obviously not a typical presentation. They can’t go around removing every mole ‘just in case’ you had 3 or 4 different people saying it wasn’t cancer. So it’s not like 1 person dismissed you without checking properly.
You don’t get compensation just because an atypical mole turned out to be cancer

I can understand why your friend is concerned, it's really scary that all these professionals didn't recognise this raised black mole was a cause for concern. Can't imagine this has helped her health anxiety! However I agree with others there's nothing to really pursue legally here. Glad your friend is well and that the outcome was eventually a good one.

What are you suing them for? Not being physic?

You can sue for negligence but if 4 doctors all had the same opinion then it’s very unlikely it’s something an average doctor would have been expected to find and therefore it’s not negligence. You would also need to show what damage this caused you. You they didn’t fail to treat you. What damage do you think their actions caused you?

No. The GP gave their opinion, they made an appropriate referral, the expert validated the GP opinion. They followed procedures.

Unfortunately medicine is opinion and it is always learning. If a GP and dermatologist agreed it didn't meet the criteria then I don't see how this is malpractice. It obviously was an outlier which is always possible.

It sounds like the person concerned should raise their concerns through the GP practice manager, based on the fact that they had to push for further review on multiple occasions. It sounds like it sits more as an area for learning.

The post doesn't mention where the dermatologist is based (though I assume an NHS hospital?) but they could report their experience through the PALS team if so.

It sounds like further education might be needed (hard to know without the case file) to prevent someone else who doesn't push for referral from receiving timely treatment. I am not sure that the initial GP could be seen as negligent as they did refer to the specialist, but I can see why you are concerned on this person's behalf. I can imagine this will worsen their health anxiety too.

It wasn't negligence, clearly. The patient would be much better off getting on with their life, and forgetting the whole thing.

For the doctor to be found at fault you have to show that a competent doctor would have done differently. But so many doctors saying it’s fine suggests this wouldn’t be the case.

No, there’s no claim here. Move along.

If four medical professionals agreed then I'm not sure there is any malpractice to be found here. Presumably if the situation had continued the mole would have started to exhibit signs that suggested skin cancer then she would have been referred once more. So saying it saved her life is hyperbolic, even if that is how she feels. It sounds like she had an unusual presentation which is just life unfortunately. If she is concerned about her care she can make a complaint but to jump to suing is literally that - a jump. She also got the outcome she wanted. I can see how this would contribute to her anxiety however, so if anything she should maybe seek some more help and support in that area.

Health anxiety saved this patients life

So they're fine? They went to a GP, got referred, had mole removed, now they're ok?
What is it you're hoping to sue for, exactly?