Advice, anyone? Was GP / hospital less than conscientious?

[Blu]

A member of my staff is extremely distressed following the unexpected death of his cousin (who has 4 kids, aged 2m-8 years).
This man was 43. During the last year he had visited his GP twice, been taken to the A&E of a small London hospital twice, every time suffering from bad joint and back pain. In every case he was sent away with pain killers and no tests or referrals. He was also noticabley losing weight. Last Friday night he collapsed at home with pain, and again his wife sent for an ambulance. He was taken to the same A&E, which this time did do a blood test (I think) and referred him immediately to a big London teaching hospital. They said he had leukeamia, took him straight to the HDU, and he died on Sunday.

My colleague attended a 'family meeting' at the teaching hospital on Monday, where he was told that they would be given a copy of the coroners report / post mortem notes, but could NOT have a copy of the patients notes.

As far as I can see, there is nothing that the teaching hospital could have done at that stage, BUT I agree with my colleague that the GP and the A&E at the smaller hospital should certainly have explored the situation further. The family have been told that nothing can be done in the case of acute leaukeamia. Even if this is true, had the condition been diagnosed sooner, his death would no have come as such a total shock to his poor wife (who collapsed and was hospitalised herself on Sunday as a result), and who knows, maybe they COULD have tried treatment. Another friends DP is a nurse at a big A&E and said that leukeamia was one of the first things they tested for when healthy young-ish men complained of joint pains.

My colleague is now considered the senior family member responsible for the welfare of the family: How does he go about finding out whether either or both the GP and A&E were negligent?

What does anyone with experience in these matters think?

And are we wasting our time in giving a moments thought to the fact that this family are Nigerian in origin may have a bearing on the situation?

There is an Act of Parliament called 'Access to Health Records' and this basically entitles patients (or in the case of death, their next of kin) to see their records. This can't be denied. Perhaps your colleague had a family meeting with the consultant ...consultants are often a law unto themselves. I suggest going through official channels to request access to the medical records - a letter to the Chief Executive or Complaints manager. The request will then be dealt with properly.

Message withdrawn

Its not that lengthy - they are obliged to provide access within 40 days of the request. Although 40 days might seem like a long time to your colleague.

A legal person requires legal fees, so I personally would be tempted to request the records myself in the first instance....then if no joy go with a solicitor.

I doubt there is any deliberate attempt to 'cover up'. I used to be a senior NHS manager before 'downshifting' after the birth of my daughter - and that was never my experience. We always were open and transparent (little point in being anything else as the truth will out). Liability and error was admitted to where this occurred. However, consultants can sometimes be a law unto themselves so best to involve official channels - i.e the Complaints Manager, at an early stage.

Thank You: this is REALLY helpful. Does he need to get separate notes from the GP and A&E, and write separate letters to each? I guess so...

Sorry to hear this Blu, what a terrible thing to happen.

Podmog, what other conditions are you thinking of? Not that I'm a hypochondriac, you understand, but my dad was Nigerian.

That's a very sad story, blu, my heart goes out to them. My sister and I are doing a similar thing at the moment to do with my father's care before he died, more to get proper answers than to apportion blame, and it does help to talk directly to people and see medical notes. We have not needed to be confrontational in any way as, so far, everyone we've contacted at various hospitals has been very helpful and open. If they feel they are being fobbed off, there are official procedures, like an ombudsman for hosps, that they could go through without having to hire lawyers etc. I hope your colleague can get some of the answers he needs, although he should also be prepared that if he finds out his cousin could have had a chance of survival with an earlier diagnosis, that will be incredibly upsetting and frustrating for them all as a family.

Good q Droile...I must admit that when I first asked about the Nigerian factor it was because I was wondering about racism. This is because another member of staff went to A&E finding it difficult to breathe, and he was put through every possible test, blood, x ray, ECG, all on the spot. And he is a 43 year-old white guy.

You are entitled to a full copy of medical records ( for a fee) and all you need to do is to apply to the records office of the hospital trust - they then send the appropriate forms and you fill it in and send it off. Every hospital also has to inform their patients ( and family) of the complaints procedure for that hospital. It should be in the form of a leaflet telling them what to expect and who they can write to.

Hope that helps. Try searching the web for the hospital trust and if they have a webs ite it should also be there.

Hope that helps.

Wilbur and Eidsvold, thanks..it is good to know, W, that you have had a good experience in terms of open-ness, and sensitivity as you grieve for your father. As I understand it, this family are being very dignified and are certainly not in a 'compensation frenzy' of any kind, but at the very least are looking for answers which may stop the same thing happening again.

Oh how terrible. In my experience, the nhs is much more variable than just a postcode lottery. Certainly if someone of Nigerian (or any third world country) origin came in complaining of joint trouble, a gp should have taken blood to check for tropical diseases.

message withdrawn