Hospital Negligence....

[butterfly76]

My Mum had breast cancer 3 yrs ago and was having check ups every 3 months. About 5 weeks ago I went to see her on a Sunday and she was vacant and slurring I thought she had a stroke. I called an ambulance and she went into a & e. She was by this stage stumbling and falling. A doctor said there was nothing wrong with her. I explained my mother is only 59 and works 3 days a weeks and swims every day. She is fitter then me. He wouldn't listen and told me to take her home he gave me a commode to take with me. I was so upset I didn't know what to do the next day I went to her GP they immediatly refered her for a brain scan which showed she had in excess of 25 tumors in her brain some 3cm in size. She passed away 3 weeks later. I am devasted and angry I feel this Doctor should be dismissed. Can anyone tell me what I need to do? Thank you

[DONNA1458]

there are lots and lots of sites which are compensation claims which is not want you want you will not want money out of this you want it never to happen to anyone else again so i would look at this site first and take it from there.
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Policyandguidance/Orga nisationpolicy/Complaintspolicy/index.htm

[tigwig]

I am extremely sorry for your loss and know exactly how you feel. My family is currently going through the complaints dept of the NHS for the negligent treatment of my mum in law (its too much detail to go into) which has now reached the stage of the chief executive who is in charge of it. By the sound of it your mum would have passed away very soon anyway but yes this doctor made a mistake and it needs investigating and you need an apology. Contact the complaints dept and make sure they get this investigated, take care

[China Doll]

I think the first thing to do is write to the PALS department of the hospital saying you have an official complaint and by all means include the chief exec in your letter but be aware that until it is classed as significan they may not be involved. It may also be a good idea to include the Medical Director (I don't know if all hospitals have these but we certainly do).

However... As a side note, 25 tumors in the brain is a sizeable number and I suspect your mother may have been suffering from symptons before the A&E visit no matter how minute or easily dismissable. She should certainly have had a scan (in my opinion) but I'm afraid the outcome would have been the same, that scale is only palliative treatable. Also, although you advised the doctor as to your mothers normal level of fitness, if there were no obvious symtons then it may be inexperience rather than a lapse in care that led to them sending your mother home.

Another thing to consider is, are you out to stop the same thing from happening to someone else or are you looking for someone to blame? I do not mean this in any kind of harsh way at all and I am not questioning your motives exactly. What I am questioning is that in your grief, are you looking for something else to focus on? By all means make your complaint, but make sure that you are allowing yourself to grieve too. You're very vulnerable when you're devastated and left footed in my experience.

I am truly sorry for your loss.
China

[butterfly76]

Thank you to all of you for your help. I just don't want this Doctor making anymore mistakes. I realise no matter what was done then, it would have been too late.