Hello everyone
I’m still trying to pursue a complaint about an NHS medical error.
Serious errors by the NHS, i.e especially those that result in a fatality must be reported / logged as a ‘serious incident’ in order that they may be learned from.
A hospital trust is trying to fob me off with excuses as to why it had not logged as such a misdiagnosis it had made that led to a fatality.
The latest excuse is that the error is not considered a serious incident because:
had a correct diagnosis been made and the life-saving operation taken place the likelihood of the patient surviving it was very low.
I thought I’d ask on here if anyone knows if this is a valid reason for the error not to be classified a ‘serious incident’.
Thanks in advance.
Dan
I think the very fact that they refer to it as a “life saving operation” says it all. They don’t want to admit they were wrong. What evidence is there that the patient would have died anyhow? My mum had a “high risk” op on the NHS and survived for almost 10 years later, dying at 87 of age related issues.
You might consider talking to a no win no fee medical negligence lawyer about this. You might never get an apology from the NHS but they will take heed of a valid legal claim.
Hi Dan,
I’m sorry for your loss.
Like BB, the words, “life saving operation” strike alarm bells with me.
Are you comfortable to tell us what the patient was diagnosed with and what they actually had wrong with them?
I think you should seek advice as Rosemary suggests.
Melly1
Thank you all for you replies.
It hadn’t been my intention to mislead - the ‘life-saving operation’ is my paraphrasing, not a quote and just the gist of what the Trust has said to me. I was trying to make the message concise.
The operation would have been a very risky one, on that point I agree. I argue that a fatality following misdiagnosis is a ‘serious incident’ regardless the risk of the omitted life-saving operation. That’s my issue with the Trust at the moment.
The case is on-going, so I don’t want to say too much that would identify it. I did consult many solicitors. Only two would have taken up the case. I declined as ‘no-win-no-fee’ is not without financial risk - and more distress. Plus the compensation, if awarded, would only cover the funeral costs. That was a fairly unanimous opinion of the solicitors.
Regards
Dan