When you put your health – or even your life – in the hands of the medical profession, you rightly expect that they will do their best. But accidents are a fact of life and, sometimes, your diagnosis, treatment or rehabilitation will not go as planned.
You have the right to complain. Every NHS organisation has a complaints procedure and you can find out about it by speaking to a member of staff, checking the website or seeking out the complaints manager.
Usually, you will be asked to raise the matter with the doctor or nurse involved or with the organisation they work for. You can write or speak to them, whichever you feel more comfortable with. Alternatively, you can talk to your local primary care trust. Most cases are sorted out at this stage, known as a “local resolution”, where an explanation and an apology are all that is needed.
But if that’s not enough, you can refer your complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. It is independent of the NHS and the government and will investigate your case accordingly.
Sometimes it is necessary to seek compensation when things go wrong and specialist medical negligence solicitors will help steer you through the process.
Medical, or clinical, negligence can be complex and a solicitor who is a member of the Clinical Negligence Accreditation Scheme will give you the best chance of a successful outcome with the full compensation to which you are entitled.
Before starting proceedings, your solicitor will determine if you have a medical negligence case. He or she will obtain copies of your medical records and examine them for information that will support your claim for compensation. He or she may send them to a medical expert for another opinion. Once there is an indication that there is a case to answer, your solicitor will notify the medical organisation that a claim is to be issued.
Clinical negligence covers many areas including surgery, diagnosis, prescriptions and medication, a delay in treatment, psychiatric care, physiotherapy, dentistry and childbirth (including damage to the unborn child). It can also cover a failure to do something such as warning a patient about any risks their treatment may pose.
However you decide to best resolve your complaint, it’s important to work out exactly what you want to happen before you start the process. Perhaps you’d be happy with an apology or you want a system change to prevent something similar happening again. Make yourself clear.
It’s worth making detailed notes about what happened and when. Include dates, times and names if you can. Your notes will help you recall details of conversations and events, particularly if your complaint takes a while to process.
Be clear about the main issues and try not to be diverted by irrelevant details. Keep copies of everything you post, make notes of phone conversations and organise email correspondence.