My father died so it's too late now anyway

[Sutherland]

My father died just before Christmas and I wanted to post here because I feel very angry at the way he was treated by his local GP at his practice in Oldland, near Bristol. I don't think it will get me anywhere to formally complain as I have to think of my mother who is 79 and still has to use the same doctors. She is a very timid person and I know it will go badly for her if I make a formal complaint, so unless I can get her to change surgeries I think a complaint is out of the question.

Anyway, about ten days before his death my father developed terrible back and stomach pain and my mother could hardly move him from his chair. He was very sick and she rang 999 only to be told that an ambulance 'wasn't necessary'. She then tried the surgery and the doctor said that she had patients to see and 'couldn't be in two places at once'. She was in a terrible state because she could see he was suffering and couldn't get help for him. The ambulance service said they weren't sending an ambulance because it wasn't necessary but they would get a nurse to ring her back and this took about an hour. The nurse then took all the details again and said she would get a doctor to ring her back, again another wait. My father did not get any pain relief until midnight (a wait of 9 hours). I think the GP did call at the end of surgrey and said 'give him a paracetamol'. A lot of bloody use that was! I was not there as I live about 170 miles away and did not know about this until the next day when my mother rang me, but from what I can gather, the emergency doctor was very good, and gave my father an injection and seemed to think it was a kidney stone as there was blood in the urine. He said that if he got worse to call an ambulance. My mother said that she had tried that, but they wouldn't send one. The doctor seemed to think they would this time!

This happened on a Friday and on the following Monday the GP eventually did stir herself and call at the house saying that she would get a scan organised for my father, after Christmas. Unfortunately he died before Christmas of a massive heart attack at home.

This time the ambulance service did attend, but it was too late.

Thanks a lot NHS.

[craigwalsh]

My deepest sympathy on the loss of your father. Thank you for taking the time to post his story here.


'Give him a paracetamol'

This should be the mantra of the NHS. I've heard it a lot myself.

Your story is awful. What I find particularly bad is the refusal to send an ambulance when your mother called 999 the first time. I'd like to live in a society that sends an ambulance when we call for one. Yes, I can understand the need for telephone triage when someone calls 999, but in the final analysis when someone says they need an ambulance, send one.

If, later, it turns out that they really shouldn't have called an ambulance --- then speak with them, fine them, throw them in prison (if there was room in prison). But do so after the fact. I'd like society to give people who call 999 the benefit of the doubt.

But this is a society where we can't even get a receipt from the Inland Revenue. "What?" I hear you say.

This is from the HMRC website (http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/about/sa-penalty.pdf): its CCD Note 001/06, published 6 January 2006:


What if a customer with a cheque asks for a receipt?

We do not routinely issue receipts because the next SA statement will shown the payment.
In future they use our payslip to pay at their bank or at a Post Office where they will obtain an immediate receipt.
We can arrange for the Accounts Office to send a printed receipt, and if the customer agrees.
Enter 'R' (receipt to the taxpayer) or 'A' (receipt to the agent) on the payslip.What if a customer absolutely insists on an immediate receipt?

The law says we have to provide a receipt for a payment if requested (Section Section [sic] 60 (2) TMA 1970).
If a customer insists you can issue a receipt for a cheque, whether a single or multiple payment -- but issue it for the one cheque only.You said your mother "is a very timid person" --- and I suspect many of her generation are. Willing to accept what folks in authority say. Under the current guidelines, your mother would be unable to get a receipt for a payment made at a tax Enquiry Centre (because I doubt she'd "absolutely insist"), even though the law says she's entitled to one.

What chance does she have of getting an ambulance when someone in authority says "no?"

Shame on them.

A complaint against the ambulance service would not (I'm advised) be passed to her GP. Perhaps you could consider that . . . ?

[Sutherland]

I remember hearing in the news that our famous second in command John Prescot had a kidney stone recently and an ambulance was dispatched to him post haste, no doubt with every sympathy for his pain and top urologist in attendance!

Surely nothing to do with the fact that he is Deputy PM or perhaps it was just indigestion from eating too many pies.

Excuse my cynicism.

[donkeybandit]

Hello,

I am very sad to hear about your father. Heart problems seem to be something new that the NHS is failing on. It used to be common to hear about waiting lists for operations such as hip or knee replacements, tonsils, etc. The waiting lists would be long and the patient would live a very uncomfortable life in the meantime. Failing to deal critical illness seems to be a recent phenomenon that is very disturbing.

In November I called the NHS Direct help line after spending all day in bed going in and out of consciousness. The nurse on the end of the line immediately recommended an ambulance and called one out for me. When the team arrived, they examined me and took me to the hospital. Seems like I was very lucky at this stage!

Once in hospital, I was bounced between different doctors and given a whole suite of tests including an echo cardiogram and angiogram. A registrar performed the echo and discovered that I had a bicuspid valve. He stated that I would need surgery. The doctors sent me home and said "Come back in 2 years".

When I got home, my condition did not improve. I was breathless, suffering from dizzy spells and having various other symptoms. I saw my GP a couple of days later and he arranged for me to see the same Consultant I was assigned in hospital, except as a private patient. As I have always been a "get on with it" kind of guy, I would probably have continued back to work and tried to continue my life as usual. Thankfully, my wife insisted that my symptoms were so bad that I should get a second opinion. If I had not listened to her, I would most likely have collapsed going to work.

After seeing the consultant again, she realised that my condition was very bad and getting worse by the week. The first thing she did was to arrange for me to see a specialist (privately) who then referred me to a surgeon. All of these appointments occurred within 2 weeks of me leaving the hospital.

Once the surgeon examined me thoroughly and viewed the results of the angiogram, he told me that if I didn't choose to have surgery I would only have a few more weeks to live. This would have been just enough time to get an appointment with consultant on the NHS. Failing to have surgery would have resulted in a stroke/brain bleed or cardiac arrest. Only at this point would I have been able to get expedited surgery on the NHS.

Basically I had a choice, have the operation privately and pay out of pocket, or have something potentially deadly happen to me before the NHS did anything about it. So I went private, and am now in some serious debt to some of my friends and family... but I am alive! It's been 1 month since my operation and I am recovering well. I am the lucky one on this forum, but one thing is for sure, the NHS does suck! Money talks when it comes to health care these days.

I'm not quite sure what I am going to do about this whole situation, but I am keen to make people aware of what needs to be done. Any suggestions?

[Elen]

Anyway, about ten days before his death my father developed terrible back and stomach pain and my mother could hardly move him from his chair. He was very sick and she rang 999 only to be told that an ambulance 'wasn't necessary'.

Firstly, my sympathies for the loss of your father.

This really does warrant a complaint to the ambulance service in the first instance, since they made an incorrect and fatal judgement about your father's condition. When I worked in general practice as a receptionist, I had dealings with the ambulance service. I was even asked by the crew whether the patient needed a backboard - I wasn't clinically trained for heaven's sake... thought they were! It's appalling.

Any other complaint based on the GP's conduct would need to be based around your father's heart attack, whether it was caused by or secondary to a pre-existing condition and whether the heart attack was preventable, whether the GP misdiagnosed your father when she visited and whether the emergency doctor should have admitted your father to hospital when he saw him.

[kirstyjane]

im so sorry to hear of the sad loss of your dad! xxx

my dad died in april of heart problems! and yes id love to complain to because they didnt even detect the problem as they hadnt done the tests properly! they told him he was getting better but obviously he wasnt! :(

im so sorry! i think that maybe it might set you at ease if you did complain for your dads sake! but as you say as hes gone now! i really dont know what to suggest but i am sorry for your loss xxxx